The following document is an analysis of 2 proposed amendments to the New Mexico Constitution that will be voted on by the voters of New Mexico in the 2000 Election on Tuesday, November 7, 2000.
In brief:
A vote "Yes" for Proposal 1 will provide a mechanism for Bernalillo county to become an urban county and a mechanism to merge with the city of Albuquerque to form a single urban government.A vote "Yes" for Proposal 2 will eliminate term limits for county elected officials.
All information contained herein comes directly from the New Mexico Legislative Council Service; the only changes made are these (TEXT AS WRITTEN HAS REMAINED UNCHANGED):
- 1. "Hyperlinks" have been added for convenience, allowing the reader to click on various topics in order to "jump" to the corresponding information.
- 2. Color shading has been added to emphasize the text of the proposed amendments.
- 3. The "Analysis" section produced by the New Mexico Legislative Council Service has been duplicated and moved to the TOP of the document for easy overview by the reader.
Analysis: Constitutional Amendment 1 (CA 1) proposes to add two new sections to Article 10, the local government article of the constitution, to provide a mechanism for Bernalillo county to become an urban county and a mechanism to merge with the city of Albuquerque to form a single urban government. The amendment provides that initially an election must be held before January 1, 2002 on whether the county should become an urban county. The amendment then calls for a second election to be held before January 1, 2004 on whether the county should merge with the city of Albuquerque to form a single urban government.
TEXT OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
ANALYSIS
ARGUMENTS FOR ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT 1
ARGUMENTS AGAINST ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT 1
Analysis:
Constitutional Amendment 2 eliminates term limits for county elected officials. The current constitutional provision prohibits elected county officials from seeking any county office after two four-year terms but allows them to seek county office again after a two-year layoff. This amendment would remove all restrictions. If adopted, elected county officials could seek and be elected to an unlimited number of terms, consecutive or otherwise.
TEXT OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
ANALYSIS
ARGUMENTS FOR ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT 2
ARGUMENTS AGAINST ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT 2
The following arguments for and against this proposed amendment do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations undertaken during the time from its introduction to passage. They represent the suggestions of the legislative council service staff of possible arguments in support of and in opposition to the proposed amendments. No attempt has been made to ensure the validity or consistency of these arguments. Cogent and valid arguments may have been omitted by oversight. No attempt has been made to have the same number of arguments for or against any particular amendment, and no weight for or against an amendment should be based on the number of arguments.CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 1
A JOINT RESOLUTION
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 10 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO PERMIT BERNALILLO COUNTY TO BECOME AN URBAN COUNTY WITH ALL GOVERNMENTAL POWERS THAT ARE NOT EXPRESSLY DENIED BY LAW AND TO FURTHER PERMIT BERNALILLO COUNTY AND INCORPORATED MUNICIPALITIES WITHIN BERNALILLO COUNTY TO CHOOSE TO BE GOVERNED BY A SINGLE URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. It is proposed to amend Article 10 of the constitution of New Mexico by adding a new section to read:
"A. A county that is less than one thousand five hundred square miles in area and has, at the time of this amendment, a population of three hundred thousand or more may become an urban county by the following procedure:
(1) the board of county commissioners shall, by January 1, 2001, appoint a charter commission consisting of not less than three persons to draft a proposed urban county charter;
(2) the proposed charter shall provide for the form and organization of the urban county government and shall designate those officers that shall be elected and those officers and employees that shall perform the duties assigned by law to county officers; and
(3) within one year after the appointment of the charter commission, the proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the county and, if adopted by a majority of those voters, the county shall become an urban county. If, at the election or any subsequent election, the proposed charter is not adopted, then, after at least one year has elapsed after the election, pursuant to this section another charter commission may be appointed and another proposed charter may be submitted to the qualified voters for approval or disapproval.
B. An urban county may exercise all legislative powers and perform all governmental functions not expressly denied to municipalities, counties or urban counties by general law or charter and may exercise all powers and shall be subject to all limitations granted to municipalities by Article 9, Section 12 of the constitution of New Mexico. This grant of powers shall not include the power to enact private or civil laws except as incident to the exercise of an independent municipal power, nor shall it include the power to provide for a penalty greater than the penalty provided for a misdemeanor. No tax imposed by the governing body of an urban county, except a tax authorized by general law, shall become effective until approved by a majority vote in the urban county.
