SENATE BILL 91

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

David M. Gallegos

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO CHILDREN; ALLOWING PERSONS TO LEAVE INFANTS WITH FIRST RESPONDERS OR IN SAFETY DEVICES FOR THE SURRENDER OF INFANTS, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, WITHOUT CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR ABANDONMENT OR ABUSE OF A CHILD; ALLOWING THE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION OF SAFETY DEVICES FOR THE SURRENDER OF INFANTS; PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTALLATION, OPERATION, MONITORING AND INSPECTION OF THOSE DEVICES; PROVIDING LIMITED IMMUNITY FOR OPERATORS OF THOSE DEVICES; REQUIRING THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT TO ISSUE RULES TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THE SAFE HAVEN FOR INFANTS ACT; REPEALING A SECTION OF THE SAFE HAVEN FOR INFANTS ACT; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

 

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

     SECTION 1. Section 24-22-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter 31, Section 2 and Laws 2001, Chapter 132, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "24-22-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Safe Haven for Infants Act:

          A. "department" means the children, youth and families department;

          [A.] B. "fire station" means a fire station that is certified by the state fire marshal's office;

          C. "first responder" means a public safety employee acting within the scope of the person's employment whose duties include responding rapidly to an emergency and who is:

                (1) a law enforcement officer;

                (2) a firefighter or certified volunteer firefighter; or

                (3) an emergency medical services provider;

          [B.] D. "hospital" means an acute care general hospital or health care clinic licensed by the state;

          [C.] E. "Indian child" means an Indian child as defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978;

          [D.] F. "infant" means a child no more than ninety days old, as determined within a reasonable degree of medical certainty;

          [E.] G. "law enforcement agency" means a law enforcement agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state;

          [F.] H. "safe haven site" means a hospital, law enforcement agency or fire station that has staff on site at the time an infant is left at such a site; [and

          G.] I. "staff" means an employee, contractor, agent or volunteer performing services as required and on behalf of the safe haven site; and

          J. "surrender safety device" means an environmentally controlled incubator device that is:

                (1) designed to keep an infant in a secure and safe environment with sufficient oxygen and at a comfortable temperature for a period of at least three hours;

                (2) capable of being attached to a building in a manner that allows a person to access an infant within the device from inside the building;

                (3) equipped with a transparent door through which an infant is visible and may be retrieved by a person from inside the building; and

                (4) equipped with a safety alarm to immediately notify the operator of the device that an infant is secured within the device."

     SECTION 2. Section 24-22-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter 31, Section 3 and Laws 2001, Chapter 132, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "24-22-3. LEAVING AN INFANT WITH A FIRST RESPONDER OR THE STAFF OF A SAFE HAVEN SITE.--

          A. A person may leave an infant with the staff of a safe haven site or with a first responder at a location other than a safe haven site without being subject to criminal prosecution for abandonment or abuse [if the infant was born within ninety days of being left at the safe haven site, as determined within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, and] if the infant is left in a condition that would not constitute abandonment or abuse of a child pursuant to Section 30-6-1 NMSA 1978.

          B. A safe haven site or a first responder may ask the person leaving the infant pursuant to this section for the name of the infant's biological father or biological mother, the infant's name and the infant's medical history, but the person leaving the infant is not required to provide that information to the safe haven site.

          [C. The safe haven site is deemed to have received consent for medical services provided to an infant left at a safe haven site in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act or in accordance with procedures developed between the children, youth and families department and the safe haven site.]"

     SECTION 3. A new section of the Safe Haven for Infants Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] TRANSFER OF INFANT AT AGREED LOCATION.--

          A. A person may leave an infant with a first responder at a location other than a safe haven site, arranged before the transfer of infant to state custody.

          B. Upon notice that a person plans to surrender a child to a first responder at a location other than a safe haven site, the first responder shall meet at the arranged location and shall accept the infant in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act.

          C. Upon receiving an infant who is left with a first responder at an arranged site in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act, the first responder may provide the person leaving the infant, to the extent practicable, with:

                (1) information about adoption services, including the availability of private adoption services;

                (2) brochures or telephone numbers for agencies that provide adoption services or counseling services; and

                (3) written information regarding whom to contact at the department if the parent decides to seek reunification with the infant.

