REMOVAL OF WILDLIFE COMMISSION MEMBERS, the official text

SENATE BILL 104

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Peter Wirth and Pete Campos and Nathan P. Small

and Matthew McQueen and Crystal Brantley

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS; PROVIDING FOR THE REMOVAL OF
APPOINTED MEMBERS OF THE STATE WILDLIFE COMMISSION FOR
INCOMPETENCE, NEGLECT OF DUTY OR MALFEASANCE IN OFFICE;
REQUIRING NOTICE, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING AND JUDICIAL
APPEAL.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. That version of Section 17-1-2 NMSA 1978
(being Laws 1921, Chapter 35, Section 2, as amended) that is to
become effective January 1, 2027 is amended to read:

"17-1-2. STATE WILDLIFE COMMISSION--APPOINTMENT--TERM.--

A. There is created a "state wildlife commission"
of seven voting members, all of whom shall possess knowledge of
wildlife, hunting and fishing and be New Mexico residents. The
governor shall appoint the members of the commission with the
advice and consent of the senate from a list of qualified
nominees submitted to the governor by the state wildlife
commission nominating committee. The commission shall select
one commissioner to be chair and one commissioner to be vice
chair. The department shall provide administrative support to
the commission.

B. Three at-large members of the commission shall
hold positions one, two and three, with no more than one member
residing in any one county and with no more than two members
affiliated with the same political party; provided that at
least one member shall be a member of a federally recognized
Indian nation, tribe or pueblo in New Mexico.

C. Four members of the commission shall hold
positions four, five, six and seven, with no more than one
member residing in any one county and with no more than two
members affiliated with the same political party, as follows:

(1) position four, a rancher or farmer who
actively works at growing and selling livestock or crops from a
ranch or farm where at least two big game species, as defined
by and for which hunting is licensed by the department, are
frequently present;

(2) position five, a conservationist who for
the previous four years has been an employee, a member of the
board or a member of an established advisory committee of a
nonprofit wildlife or habitat conservation organization, the
primary focus of which is not game species;

(3) position six, an individual who is both a
hunter and an angler having held both a New Mexico hunting
license and fishing license each of the previous four years;
and

(4) position seven, a scientist who holds at
least a master's degree in wildlife biology, conservation
biology, fisheries science or management, wildlife science or
management or a comparable wildlife field.

D. Except for the initial appointments as provided
in [Section 12 of this 2025 act] Laws 2025, Chapter 9, Section
12, the term of office for each member of the commission shall
be six years.

E. A commissioner shall serve for no more than two
terms after January 1, 2027. A partial term shall be counted
as one full term, unless the partial term is less than one full
year.

F. When a commissioner dies, resigns or no longer
meets the qualifications required for the commissioner's
[original] appointment or misses three consecutive meetings,
that position on the commission becomes vacant. The governor
shall appoint a successor for the remainder of the term from a
list of qualified nominees submitted to the governor by the
state wildlife commission nominating committee.

G. Except when the position of commissioner becomes
vacant pursuant to Subsection F of this section, a commissioner
shall not be removed except for incompetence, neglect of duty
or malfeasance in office. A proceeding for the removal of a
commissioner may be commenced by the governor. A commissioner
shall be given notice of the hearing and an opportunity to be
heard before the commissioner is removed. The supreme court is
given exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings to
remove commissioners, and its decision in connection with such
matters shall be final.

H. A person shall not be eligible to be appointed
as a commissioner if the person changed party affiliation
during the previous four years; provided that a person who
changed party affiliation for the purpose of voting in a
primary election pursuant to Section 1-4-5.7 NMSA 1978 and then
changed party affiliation back to the status of that person's
party affiliation immediately prior to the change within ninety
days shall not be considered to have changed party affiliation
for the purposes of this subsection.

I. The following persons shall serve as advisory,
nonvoting members of the commission:

(1) the director of the New Mexico outdoor
recreation division of the economic development department or
the director's designee;

(2) the director of the New Mexico department
of agriculture or the director's designee;

(3) the commissioner of public lands or the
commissioner's designee; and

(4) the secretary of Indian affairs or the
secretary's designee."

SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is January 1, 2027.

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