IAL 092408.

• Case Date: September 24, 2008
• Court: New Mexico

New Mexico Attorney Gen eral Opinions 2008. IAL 092408. September 24, 2008IAL 092408You have requested our opinion about the legal status of the South Central Colfax County Special Hospital District ("SCCCSHD"). Specifically, you would like to know whether the district would qualify as a "local public body" for the purposes of the Tort Claims Act and the Procurement Code, and whether the district is a "public employer" for purposes of the Public Employees Retirement Act ("PERA"). Based upon our examination of the relevant New Mexico statutes, opinions and case law authorities, and on the information available to us at this time, we conclude that: (1) the SCCCSHD is a "local public body" under the Tort Claims Act; (2) the SCCCSHD is a "local public body" under the Procurement Code, and; (3) the SCCCSHD is not a public employer for purposes of the PERA. As a preliminary matter, there are several rules of statutory construction that guide our analysis. First, in construing a statute, the goal is to give primary effect to legislative intent. Draper v. Mountain States Mut. Cas. Co., 116 N.M. 775, 777, 867 P.2d 1157, 1159 (1994). Second, under the plain meaning rule, statutory language is given its ordinary and plain meaning unless the Legislature indicates a different interpretation is necessary. Cooper v. Chevron, 2002-NMSC-020, ¶ 16, 132 N.M. 382, 388, 49 P.3d 61, 67. Third, although the requirements of one portion of a statute may be read into requirements of another portion in order to avoid an irrational construction, such statutory construction is unnecessary when there is plausible reason for difference in requirements under two statutory provisions. Bierner v. State, Taxation and Revenue Dept., Motor Vehicle Div., 113 N.M. 696, 698, 831 P.2d 995, 997 (Ct. App. 1992). Tort Claims Act The Tort Claims Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 41-4-1 to -27, defines "local public body" as "all political subdivisions of the state and their agencies, instrumentalities and institutions and all water and natural gas associations organized pursuant to Chapter 3, Article 28 NMSA 1978." NMSA 1978, § 41-4-3(C) (1976) (amended 2007). The SCCCSHD will constitute a "local public body" if it is a political subdivision. The Court of Appeals defines a political subdivision as "formed or maintained for the more effectual or convenient exercise of political...