Special acequia and community ditch associations

registration plate. A. The department shall issue a standardized special registration plate with a logo as specified in Section 66-3-424 NMSA 1978 to express support for acequia and community ditch associations. B. For an initial fee of thirty dollars ($30.00), which shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fees, an owner of a motor vehicle may apply for issuance of a special acequia and community ditch associations registration plate. The owner shall pay a renewal fee of thirty dollars ($30.00) each year to retain and renew the special acequia and community ditch associations registration plate. C. Revenue from the fees imposed by Subsection B of this section for a special acequia and community ditch associations registration plate shall be distributed as follows: (1) twelve dollars ($12.00) of the initial fee collected for each registration plate shall be retained by the department and is appropriated to the department for the manufacture and issuance of the special registration plates; and (2) eighteen dollars ($18.00) of the initial fee and the entire renewal fee collected for each registration plate shall be appropriated to the acequia and community ditch fund. D. Beginning on July 1, 2027, and on July 1 of each subsequent year, the department shall compare the number of special acequia and community ditch associations registration plates issued and renewed in the previous fiscal year with the average number of such plates issued and renewed in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. If the department determines that the number of special acequia and community ditch associations registration plates issued and renewed in the previous fiscal year is less than fifty percent of the average number of the plates issued and renewed in fiscal year 2025 or 2026, the department may stop issuing special acequia and community ditch associations registration plates.