C. A charter of an urban county shall only be amended in accordance with the provisions of the charter.
D. If the charter of an urban county provides for a governing body composed of members elected by districts, a member representing a district shall be a resident and elected by the registered qualified electors of that district.
E. The purpose of this section is to provide for maximum local self-government. A liberal construction shall be given to the powers of urban counties.
F. The provisions of this section shall be self-executing."
Section 2. It is proposed to amend Article 10 of the constitution of New Mexico by adding a new section to read:
"A. A county that is less than one thousand five hundred square miles in area and has, at the time of this amendment, a population of three hundred thousand or more, and whether or not it is an urban county pursuant to Section 1 of this amendment, may provide for a single urban government by the following procedure:
(1) by January 1, 2003, a charter commission, composed of eleven members, shall be appointed to draft a proposed charter. Five members shall be appointed by the governing body of the county, five members shall be appointed by the municipality with a population greater than three hundred thousand and one member shall be appointed by the other ten members;
(2) the proposed charter shall:
(a) provide for the form and organization of the single urban government;
(b) designate those officers that shall be elected and those officers and employees that shall perform the duties assigned by law to county officers;
(c) provide for a transition period for elected county and city officials whose terms have not expired on the effective date of the charter; and
(d) provide for a transition period, no less than one year, to ensure the continuation of government services; and
(3) within one year after the appointment of the charter commission, the proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters and, if adopted by a majority of those voters, the municipalities in that county with a population greater than ten thousand shall be disincorporated and the county shall be governed by a single urban government. If the proposed charter is not adopted by a majority of the qualified voters, then another charter commission shall be appointed and another election, within twelve months of the previous election, shall be held. If the proposed charter is not adopted by a majority of the qualified voters at the second or any subsequent election, then after at least two years have elapsed after the election, pursuant to this section another charter commission may be appointed and another proposed charter may be submitted to the qualified voters for approval or disapproval. As used in this paragraph, "qualified voter" means a registered voter of the county.
B. Upon the adoption of a charter pursuant to Subsection A of this section, any municipality within the county with a population greater than ten thousand is disincorporated and no future municipalities shall be incorporated. A county that adopts a charter pursuant to this section may exercise those powers granted to urban counties by Section 1 of this amendment and is subject to the limitations imposed upon urban counties by that section. A county that adopts a charter pursuant to this section has the same power to enact taxes as any other county and as any municipality had before being disincorporated pursuant to this section.
C. A municipality, with a population of ten thousand or less, in a county that has adopted a charter pursuant to this section may become a part of the single urban government by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters within the municipality voting in an election held upon the filing of a petition containing the signatures of ten percent of the registered voters of that municipality. If a majority of the voters elect to become a part of the single urban government, then the municipality is disincorporated.
D. All property, debts, employees, records and contracts of a municipality disincorporated pursuant to this section shall be transferred to the county and become the property, debts, employees, records and contracts of the county. The rights of a municipality, disincorporated pursuant to this section, to receive taxes, fees, distributions or any other thing of value shall be transferred to the county. Any law granting any power or authorizing any distribution to a municipality disincorporated pursuant to this section shall be interpreted as granting the power or authorizing the distribution to the county.
E. The provisions of this section shall be self-executing."
Section 3. The amendment proposed by this resolution shall be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at the next general election or at any special election prior to that date which may be called for that purpose.
ANALYSIS Constitutional Amendment 1 (CA 1) proposes to add two new sections to Article 10, the local government article of the constitution, to provide a mechanism for Bernalillo county to become an urban county and a mechanism to merge with the city of Albuquerque to form a single urban government. The amendment provides that initially an election must be held before January 1, 2002 on whether the county should become an urban county. The amendment then calls for a second election to be held before January 1, 2004 on whether the county should merge with the city of Albuquerque to form a single urban government.
The New Mexico supreme court, in a challenge to the validity of the proposal, ruled in August that CA 1 did not improperly propose two amendments in a single question in violation of Article XIX, Section 1 of the state constitution. The court ruled that the proposed amendment should be submitted to the voters in November.
The provisions in each section of CA 1, for each form of government, are self-executing. Put simply, no additional acts of the legislature are necessary to implement the amendment; and pursuant to its terms, the voters of Bernalillo county could choose either form of government or first approve creation of an urban county and then later approve merging with Albuquerque to form a single urban government. The specific provisions and procedures for each section and form of government follow.
