An unclaimed body, the disposition of which is the responsibility of the county pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 24, Article 13 NMSA 1978, may be cremated upon the order of the county official responsible for ensuring the disposition of the body or upon the order of any other government official authorized to order the cremation. Absent a showing of bad faith or malicious intent, the official ordering the cremation and the person or establishment carrying out the cremation shall be immune from liability related to the cremation. History: 1978 Comp., § 24-12A-3, enacted by Laws 1999, ch. 241, § 3; 2023, ch. 162, § 7. ANNOTATIONSThe 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, removed 'indigent persons' from the scope of the section; in the section heading, deleted 'and bodies of indigent persons'; and deleted 'The body of an unclaimed decedent or an indigent person' and added 'An unclaimed body'.
New Mexico Legal Code