AGO 06-03.

• Case Date: December 22, 2006
• Court: New Mexico

New Mexico Attorney General Opinions 2006. AGO 06-03. December 22, 2006OPINION OF PATRICIA A. MADRID Attorney General Opinion No. 06-03BY: Sally MalavèAssistant Attorney General TO: The Honorable Peter WirthState Representative, District 471035 Camino de la Cruz BlancaSanta Fe, New Mexico 87505QUESTIONS PRESENTED: (1) Whether the Legislature has the authority to create a statewide magnet school for the arts without amending Article XII, § 11 of the New Mexico Constitution; (2) If so, whether the magnet school may adopt admissions requirements that limit enrollment to artistically talented students; (3) Whether a new statewide magnet school may associate with an existing community college or four-year university or be created as a division of either one of these institutions under the current status of the law; and (4) Whether such a school may operate independently but administratively attached to the Higher Education Department or one of the state educational institutions confirmed by Article XII, § 11 in a manner similar to regional education cooperatives, attached to the Public Education Department under NMSA 1978, § 22-2B-3A. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The Legislature has the authority to create a statewide magnet school for the arts without amending Article XII, § 11 of the state constitution. 2-4. See analysis below. ANALYSIS: Article XII, Section 11 of the New Mexico Constitution, confirming certain institutions as state educational institutions, need not be amended before the Legislature enacts legislation establishing a statewide magnet school for the arts. While your initial question to us was limited to the Legislature's authority to create a statewide magnet school for the arts as a state educational institution without amending Article XII, § 11, we believe Article XII, § 1 also is implicated because it mandates the establishment of a "uniform" school system and therefore begs the question whether this constitutional provision precludes the Legislature from creating a singular statewide magnet school for the arts.(fn1) After reviewing that provision as well, we conclude that Article XII, Section 1, charging the Legislature with establishing and maintaining a uniform system of free public schools sufficient for the education of all school-age children in the state, does not preclude the Legislature from creating a statewide magnet school for the arts. As a preliminary matter, several principles of statutory construction, applicable also to the interpretation of constitutional provisions, guide our analysis. See Postal Finance Co. v. Sisneros, 84 N.M. 724, 724 (1973). First, in construing a constitutional provision, as in construing a statute, our goal is to give primary effect to the drafter's intent, which intent is evidenced primarily through the provision's language. See Souter v. Ancae Heating and Air Conditioning, 2002-NMCA-078, 132 N.M. 608, 611. We interpret a constitutional provision's language to accord with common sense and reason. See Morning Star Water Users Ass'n, Inc. v. Farmington Mun. Sch. Dist., 120 N.M. 307, 319 (1995). We read provisions concerning the same subject matter together as harmoniously as possible in a way that facilitates their operation and achievement of their goals. See Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rodarte, 2004-NMSC-035, 136 N.M. 630, 634-5. Article XII, Section 11. Applying the above principles to Article XII, Section 11 of the New Mexico Constitution, we find its language clear. It provides in pertinent part that the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Highlands University, Western New Mexico University, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico Military Institute, New Mexico School for Blind and Visually Impaired, New Mexico School for the Deaf, and the New Mexico State School at El Rito "are hereby confirmed as state educational institutions." See N.M. Const., art. XII, § 11, as amended. Simply put, the state is made owner of the educational institutions identified in Article XII, Section 11, those institutions having been previously granted by Congress to the State through the Enabling Act for New Mexico, Act of June 20, 1910, 36 Statutes at Large, chap. 310, § 8. See State v. Regents of University of New Mexico, 32 N.M. 428, 430 (1927). While the Legislature may not alter the status of any of these state educational institutions without amending the state constitution, this provision otherwise does not prohibit the Legislature from establishing additional schools as state educational institutions. See Pollack v. Montoya, 55 N.M. 390, 393...