Section 53-5-8 - Public regulation commission may furnish forms; release of information; penalty.
53-5-8. Public regulation commission may furnish forms; release of information; penalty.
A. The public regulation commission may, upon application, furnish the necessary blank forms used in the preparation of the annual corporate reports.
B. The public regulation commission shall provide pursuant to the provisions of the Public Records Act [Chapter 14, Article 3 NMSA 1978] for the retention, storage and destruction of annual corporate reports filed with the commission.
C. Information obtained from reports filed pursuant to the provisions of the Corporate Reports Act [Chapter 53, Article 5 NMSA 1978] shall be made available to interested persons during proper hours, except that data contained in Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of Section 53-5-2 NMSA 1978 shall not be released unless in statistical form classified to prevent identification of particular corporations.
D. All reports required under the Corporate Reports Act may be used as evidence at any trial or hearing of the public regulation commission.
E. All reports required under the Corporate Reports Act shall be made available to the revenue processing division of the taxation and revenue department upon written request and the revenue processing division shall be subject to the same restrictions upon revealing the information as are imposed by this section upon the public regulation commission.
F. Any other state agency or department or United States agency or department upon written request to the public regulation commission may examine reports filed with the commission upon a showing that the corporate reports sought to be examined are germane to an investigation being conducted by the petitioning agency or department, and any information revealed is subject to Subsection G of this section.
G. Any person who releases information contrary to the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor less than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment in the county jail not more than ninety days nor less than thirty days or by both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the judge.