CHEMICAL CASTRATION FOR SEX OFFENDERS

HB0312

HOUSE BILL 312

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Stefani Lord
and
John Block

AN ACT

RELATING TO CRIMINAL SENTENCING; PROVIDING FOR CHEMICAL
CASTRATION TREATMENT AS A CONDITION OF PAROLE FOR SEX
OFFENDERS; PROVIDING THAT REFUSAL TO UNDERGO CHEMICAL
CASTRATION TREATMENT IS A PAROLE VIOLATION.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 31-21-10.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003
(1st S.S.), Chapter 1, Section 9, as amended by Laws 2007,
Chapter 68, Section 4 and by Laws 2007, Chapter 69, Section 4)
is amended to read:

"31-21-10.1. SEX OFFENDERS--PERIOD OF PAROLE--TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF PAROLE.--

A. If the district court sentences a sex offender
to a term of incarceration in a facility designated by the
corrections department, the district court shall include a
provision in the judgment and sentence that specifically
requires:

(1)
the sex offender to serve an indeterminate
period of supervised parole for a period of:

[
(1)
]
(a)
not less than five years and
not in excess of twenty years for the offense of kidnapping
when committed with intent to inflict a sexual offense upon the
victim, criminal sexual penetration in the third degree,
criminal sexual contact of a minor in the fourth degree or
sexual exploitation of children in the second degree; or

[
(2)
]
(b)
not less than five years and
up to the natural life of the sex offender for the offense of
aggravated criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual
penetration in the first or second degree, criminal sexual
contact of a minor in the second or third degree or sexual
exploitation of children by prostitution in the first or second
degree;
and

(2) the sex offender to undergo chemical
castration treatment pursuant to Section 31-21-10.3 NMSA 1978
as a condition of parole.

B.
A sex offender's period of supervised parole may
be for a period of less than the maximum if, at a review
hearing provided for in Subsection [
C
]
D
of this section, the
state is unable to prove that the sex offender should remain on
parole.

[
B.
]
C.
Prior to placing a sex offender on parole,
the board shall conduct a hearing to determine the terms and
conditions of supervised parole for the sex offender. The
board may consider any relevant factors, including:

(1) the nature and circumstances of the
offense for which the sex offender was incarcerated;

(2) the nature and circumstances of a prior
sex offense committed by the sex offender;

(3) rehabilitation efforts engaged in by the
sex offender, including participation in treatment programs
while incarcerated or elsewhere;

(4) the danger to the community posed by the
sex offender; and

(5) a risk and needs assessment regarding the
sex offender, developed by the sex offender management board of
the New Mexico sentencing commission or another appropriate
entity, to be used by appropriate parole board personnel.

[
C.
]
D.
When a sex offender has served the initial
five years of supervised parole, and at two and one-half year
intervals thereafter, the board shall review the duration of
the sex offender's supervised parole. At each review hearing,
the attorney general shall bear the burden of proving by clear
and convincing evidence that the sex offender should remain on
parole.

[
D.
]
E.
The board may order a sex offender released
on parole to abide by reasonable terms and conditions of
parole, including:

(1) being subject to intensive supervision by
a parole officer of the corrections department;

(2) participating in an outpatient or
inpatient sex offender treatment program;

(3) a parole agreement by the sex offender not
to use alcohol or drugs;

(4) a parole agreement by the sex offender not
to have contact with certain persons or classes of persons; and

(5) being subject to alcohol testing, drug
testing or polygraph examinations used to determine if the sex
offender is in compliance with the terms and conditions of the
sex offender's parole.

[
E.
]
F.
The board shall require electronic real-time monitoring of every sex offender released on parole for
the entire time the sex offender is on parole. The electronic
monitoring shall use global positioning system monitoring
technology or any successor technology that would give
continuous information on the sex offender's whereabouts and
enable law enforcement and the corrections department to
determine the real-time position of a sex offender to a high
level of accuracy.

[
F.
]
G.
The board shall notify the chief public
defender of an upcoming parole hearing for a sex offender
pursuant to Subsection [
C
]
D
of this section, and the chief
public defender shall make representation available to the sex
offender at the parole hearing.

[
G.
]
H.
If the board finds that a sex offender has
violated the terms and conditions of the sex offender's parole,
the board may revoke the sex offender's parole or may modify
the terms and conditions of parole.

[
H.
]
I.
The provisions of this section shall apply
to all sex offenders, except geriatric, permanently
incapacitated and terminally ill inmates eligible for the
medical and geriatric parole program as provided by the Parole
Board Act.

[
I.
]
J.
As used in this section, "sex offender"
means a person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to or pleads
nolo contendere to any one of the following offenses:

(1) kidnapping, as provided in Section 30-4-1
NMSA 1978, when committed with intent to inflict a sexual
offense upon the victim;

(2) aggravated criminal sexual penetration or
criminal sexual penetration in the first, second or third
degree, as provided in Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978;

(3) criminal sexual contact of a minor in the
second, third or fourth degree, as provided in Section 30-9-13
NMSA 1978;

(4) sexual exploitation of children in the
second degree, as provided in Section 30-6A-3 NMSA 1978;

(5) sexual exploitation of children by
prostitution in the first or second degree, as provided in
Section 30-6A-4 NMSA 1978; or

(6) child solicitation by electronic
communication device, as provided in Section 30-37-3.2 NMSA
1978."

SECTION 2.
A new section of the Probation and Parole Act,
Section 31-21-10.3 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

"31-21-10.3. [
NEW MATERIAL
] CHEMICAL CASTRATION TREATMENT
AS A CONDITION OF PAROLE FOR SEX OFFENDERS.--

A. The district court shall inform a person
required to undergo chemical castration treatment as a
condition of parole about the effect of chemical castration
treatment and any side effects that may result from the
chemical castration treatment. The person shall sign a written
acknowledgment of receipt of the information.

B. A person required to undergo chemical castration
treatment shall begin the treatment no less than one month
prior to the person's release from the custody of the
corrections department.

C. The corrections department shall administer the
chemical castration treatment if the person is incarcerated
during the person's parole term. If the person is released
from the corrections department's custody during the person's
parole term, the person's parole officer shall advise the
person where to receive chemical castration treatment.

D. A person receiving chemical castration treatment
shall authorize the corrections department to share with the
board all medical records relating to the person's chemical
castration treatment.

E. A person receiving chemical castration treatment
shall pay for all of the costs associated with the chemical
castration treatment; provided that a person may not be denied
parole based solely on the person's inability to pay for the
costs associated with the chemical castration treatment
required under this section.

F. A person shall continue receiving chemical
castration treatment until the board determines the chemical
castration treatment is no longer necessary.

G. If a person required to undergo chemical
castration treatment refuses the chemical castration treatment,
the person's parole officer shall report a parole violation to
the board. The refusal to receive chemical castration
treatment shall constitute a violation of the person's parole,
and the person shall be immediately remanded to the custody of
the corrections department for the remainder of the sentence
from which the person was paroled.

H. For the purposes of this section, "chemical
castration treatment" means the use of hormonal drugs such as
medroxyprogesterone acetate or a chemical equivalent to reduce
sexual violence recidivism."

- 8 -