New Mexico HB 200: WINDOW SUNSCREEN RESTRICTIONS

Bill Text

HB 200
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AN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; ALTERING THE RESTRICTIONS ON SUN
SCREENING MATERIALS USED ON MOTOR VEHICLE WINDSHIELDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 66-3-846.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
1997, Chapter 151, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"66-3-846.1. SUN SCREENING MATERIAL ON WINDSHIELDS AND
WINDOWS--REQUIREMENTS--VIOLATION--PENALTY.--
A. A person shall not operate on any street or
highway a motor vehicle that is registered or required to be
registered in this state if that motor vehicle has a sun
screening material on the windshield or any window that does
not comply with the requirements of this section.
B. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a
sun screening material:
(1) when used in conjunction with the
windshield, shall be nonreflective, shall not be red, yellow
or amber in color and shall have a light transmission of at
least seventy percent; and
(2) when used in conjunction with the safety
glazing materials of the side wings or side windows located
at the immediate right and left of the driver, the side
windows behind the driver and the rearmost window shall be
nonreflective, shall have a light transmission of not less

HB 200
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than twenty percent and shall be used only on the windows of
a motor vehicle equipped with one right and one left outside
rearview mirror.
C. Each manufacturer shall:
(1) certify to the division that a sun
screening material used by that manufacturer is in compliance
with the nonreflectivity and light transmission requirements
of this section;
(2) provide a label not to exceed one and
one-half square inches in size that:
(a) is installed permanently and
legibly between the sun screening material and each glazing
surface to which it is applied;
(b) contains the manufacturer's name,
the date that the sun screening material was manufactured and
the percentage of light transmission; and
(c) is placed in the left lower corner
of each glazing surface when facing the motor vehicle from
the outside; and
(3) include instructions with the sun
screening material for proper installation, including the
affixing of the label specified in this subsection.
D. A person shall not:
(1) offer for sale or for use any sun
screening material for motor vehicle use not in compliance

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with this section; or
(2) install any sun screening material on
motor vehicles intended for operation on any street or
highway without permanently affixing the label specified in
Subsection C of this section.
E. The provisions of this section do not apply to
a motor vehicle registered in this state in the name of a
person, or the person's legal guardian, who has an affidavit
signed by a physician or an optometrist licensed to practice
in this state that states that the person has a physical
condition that makes it necessary to equip the motor vehicle
with sun screening material that is in violation of this
section. The affidavit shall be in the possession of the
person with such a physical condition, or the person's legal
guardian, at all times while being transported in the motor
vehicle.
F. The light transmission requirement of this
section does not apply to windows behind the driver on truck
tractors, buses, recreational vehicles, multipurpose
passenger vehicles or motor homes. The provisions of this
section shall not apply to motor vehicle glazing that
complies with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
G. The provisions of this section do not apply to
motor vehicles that have sun screening material on the
windshield or any window prior to July 1, 1997.

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H. As used in this section:
(1) "light transmission" means the ratio of
the amount of total light that passes through a product or
material, expressed in percentages, to the amount of the
total light falling on the product or material;
(2) "manufacturer" means any person engaged
in the manufacturing or assembling of sun screening products
or materials designed to be used in conjunction with motor
vehicle glazing materials for the purpose of reducing the
effects of the sun;
(3) "nonreflective" means designed to absorb
light rather than to reflect it; and
(4) "sun screening material" means any film
material, substance, device or product that is designed to be
used in conjunction with motor vehicle safety glazing
materials for reducing the effects of the sun.
I. A person who violates a provision of this
section is guilty of a penalty assessment misdemeanor."
SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2019.