New Mexico

With a population of approximately 2 million, New Mexico ranks as the 36th most populous state, and is the 5th largest by area, at over 121,00 sq miles. As a mountain state it shares one of the Four Corners with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Albuquerque is the largest city and Santa Fe is the state’s capital city.

New Mexico’s economy is heavily reliant on oil-drilling, dryland farming, mineral extraction, lumber, million, cattle ranching, and retail trade. With low/moderate personal tax rates, and favorable tax credits to various business-industries, residents enjoy higher salaries than those in neighboring states. Throughout its history, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Latin and Native Americans, followed by Native American populations (which is second highest in the US, after Alaska). The Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache tribes, which are federally protected Indian Tribes, inhabit the state.

Today, the federal government is highly prominent in the state’s economy, with many federal US jobs being located in the state. There are 3 air bases, testing bases, army ranging grounds, and technology labs throughout the state, all owned by the Federal government.

The government of New Mexico, like the majority of states in the United States, is divided into an executive, legislative and judicial branches.

  • The executive branch includes the Governor and his or her cabinet, as well as the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, Attorney General, and the Commissioner of Public Lands. 
  • The legislative branch includes a bicameral legislature, with a 70-member New Mexico House of Representatives and the 42-member New Mexico Senate.
  • The judicial branch is topped by the New Mexico Supreme Court, a primarily appellate court with limited original jurisdiction; including in cases where the death penalty or life imprisonment is sought, appeals from the New Mexico Regulation Commission, and cases involving the writ of habeas corpus.  The judges are elected, and the governor can appoint a judge to fill a seat that is vacant between elections.

The intermediate-level appellate court is the New Mexico Court of Appeals, consisting of ten judges who hear cases in panels made up of three judges.  The court has appellate jurisdiction over district courts, and some state agencies.  The New Mexico district courts have general jurisdiction over torts, contracts, real property rights, estate, executive domestic relations, as well as exclusive juvenile jurisdiction and criminal appeals jurisdiction.  The district court is broken into thirteen judicial districts.

There are 54 New Mexico Magistrate courts hear cases involving traffic violations, felony preliminary hearings, and landlord/tenant courts.  Additionally, each county has a probate court, which has limited jurisdiction and does not hear jury trials.  The New Mexico municipal courts also have limited jurisdiction and do not hold jury trials, and they hear cases involving petty misdemeanors, DWI/DUI, traffic violations and other municipal ordinance violations.

New Mexico contributes five electoral votes during Presidential Elections, voting for Donald Trump in 2016. Throughout its history, the state has voted for 13 Democratic and 14 Republican candidates.

Coverage of New Mexico laws and regulations by the National Law Review includes data and security breach, medical marijuana legislation and legalization news, employment and labor laws, minimum wage laws, and coverage of immigration news and legislation. Visitors to the National Law Review will find statewide coverage, and news as it relates to locals and other states.

