Road and Highway Degradation Prevention Amendment

A. Public duty and measurable standards.

The state shall establish and maintain a program for the timely preservation, repair and rehabilitation of public roads, highways and bridges under its jurisdiction. The department of transportation shall adopt measurable engineering standards for pavement condition, ride quality, structural integrity, drainage and work-zone safety, and shall publish performance targets and time frames for correcting deficiencies.

Local governments participating in state-funded projects shall comply with applicable standards and reporting requirements. Nothing in this section transfers ownership or maintenance responsibility for a road without lawful agreement or legislation.

B. Inventory, priorities and maintenance plan.

Within two years after ratification, the department shall publish a condition inventory and a funded, multiyear maintenance and rehabilitation plan. The plan shall identify hazardous defects, deferred maintenance, estimated project costs, funding available and funding gaps. It shall prioritize imminent safety hazards, preservation that prevents more costly deterioration, and access necessary for communities, emergency services and commerce.

The department shall maintain a public system for reporting hazardous road conditions, adopt risk-based inspection and response procedures, and annually explain missed targets and corrective actions. No fixed backlog amount is established by this section; estimates shall be supported by documented assessments.

C. Road and forestry workforce program.

The legislature shall establish a coordinated public-service workforce program providing suitable assignments in road maintenance or wildfire-prevention and forestry work. The department of transportation, the agency administering public assistance and the agency responsible for forestry shall coordinate assignments with qualified public employers and approved contractors.

Road assignments may include supervised pavement-maintenance support, drainage and culvert cleaning, roadside vegetation management, litter removal, sign-maintenance support and other tasks for which a participant is trained and qualified. Forestry assignments may include supervised hazardous-fuels reduction, brush removal, defensible-space work, watershed restoration and other approved wildfire-prevention activities.

Participants shall be offered a reasonable choice between suitable road and forestry assignments when both are available. If neither is suitable or available, an approved alternative activity shall be provided when required by applicable program law.

D. Covered recipients and participation requirements.

For each public-assistance program that lawfully permits a work or participation condition, the state shall require an adult recipient who is subject to that condition, capable of the assigned work, not exempt, and not already satisfying the applicable requirement through qualifying employment or another approved activity to participate in an available suitable assignment under Subsection C.

Mandatory assignments affecting federally funded benefits shall operate only as authorized by governing federal law, an approved program plan or an effective federal waiver. The state shall seek necessary approvals before implementing a condition that requires them. This section does not independently add an eligibility condition to a benefit program that does not permit such a condition.

Unemployment-insurance recipients may be required to accept suitable paid employment only under applicable unemployment law; unpaid program service shall not independently become a condition of unemployment benefits.

E. Hours, exemptions and necessary support.

Required hours shall comply with the law governing the particular benefit program and shall account for qualifying employment or approved activities already performed. Workfare hours shall not exceed applicable benefit-to-minimum-wage limits. No additional unpaid hours shall be required solely to match a fixed statewide weekly target.

Exemptions, reasonable accommodations and good-cause protections shall include those required by law for disability, illness, age, pregnancy, caregiving, unavailable child care, transportation barriers and other qualifying circumstances. Participants shall receive necessary training, protective equipment and assistance with transportation and child care sufficient to make an assignment practicable. A medical or functional assessment shall be available when capacity to perform an assignment is reasonably disputed.

F. Benefit consequences and procedural protections.

A covered recipient who, without good cause, refuses or fails to comply with a lawful, suitable assignment shall be subject to the reduction, suspension or termination authorized for that program. No sanction shall be imposed merely because no suitable placement is available, required support is unavailable, or the recipient is meeting the requirement through another qualifying activity.

Before a sanction is imposed, the administering agency shall determine applicable exemptions and good cause, give adequate written notice of the proposed action and reasons, and provide an opportunity for a hearing and any continuation of benefits required by law. Reinstatement shall follow applicable program rules. Benefits of children or other household members shall not be reduced beyond what governing law permits.

G. Worker safety, compensation and nondisplacement.

Paid participants shall receive wages, overtime and employment protections required by applicable law. Work-experience or workfare placements shall comply with the standards governing those placements. The program shall not displace existing workers, replace positions affected by a labor dispute, or evade applicable wage, bargaining, procurement or public-works requirements.

Work near live traffic, operation of heavy equipment, structural bridge repairs, prescribed-fire operations and other hazardous duties shall be performed only by personnel with the required qualifications, supervision and safety protections. The program shall provide applicable injury coverage and a means to report unsafe conditions without retaliation. Participation shall not substitute for professional engineering, licensed work or experienced maintenance crews.

H. Dedicated revenues and budget accountability.

Net revenues from motor-fuel taxes that are allocated by law to the state road fund or to local road funds shall remain dedicated to lawful public-road, highway and bridge purposes, including maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and associated safety work. Such revenues shall not be transferred to an unrelated purpose, subject to constitutionally protected existing obligations.

The legislature shall provide recurring funding for implementation through the regular budget process. Agencies shall identify separately the cost of road work, workforce administration and forestry assignments. Road-dedicated revenue shall not finance unrelated forestry work. Existing local allocations, federal funding conditions and binding debt obligations shall be preserved unless lawfully modified.

The state auditor shall audit compliance with dedicated-revenue restrictions and program expenditures. This section imposes no new tax, establishes no automatic appropriation amount and authorizes no debt without approval otherwise required by law.

I. Implementation, reporting and enforcement.

Within one year after ratification, the legislature shall enact implementing law establishing program administration, covered benefit programs, assignment procedures, safeguards and performance reporting. No benefit sanction under this section shall operate before the necessary rules, placements, support services and federal approvals are in effect.

Annual public reports shall state pavement and bridge conditions, hazardous defects corrected, maintenance backlog estimates and methods, expenditures by funding source, participants served, training and employment outcomes, injuries, exemptions, sanctions and successful appeals.

A person with standing under applicable law may seek declaratory or prospective injunctive relief to enforce a definite duty imposed by this section. This section creates no independent right to monetary damages or guarantee of payment for vehicle damage.

J. Construction and effective date.

This section supplements wildfire-prevention programs and does not repeal existing forestry provisions. It shall not impair federal supremacy, tribal sovereignty, reserved rights or applicable local governmental authority. If a provision or application is held invalid, the remaining provisions and valid applications shall remain effective to the extent they can operate independently. This section shall take effect upon ratification by the voters of New Mexico.