NMAGO 00-01.

• Case Date: April 04, 2000
• Court: New Mexico

New Mexico Attorney General Opinions 2000. NMAGO 00-01. April 4, 2000OPINION OF Opinion No. 00-01PATRICIA A. MADRID Attorney General BY: Elizabeth A. Glenn Assistant Attorney General TO: Paula Tackett, DirectorLegislative Council Service 311 State Capitol Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 QUESTION: May a constitutional amendment be proposed during an extraordinary session convened pursuant to Article IV, Section 6 of the New Mexico Constitution?CONCLUSION: Yes. An extraordinary session may be convened in accordance with the procedures specified in Article IV, Section 6 "for all purposes," including the proposal of amendments to the state constitution. FACTS: Members of the New Mexico legislature indicated that they were considering convening in extraordinary session to propose a constitutional amendment to address permissible funding sources for public school construction projects. This consideration raised a question regarding the legislature's authority to act on constitutional amendments during an extraordinary session, which question was viewed as of the utmost importance. ANALYSIS: The legislature is required to conduct sessions as provided in the New Mexico Constitution. Article IV, Section 5 governs the regular legislative sessions, which begin each year on the third Tuesday in January and last 60 days in odd-numbered years and 30 days in even-numbered years. Article IV, Section 6 provides for special and extraordinary sessions. It states, in pertinent part: Special sessions of the legislature may be called by the governor, but no business shall be transacted except such as relates to the objects specified in this proclamation. Provided, however, that when three-fifths of the members elected to the house of representatives and three-fifths of the members elected to the senate shall have certified to the governor of the state of New Mexico that in their opinion an emergency exists in the affairs of the state of New Mexico, it shall thereupon be the duty of said governor and mandatory upon him, within five days from the receipt of such certificate or certificates, to convene said legislature in extraordinary session for all purposes; and in the event said governor shall, within said time, Sundays excluded, fail or refuse to convene said legislature as aforesaid, then and in that event said legislature may convene itself in extraordinary session, as if convened in regular session, for all purposes.... (Emphasis added.) The language pertaining to extraordinary sessions was added to this provision by an amendment approved by the voters in 1948. Reading Article IV, Section 6 alone, the authority granted to the legislature to convene an extraordinary session "for all purposes" could not be broader in authorizing the legislature to address any and all matters it deems necessary, including proposals for constitutional amendments. However, Article XIX, Section 1, which contains the procedures for amending the constitution, has been interpreted to limit the apparent breadth of that authority. Article XIX, Section 1 provides, in applicable part, that amendments "may be proposed in either house of the legislature at a regular session...." (Emphasis added.) In 1951, an opinion issued by then Attorney General Joe L. Martinez reviewed Article IV, Section 6 and Article XIX, Section 1, and concluded that the legislature could act on constitutional amendments only during the regular sessions provided for under Article IV, Section 5. See N.M. Att'y Gen. Op. No. 5398 (1951). This result, according to the opinion, was compelled by Section 5 of Article XIX, which, at that time, prohibited Section 1 from being "changed, altered or abrogated in any manner" except through a constitutional convention. The opinion reasoned that a construction of Article IV, Section 6 permitting the legislature to act on constitutional amendments during an extraordinary session was not possible because it would amount to an amendment of Article XIX, Section 1 outside of a constitutional convention, contrary to the prohibition in Section 5. Article XIX, Section 5 was repealed in 1996. Thus, any obstacle raised by that provision to considering constitutional amendments during an extraordinary session has been removed. In addition, Article XIX, Section 5's repeal makes it less likely that...