Sat Mar 8 4:52PM - 13 days, 18 hours left in session
| Sponsors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rep. Debra M. Sariñana | 21 | Bernalillo |
| Sen. Craig W. Brandt | 40 | Sandoval |
| Rep. Alan T. Martinez | 23 | Sandoval |
| Status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| HLVMC ✓ | Passed, Feb 11, with Do Pass recommendation | ||
| HJC | [Referred, not scheduled] | ||
This is the official nmlegis action history. I'm doing my best to translate the LONG/WEIRD-STRING to something less gibberishy. And before you ask, no, the "Legis Day" number has no mapping to the real world.
Actions: [3] HLVMC/HJC-HLVMC [5] DP-HJC
| Legis Day | Action | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | referred | HLVMC/HJC | ||
| 3 | sent | HLVMC | ||
| 5 | passed | HLVMC (view committee report) | DP | 10-0 |
| 5 | sent | HJC |
This table shows bill actions detected on Ed's system, using heuristics that may not be 100% accurate and which may not reflect the "official" nmlegis chronology. It is probably more than you care to know.
| Feb 3 | filed: [Prefiled by Debra M. Sariñana et al; not yet on nmlegis] |
| [new] | |
| sent to HLVMC | |
| title: '[prefiled by Debra M. Sariñana Et Al; Not Yet on Nmlegis]' -> 'Compensation for Veterans' Benefits' | |
| actions: 'HPREF' -> '[3] HLVMC/HJC-HLVMC' | |
| new sponsor: Debra M. Sariñana | |
| new sponsor: Craig W. Brandt | |
| new sponsor: Alan T. Martinez | |
| Feb 6 | scheduled for HLVMC on Tue Feb 11, 13:30 |
| Feb 12 | passed HLVMC; sent to HJC |
| actions: '[3] HLVMC/HJC-HLVMC' -> '[3] HLVMC/HJC-HLVMC [5] DP-HJC' |
HOUSE BILL 245
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Debra M. Sariñana and Craig W. Brandt and Alan T. Martinez
AN ACT
RELATING TO VETERANS' AFFAIRS; PROHIBITING RECEIVING COMPENSATION FOR ASSISTING A PERSON TO OBTAIN VETERANS' BENEFITS EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER FEDERAL LAW; AMENDING THE UNFAIR PRACTICES ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 20 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] COMPENSATION FOR SERVICES RELATED TO VETERANS' BENEFITS MATTERS.--
A. As used in this section:
(1) "compensation" means payment of money, a thing of value or a financial benefit; and
(2) "veterans' benefits matter" means the preparation, presentation or prosecution of a claim affecting a person who has filed or expressed an intent to file a claim for a benefit, program, service, commodity, function or status, entitlement to which is determined under the laws and regulations administered by the United States department of veterans affairs or the United States department of defense pertaining to veterans, their dependents, their survivors and any other individual eligible for such benefits.
B. Pursuant to this section, a person shall not:
(1) receive compensation for preparation, presentation or prosecution of, or advising, consulting or assisting another person with, a veterans' benefits matter, except as permitted under federal law;
(2) receive compensation for referring an individual to another person to prepare, present or prosecute, or advise, consult or assist that person with, a veterans' benefits matter;
(3) receive, with respect to a person's veterans' benefits matter, compensation for services rendered before the date on which a notice of disagreement, decision review or appeal is filed, whichever occurs first;
(4) guarantee, either directly or by implication, that any person is certain to receive specific veterans' benefits or that any person is certain to receive a specific level, percentage or amount of veterans' benefits; or
(5) receive excessive or unreasonable fees, as determined pursuant to 38 C.F.R. Part 14.636, as compensation for preparation, presentation or prosecution of, or advising, consulting or assisting a person with, a veterans' benefits matter.
C. A person seeking to receive compensation for
preparation, presentation or prosecution of, or advising, consulting or assisting another person with, a veterans' benefits matter shall, before rendering any services, memorialize in a written agreement signed by both parties.
D. The provisions of this section do not apply to an accredited representative of a recognized organization or an accredited agent or attorney as provided pursuant to 38 C.F.R. Part 14.629."
SECTION 2. Section 57-12-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 268, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"57-12-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Unfair Practices Act:
A. "person" means, where applicable, natural persons, corporations, trusts, partnerships, associations, cooperative associations, clubs, companies, firms, joint ventures or syndicates;
B. "seller-initiated telephone sale" means a sale, lease or rental of goods or services in which the seller or the seller's representative solicits the sale by telephoning the prospective purchaser and in which the sale is consummated entirely by telephone or mail, but does not include a transaction:
(1) in which a person solicits a sale from a prospective purchaser who has previously made an authorized purchase from the seller's business; or
(2) in which the purchaser is accorded the right of rescission by the provisions of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 1635, or regulations issued pursuant thereto;
C. "trade" or "commerce" includes the advertising, offering for sale or distribution of any services and any property and any other article, commodity or thing of value, including any trade or commerce directly or indirectly affecting the people of this state;
D. "unfair or deceptive trade practice" means an act specifically declared unlawful pursuant to the Unfair Practices Act, a false or misleading oral or written statement, visual description or other representation of any kind knowingly made in connection with the sale, lease, rental or loan of goods or services or in the extension of credit or in the collection of debts by a person in the regular course of the person's trade or commerce, that may, tends to or does deceive or mislead any person and includes:
(1) representing goods or services as those of another when the goods or services are not the goods or services of another;
(2) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, approval or certification of goods or services;
(3) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to affiliation, connection or association with or certification by another;
(4) using deceptive representations or designations of geographic origin in connection with goods or services;
(5) representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits or quantities that they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation or connection that the person does not have;
(6) representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, used or secondhand;
(7) representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality or grade or that goods are of a particular style or model if they are of another;
(8) disparaging the goods, services or business of another by false or misleading representations;
(9) offering goods or services with intent not to supply them in the quantity requested by the prospective buyer to the extent of the stock available, unless the purchaser is purchasing for resale;
(10) offering goods or services with intent not to supply reasonable expectable public demand;
(11) making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the price of goods or services, the prices of competitors or one's own price at a past or future time or the reasons for, existence of or amounts of price reduction;
(12) making false or misleading statements of fact for the purpose of obtaining appointments for the demonstration, exhibition or other sales presentation of goods or services;
(13) packaging goods for sale in a container that bears a trademark or trade name identified with goods formerly packaged in the container, without authorization, unless the container is labeled or marked to disclaim a connection between the contents and the trademark or trade name;
(14) using exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity as to a material fact or failing to state a material fact if doing so deceives or tends to deceive;
(15) stating that a transaction involves rights, remedies or obligations that it does not involve;
(16) stating that services, replacements or repairs are needed if they are not needed;
(17) failing to deliver the quality or quantity of goods or services contracted for;
(18) violating the Tobacco Escrow Fund Act;
(19) violating Section 1 of this 2025 act; or
[(19)] (20) offering or providing unposted or unadvertised pricing or service based on the buyer's gender or perceived gender identity; provided, however, that this provision does not apply to persons regulated by the office of superintendent of insurance pursuant to the New Mexico Insurance Code; and
E. "unconscionable trade practice" means an act or practice in connection with the sale, lease, rental or loan, or in connection with the offering for sale, lease, rental or loan, of any goods or services, including services provided by licensed professionals, or in the extension of credit or in the collection of debts that to a person's detriment:
(1) takes advantage of the lack of knowledge, ability, experience or capacity of a person to a grossly unfair degree; or
(2) results in a gross disparity between the
value received by a person and the price paid."
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