The New Mexico State Legislature voted to send two constitutional amendments to voters in November on Feb. 14. These two constitutional amendments join two others that were certified for the ballot during last year’s legislative session.
The new constitutional amendments are Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1) and Senate Joint Resolution 16 (SJR 16).
SJR 1 would make changes to the appellate judges nominating commission.
Currently, the commission is comprised of:
- the chief justice of the Supreme Court (or his or her designee from the court),
- two judges from the court of appeals appointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals,
- an attorney licensed to practice law in the state appointed by the governor, the speaker of the house, and the president of the senate,
- a citizen not licensed to practice law in any state appointed by the governor, the speaker of the house, and the president of the senate,
- the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law, and
- four members of the State Bar of New Mexico appointed by the president of the state bar and the judges on the commission.
The amendment would specify that the dean of UNM’s law school could also have a designee, who must be an associate dean, a faculty member, a retired faculty member, or a former law school dean. Currently, the dean serves as the chair of the commission and tiebreaker. The amendment would add that the dean’s designee is also authorized to serve as the commission chair.
SJR 1 passed in the Senate by a vote of 27-10 with five absent and in the House by a vote of 55-6 with nine excused or absent.
SJR 16, the other amendment, would authorize the board of county commissioners to set salaries for county officers and clarify that fees collected by the county are deposited into the county treasury. Currently, the state constitution authorizes the state legislature to set the salaries of county officers.
SJR 16 passed in the Senate by a vote of 37-0 with five absent and in the House by a vote of 64-0 with six absent
Two other constitutional amendments were certified to the ballot during the 2023 legislative session. One amendment would proportionally apply the disabled veteran property tax exemption according to a veteran’s disability rating, and the other amendment would increase the property tax exemption for veterans from $4,000 to $10,000, adjusted annually for inflation.
In New Mexico, a total of 125 ballot measures appeared on even and odd-year statewide ballots between 1994 and 2022. One hundred and three (103) ballot measures were approved, and 22 ballot measures were defeated.
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