1. A. The "community governance attorney and conditional tuition waiver program" is created and shall be administered by the department. The department shall:

   1. (1) promulgate rules to implement and administer the program and for a reasonable living stipend in consultation with the university; provided that the maximum living stipend shall be based upon the availability of funds and information provided by the university regarding the current cost of attendance at the university;
   2. (2) collect and manage repayment from students who do not meet their obligations under the program; and
   3. (3) accept funds for the program, including grants and donations.
2. B. The university shall publicize the program to law students and prospective law students.
3. C. Participants shall enter the program in their final year of law school. The commission shall select participants according to program rules and shall create a standard process for law students to apply to participate in the program.
4. D. The department shall award no more than two new waivers a year, in addition to renewing existing waivers for eligible participants, subject to the availability of funding.
5. E. Participation in the program shall be evidenced by a contract between the participant and the department. The contract shall provide for the payment of a participant's waiver and shall be conditioned upon the participant fulfilling the program obligations and meeting the university's standards for satisfactory academic progress. An applicant to the program shall sign the contract prior to being accepted into the program.

6. F. The contract shall include the following terms for repayment of the waiver:

   1. (1) interest shall accrue upon termination of the participant's course of study at the following interest rates:

      1. (a) eighteen percent per year if the participant completes a course of study and no portion of the principal and interest is forgiven pursuant to Subsection G of this section; and
      2. (b) seven percent per year in all other cases; and
   2. (2) the maximum period for repayment shall be ten years, commencing six months from the date the participant completes or discontinues the course of study.
7. G. The contract shall provide that the department forgive fifty percent of a waiver for each year that a participant is employed full time as a community governance attorney with a maximum salary not to exceed the entry-level salary rate paid by the legal service provider.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 43, § 3; 2021, ch. 103, § 1; 2025, ch. 87, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, transferred the duties to publicize and administer contracts for the community governance attorney and conditional tuition waiver program from the higher education department to the university of New Mexico school of law, transferred the duty of selecting participants to the community governance program from the higher education department to the community governance attorney commission, and raised the maximum salary for community governance attorneys from fifty thousand dollars up to the rate for an entry level salary rate paid by the legal service provider; in Subsection A, deleted former Paragraph A(2), and redesignated former Paragraphs B(3) and B(4) as Paragraphs A(2) and A(3), respectively; added a new Subsection B and redesignated former Subsections B through F as Subsections C through G; in Subsection C, after "The" deleted "department" and added "commission"; in Subsection G, after "maximum salary" deleted "of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year, subject to adjustment by the commission pursuant to Subsection G of this section." and added "not to exceed the entry-level salary rate paid by the legal service provider"; and deleted former Subsection G.

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, provided for the community governance attorney commission to adjust the maximum allowable salaries for attorneys pursuant to the Community Governance Attorney Act; in Subsection F, after "community governance attorney with a", added "maximum", and after "($50,000) per year", added "subject to adjustment by the commission pursuant to Subsection G of this section."; and added Subsection G.