A. Any local public body which does not have on staff a licensed professional engineer, surveyor, architect or landscape architect shall have appointed to it or have the appointment waived by the appropriate New Mexico professional society listed in Subsection D of this section, an individual to serve as a professional technical advisor. The professional technical advisor shall be a senior member of an architectural, engineering, surveying or landscape architectural business with experience appropriate to the type of local public works project proposed and shall be a resident licensed architect, professional engineer, surveyor or landscape architect in the state who possesses at least ten years of experience in responsible charge as defined in the Architectural Act [N.M. Stat. Ann. Chapter 61, Article 15], the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act [N.M. Stat. Ann. Chapter 61, Article 23] or the Landscape Architects Act [N.M. Stat. Ann. Chapter 61, Article 24B], respectively.

B. The professional technical advisor to a local public body shall serve as an agent of the local public body and shall be indemnified and held harmless. He may be reimbursed as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act N.M. Stat. Ann. § 10-8-1 to 10-8-8 for per diem and mileage in connection with his service as a professional technical advisor and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance.

C. The duties and responsibilities of the professional technical advisor shall include but may not be limited to the following activities:

(1)     advise the local public body in the development of requests for proposals for engineering, surveying, architectural or landscape architectural services procured by the local public body;

(2)     advise the local public body in giving public notice of requests for proposals;

(3)     advise in the evaluation and selection of professional businesses to perform services for the local public body, based upon demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of professional services required; and

(4)     assist in contract negotiations.

D. Professional technical advisors shall be obtained through the professional technical advisory board, a consortium of the consulting engineers council of New Mexico and the professional engineers in private practice division of the New Mexico society of professional engineers; the New Mexico professional surveyors; the New Mexico society of architects; or the New Mexico chapter of the American society of landscape architects.

E. No individual or firm whose principal, officer, director or employee serves as a professional technical advisor to a local public body shall be permitted to submit a proposal to the local public body during the period in which the individual, principal, officer, director or employee serves as a professional technical advisor to the local public body; however, nothing in this section shall prohibit an individual or firm from submitting a proposal to any municipality in which the individual or a principal, officer, director or employee is not serving as a professional technical advisor.