Urban County Section 1 of CA 1 directs Bernalillo county to propose to its voters that the county become an "urban county" as defined in that section. Specifically, the current board of county commissioners must appoint by January 1, 2001 a charter commission of not less than three members to draft a proposed urban county charter, which must be submitted to the voters of the county within one year, i.e., prior to January 1, 2002.
The proposed charter must provide for the form and organization of the urban county government and must designate those officers who will be elected and those officers and employees who will perform the statutory duties of current county officers.
If the proposed charter is rejected by the voters, the board of county commissioners may appoint another charter commission after one year has elapsed. Presumably, any future proposals would follow the initial procedures for creating an urban county government.
An "urban county" is essentially a home-rule county. As provided in the amendment, an urban county:
may exercise all legislative powers and perform all governmental functions not expressly denied municipalities, counties or urban counties by general law or charter and may exercise all powers and shall be subject to all limitations granted to municipalities by Article 9, Section 12 of the constitution of New Mexico. This grant of powers shall not include the power to enact private or civil laws except as incident to the exercise of an independent municipal power, nor shall it include the power to provide for a penalty greater than the penalty provided for a misdemeanor. No tax imposed by the governing body of an urban county, except a tax authorized by general law, shall become effective until approved by a majority vote in the urban county.
The urban county charter must contain provisions for amending the charter. If the charter provides for a governing body composed of districted members, they must be residents of the district and elected by the registered qualified electors of that district.
Section 1 makes clear that its purpose is to provide for maximum self-government and requires a liberal construction of the powers of urban counties.
Single Urban Government Section 2 of CA 1 authorizes Bernalillo county, whether or not it becomes an urban county, to merge with Albuquerque to form a single urban government. Again, the section provides specific procedures to be followed. By January 1, 2003, an 11-member charter commission must be appointed to draft a proposed charter. Five members will be appointed by the board of county commissioners, five members will be appointed by the largest municipality in the county (Albuquerque) and one member will be appointed by those 10 members.
The proposed charter must:
•provide for the form and organization of the new government;
•designate those officers who shall be elected and those officers and employees who shall perform the statutory duties of existing county officers;
•provide for a transition period for elected county and municipal officials whose terms have not expired on the effective date of the charter; and
•provide for a transition period of not less than one year to ensure the continuation of government services.
Within one year after the commission's appointment, by January 1, 2004, the proposed charter must be submitted to the voters. If the voters approve the charter, Albuquerque will be disincorporated and Bernalillo county will be governed by a single urban government. All revenue, distributions, property, debts, employees, records, contracts and powers of a disincorporated municipality will be transferred to the county. Moreover, no future municipalities may be incorporated within the county. The new government has the same power to enact taxes as any other county and as any municipality had prior to being disincorporated pursuant to this section.
If the voters reject the charter, this section requires that another charter commission be appointed and another election be held within 12 months of the first election. If the voters reject the charter at the second or subsequent election, any future charter commissions must wait at least two years between elections.
Section 2 also allows a municipality with a population of 10,000 or less, i.e., Los Ranchos de Albuquerque or Tijeras, to become part of the single urban government by majority vote of the qualified voters in the municipality voting in an election for that purpose. The election will be held upon the filing of a petition containing the signatures of 10 percent of the registered voters in the municipality. Upon voter approval, the municipality will be disincorporated and be governed by the single urban government.
Disclaimer
The following arguments for and against this proposed amendment do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations undertaken during the time from its introduction to passage. They represent the suggestions of the legislative council service staff of possible arguments in support of and in opposition to the proposed amendments. No attempt has been made to ensure the validity or consistency of these arguments. Cogent and valid arguments may have been omitted by oversight. No attempt has been made to have the same number of arguments for or against any particular amendment, and no weight for or against an amendment should be based on the number of arguments.
Arguments for the Amendment: 1. Constitutional Amendment 1 addresses the complex and changing needs of the state's major metroplex. Not only has there been significant growth in the Albuquerque metro area in the last decade, but since 1980 Albuquerque has grown from 100 to 170 square miles and the number of non-agricultural jobs has increased by more than 50,000. Population growth and regional economic development have blurred the lines between county and city. As the community grows and the needs become more complex, a single unified government is both logical and necessary. Think about the major challenges facing the metro area--land use, water conservation, resource management, air and water quality, public safety, transportation, economic vitality, and cultural and regional diversity. The most effective way to face those challenges is together as a single, unified government, not as two governments duplicating services and competing with each other.