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Mar
18
2024
New Mexico Trial Court Upholds Admissibility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Stark & Stark
Mar
11
2024
New Mexico’s Health Care Consolidation Oversight Act: An Overview Mintz
Feb
21
2024
New Mexico Latest State to Expand Medicaid Behavioral Health Program, Add Mobile Crisis Intervention Program Mintz
Jan
31
2024
USDA Awarding $19 Million in Grants to U.S. Business Owners to Increase Access to Clean, Affordable Domestic Biofuels Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.
Dec
22
2023
Wells Fargo Retail Branch Employees Vote to Join Union Hunton Andrews Kurth
Dec
11
2023
Oppenheimer Isn't the Only Los Alamos Blockbuster This Year. EPA Has Another One with Its Exercise Of Its Residual Designation Authority There! Mintz
Nov
13
2023
Nature May Abhor a Vacuum But North Carolina Has Learned the Same Isn't True of Europeans with PFAS They Don't Want Mintz
Nov
6
2023
CMS’ Making Care Primary (MCP) Model: Applications Due November 30, 2023 Foley & Lardner LLP
Oct
5
2023
Crushed By Default: Court Enters $570,000.00 Judgment Against TCPA Defendants Based on Only 200 Calls ($2,850.00 each!) When They Fail to Show Up In Court Troutman Amin, LLP
Sep
1
2023
CMS Announces New Voluntary Multi-payer Primary Care Model in Eight States McDermott Will & Emery
Aug
8
2023
Transforming Primary Care: CMS Launches Making Care Primary (MCP) Model Mintz
Jul
19
2023
Trending in Telehealth: June 27 – July 10, 2023 McDermott Will & Emery
Jul
6
2023
New York Updated Name, Image, and Likeness Law Expands Definition of Student-Athlete, Limits NCAA Authority Jackson Lewis P.C.
Jun
20
2023
Drug-Testing Limits and OSHA Protocols in Region 6 [PODCAST] Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Apr
3
2023
FFF Sovereign Immunity Series – Part VII Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Mar
10
2023
Proposed Changes to Dsh Payment Calculation Regulations Could Impact 340B Hospitals McDermott Will & Emery
Dec
27
2022
Success! Success! Success! U.S. Department of Agriculture
Dec
13
2022
Telecom Alert: Providers Support 10-10.5 GHz NPRM; FCC Blocks Student Loan Robocalls; CPF Grants for Colorado, New Mexico; ECF Funding [Vol. XIX, Issue 50] Keller and Heckman LLP
Nov
4
2022
Independent Physician Association Enforcement Not Forgotten Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Oct
17
2022
STAY PUT: City of Albuquerque Receives Discovery Stay in TCPA Suit Over Tele-Townhalls Troutman Amin, LLP
Aug
30
2022
Interior Department Determines ‘Tier 2 Shortage Conditions’ on Colorado River Requiring Additional Water Delivery Cuts, Other Actions in 2023 Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Aug
11
2022
New Mexico Proposes Regulations Addressing Gross Receipts Tax Treatment of Digital Advertising Services McDermott Will & Emery
Aug
2
2022
EPA Announces Permian Emissions Monitoring Flyovers in Texas and New Mexico Beveridge & Diamond PC
Jul
13
2022
The Latest in Multi-Jurisdictional Paid Sick Leave Compliance Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Jun
29
2022
New Mexico’s Paid Sick Leave Law Becomes Effective on July 1, 2022 Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Jun
25
2022
Sick Leave for All New Mexico Employees Begins July 1: What Employers Should Know Jackson Lewis P.C.
Jun
21
2022
OSHA Reminds Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas Employers to Protect Workers From Heat-Related Illness Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Jun
21
2022
Impending Sackett Decision: Reach of Wetlands Jurisdiction Continues to Be ‘Notoriously Unclear’ But Perhaps Not for Long Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Apr
20
2022
Hydrogen Rising: New Mexico Secretary of Environment James Kenney Discusses the State’s Multiple Hydrogen-Focused Initiatives [PODCAST] K&L Gates
Mar
10
2022
New Mexico Governor Signs Bill to Impose 36% Rate Cap and Tough Anti-Evasion Provisions Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Jan
31
2022
Pharmacy Benefit Managers Licensing and Compliance Developments Polsinelli PC
Jan
13
2022
New Mexico County Recovering from Ransomware Attack Robinson & Cole LLP
Jan
4
2022
Cannabis Legislation Year-in-Review Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jan
3
2022
Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on …Did You Remember to Make Necessary Changes to Comply with New 2022 State and Local Wage-Hour Laws? Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Dec
28
2021
State Law Round-Up: Year-End Edition (US) (Part 2 of 2) Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Dec
21
2021
Minimum Wage Increases in 2022: A Chart of Upcoming Changes and Interactive Map Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Dec
16
2021
Privacy Tip #311 – New Mexico AG Serious About Children’s Privacy Protections Robinson & Cole LLP
Oct
27
2021
A New Layer to EPA's PFAS Roadmap Mintz
Sep
2
2021
U.S. Treasury Announces $5 Billion Allocation of New Markets Tax Credit Awards Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Aug
27
2021
New Mexico Attorney General Files COPPA Suit Against Game Developer Hunton Andrews Kurth
Aug
26
2021
Privacy Tip #298 – Help AGs Try to Protect Children’s Data Robinson & Cole LLP
Aug
17
2021
Marijuana Legalization Rundown: New Legislation Across Several States Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Aug
14
2021
EPA, New Mexico Collaborate with Sceye on Air Quality Monitoring Initiative U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Aug
10
2021
The Hot Coffee Case Revisited: Has Proximate Cause Changed in the 25 Years Since Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants? ArentFox Schiff LLP
Aug
2
2021
Can Employers Make COVID-19 Vaccinations Mandatory? Katz Banks Kumin LLP
Jun
28
2021
A Bankruptcy Conundrum: When You Must Seek Relief To Seek Relief Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
May
20
2021
The Trend Towards Legal Recreational Cannabis: Considerations for Employers Hunton Andrews Kurth
May
7
2021
State Name, Image, and Likeness Laws With July 1st Effective Dates Continue To Grow Jackson Lewis P.C.
May
4
2021
COVID-19: US State Policy Report – April 28-29, 2021 Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
May
1
2021
Marijuana Laws Affecting the Workplace: Tools Employers Can Use to Stay Ahead During High Times Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
 

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