          D. A first responder shall ask a person leaving an infant at an arranged site whether the infant has a parent who is either a member of an Indian tribe or is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe, but the person leaving the infant is not required to provide that information to the first responder.

          E. Immediately after receiving an infant in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act, a first responder shall inform the safe haven site that the infant has been left at an arranged site and transport the infant to a safe haven site. The safe haven site shall provide the department with all available information regarding the infant and the parents, including the identity of the infant and the parents, the location of the parents and the infant's medical records."

     SECTION 4. A new section of the Safe Haven for Infants Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] LEAVING AN INFANT IN A SURRENDER SAFETY DEVICE.--On or after July 1, 2024, a person may leave an infant inside a surrender safety device without being subject to criminal prosecution for abandonment or abuse of a child if:

          A. the surrender safety device is:

                (1) located on the property and attached as a fixture to a safe haven site;

                (2) conspicuously marked as safe for use pursuant to rules issued by the department; and

                (3) not otherwise marked as unsafe for use;

          B. the person properly secures the infant inside the surrender safety device pursuant to instructions provided at the site of the surrender safety device; and

          C. the infant is left in a condition that would not constitute abandonment or abuse of a child pursuant to Section 30-6-1 NMSA 1978."

     SECTION 5. Section 24-22-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter 31, Section 4 and Laws 2001, Chapter 132, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "24-22-4. SAFE HAVEN SITE PROCEDURES.--

          A. A safe haven site shall accept an infant who is left at [the] a safe haven site or delivered to a safe haven site by a first responder in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act.

          B. In conjunction with the [children, youth and families] department, a safe haven site shall develop procedures for appropriate staff to accept and provide necessary medical services to an infant left at or delivered to the safe haven site [and to the person leaving the infant at the safe haven site, if necessary].

          C. Upon receiving an infant who is left at a safe haven site in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act, the safe haven site may provide the person leaving the infant, to the extent practicable, with:

                (1) information about adoption services, including the availability of private adoption services;

                (2) brochures or telephone numbers for agencies that provide adoption services or counseling services; and

                (3) written information regarding whom to contact at the [children, youth and families] department if the parent decides to seek reunification with the infant.

          D. A safe haven site shall ask [the] a person leaving [the] an infant with the staff of a safe haven site pursuant to Section 24-22-3 NMSA 1978 whether the infant has a parent who is either a member of an Indian tribe or is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe, but the person leaving the infant is not required to provide that information to the safe haven site.

          E. Immediately after receiving an infant in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act, a safe haven site shall inform the [children, youth and families] department that the infant has been left at the safe haven site. The safe haven site shall provide the [children, youth and families] department with all available information regarding the [child] infant and the parents, including the identity of the [child] infant and the parents, the location of the parents and the [child's] infant's medical records."

     SECTION 6. A new section of the Safe Haven for Infants Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CONSENT FOR MEDICAL SERVICES.--A safe haven site or a first responder is deemed to have received consent for medical services provided to an infant left at a safe haven site in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act or in accordance with the procedures developed between the department and the safe haven site."

     SECTION 7. Section 24-22-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter 31, Section 5 and Laws 2001, Chapter 132, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

     "24-22-5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE [CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES] DEPARTMENT.--

          A. The [children, youth and families] department shall be deemed to have emergency custody of an infant who has been left at a safe haven site or delivered to a safe haven site by a first responder according to the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act.

          B. Upon receiving a report of an infant left at a safe haven site pursuant to the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act, the [children, youth and families] department shall immediately conduct an investigation, pursuant to the provisions of the Abuse and Neglect Act.

          C. When an infant is taken into custody by the [children, youth and families] department, the department shall make reasonable efforts to determine whether the infant is an Indian child. If the infant is an Indian child:

                (1) the child's tribe shall be notified as required by [Section 32A-1-14 NMSA 1978 and] the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the Indian Family Protection Act; and

                (2) pre-adoptive placement and adoptive placement of the Indian child shall be in accordance with the provisions of [Section 32A-5-5 NMSA 1978] the Indian Family Protection Act regarding Indian child placement preferences.

          D. The [children, youth and families] department, in collaboration with the public education department, shall perform public outreach functions necessary to educate the public about the Safe Haven for Infants Act, including developing literature about that act and the locations of surrender safety devices and distributing it to safe haven sites.

          E. An infant left at a safe haven site or delivered to a safe haven site by a