2. While some may see CA 1 as containing two separate questions, the proposed amendment is actually a logical two-step process in the development of a single urban government. The two-step process first enables the county to develop a home-rule charter and address important issues that relate only to the change in the county's governance. Once the voters have spoken on the urban county issue, the city and county can then work on the final unification of the county and the city into a single urban government. While it may appear somewhat complex and seem like two forms of government, it is actually a fairly straightforward and coherent process to develop a unified metropolitan government over a three-year period--from January 1, 2001 to January 1, 2004. The two-step process is important because it allows time for citizens to focus first on the major changes in county government, and once that is completed, to focus on the final unification with the city. The amendment provides almost a full year to develop each charter and provides clear charter commission appointment deadlines and membership requirements, as well as the deadline for submitting each proposed charter to the voters for approval. In sum, the two-step process will allow the appropriate amount of time and best process to address all the issues and complexities that will arise from developing a new unified form of metropolitan government.
3. Constitutional Amendment 1 is about choice. This proposal gives residents of Bernalillo county an opportunity to determine what type of government is in their best interests. The amendment simply offers residents of the county an opportunity to consider the advantages of creating a "home rule" county and, subsequently, whether to merge Bernalillo county with the city of Albuquerque into a single urban government. They may choose the first and then the second option, or the first or the second, or neither. Choosing either option offers "home rule" advantages in autonomy and flexibility that are likely to enable the urban county or single urban government to be more responsive to community needs. Moreover, residents would have an opportunity to shape the charters of both the urban county and the single urban governments, with the possibility of "grass roots" participation in the design of the kind of governance that best fits their situation. Residents of the area deserve an opportunity to consider these choices.
4. If Bernalillo county were to become an urban county, its powers would be almost identical to the home rule powers of Albuquerque, and agreements between the two entities providing for joint exercise of authority would be easier to develop. Both the county and municipality would be free to continue the present autonomy where appropriate. The differences between the urban area and the rural county area could be recognized and the laws and programs tailored to fit. As an urban county, Bernalillo county would be on the same footing as Albuquerque. Equality of authority within the respective political subdivision would require more cooperation and reduce the animosity of some county residents toward the city arising from the currently perceived inequality.
5. The addition of stronger self-government authority for Bernalillo county will result in less dependency on the state legislature to provide both laws and financial resources for Bernalillo county. This has worked successfully for the city of Albuquerque. For example, the county, like Albuquerque, would be able to apply directly to the federal government for grants instead of competing with other local governments for scarce federal resources that come through New Mexico's state government. Additionally, if voters approve a single, urban government, the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo county will no longer be competing separately for capital funds and other state resources that often duplicate or conflict with each other.
6. In developing an urban county charter, CA 1 gives Bernalillo county the option to decide whether to continue to have elected county officials or provide for their appointment. This includes the county assessor, clerk, sheriff and treasurer. In addition, the charter commission may decide to have a larger governing body, say of seven or 10 members, thus creating more commission districts to provide better representation for all county residents. As for appointment of officials, many have argued that this will result in the hiring of more professional and better qualified officials, in particular for the positions of assessor and treasurer in Bernalillo county. In fact, the charter commission can choose to retain some officials as elected and change some to appointed positions. All in all, this amendment provides a unique and useful opportunity to choose the best way to provide for both professional and accountable public officials in Bernalillo county.
7. Merging Bernalillo county and Albuquerque into a single urban government will result in the more efficient, and possibly less expensive, coordination of services within the city-county area and reduce the current overlap and duplication of services. In fact, the city and county are already moving in that direction. For example, the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo county currently have over 60 joint powers agreements and a number of other intergovernmental agreements in place to coordinate, merge or share services. These agreements govern such joint efforts as the Bernalillo county detention center, a unified library system, the Albuquerque and Bernalillo county air quality control board, the metropolitan forensic service center and a ground-water protection policy and action committee. The metropolitan water/wastewater board that includes Bernalillo county, the city of Albuquerque and the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is already involved in a joint planning effort, and since 1998 an extraterritorial land use commission and extraterritorial land use authority have had city and county elected officials working together on land use issues. In all, more than 40 governmental functions are shared or coordinated between the two governments. With all of these joint and consolidated efforts, it seems obvious to question whether, for example, two purchasing departments, two open space departments, two planning departments, two fire departments and both a municipal police and a county sheriff's office are still needed. Everything is moving toward consolidation. Why not simply go ahead and approve a single urban government? Such unification would eliminate unnecessary duplication, inefficiency and competing layers of government.
8. The concerns about the impacts of this unification on rural residents of Bernalillo county may be misplaced. For example, the proponents of the amendment say there is a commitment to the adoption of the Albuquerque-Bernalillo county comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 1998 and is the guiding document now used by the extraterritorial land use commission. As an urban county, the charter commission will be drawing new districts and residents of distinct areas, such as the south valley, may have better representation. Also, since the structure of the new single, unified government is an entirely new idea, there is a great deal of opportunity to address the differences in needs and services for fully urban areas and rural areas of the county in new and creative ways. Maintaining the rural character of certain areas in the county will probably be no more difficult under a new form of government than it is now, and the amendment provides an opportunity to give rural county residents a more effective voice in their destiny.
9. Since a single urban county government would have the taxing authority of both a class A county and a municipality, this combined taxing power would maximize the production of revenue locally and provide a single authority for establishing priorities for expenditures.
Arguments Against the Amendment: 1. The proposed amendment unfairly proposes two independent questions in a single amendment. One question is whether Bernalillo county should be given the option of becoming an urban county. The other is whether Bernalillo county and Albuquerque should be given the option of becoming a single urban government. Voters are precluded from choosing to favor or oppose only one of the independent propositions; they must choose both or none. It isn't difficult to think of voters who favor broadening the county government's powers, for example, but want nothing to do with combining Bernalillo county and Albuquerque into a single government. Those voters face the dilemma of choosing to vote against an idea they favor (strengthening Bernalillo county's powers) because an idea they oppose (merging with the city of Albuquerque) may also result, or of voting in favor of an idea they oppose in order to support an idea they favor.
2. Authorizing a single urban government with home-rule powers to address the needs of a growing metro area is a fine idea. However, why not include Rio Rancho and Sandoval county or even Belen, Los Lunas and Valencia county? They are an important, perhaps crucial, part of the metro "mix". Shouldn't a unified government include them? In the alternative, it may have been a better idea to also give Sandoval county the opportunity to become a home-rule county or join with Rio Rancho to create a single urban government. In any case, it appears this amendment does not really address the problems of the "entire" metro area. In fact, the proposed amendment may exacerbate the problems and make it harder to meet the needs of all of the metro area. It also does not offer a home-rule option for other growing counties such as Santa Fe and Dona Ana. If this is an idea whose time has come, governments and residents in the metro area will craft a better proposal to present to the voters in the 2002 general election.
3. The wishes of the residents in the unincorporated areas of Bernalillo county will be overwhelmed first by the wishes of voters statewide when the proposal is voted on and second, if the amendment is approved, by the wishes of the voters in Albuquerque. In effect, the residents of the unincorporated portions of Bernalillo county have lost control of their destiny; voters living outside of the unincorporated area of Bernalillo county will decide whether Bernalillo county may become an urban county and whether Bernalillo county and Albuquerque should be merged.
4. Giving the urban county charter commission and later the single urban county charter commission the authority to determine which elective offices should be changed to appointed offices potentially takes power away from the voters. Voters may be faced with voting for a charter that changes some or all elected county offices to be appointed offices. In that case, voters who want to vote for the home-rule powers of an urban county or a single urban government, but want to keep all county officers elected, will face an unfortunate and unnecessary dilemma. In another case, voters who do not like the idea of an urban county or single urban government may want to support changing elected county officers to appointed. These voters too will face an unfortunate and unnecessary dilemma; they must vote for the whole package or none of it.
5. Both the amendment itself and its procedures are confusing. The amendment appears to offer two separate approaches to changing Bernalillo county government that have been patched together. Either section of the amendment by itself is relatively straightforward, directing the establishment of a charter commission to develop a charter and put the question of a change in Bernalillo county government to the voters. Together they become confusing. This is not one subject and one process. The voters can choose one or the other or both or none. Becoming a single urban government does not depend on Bernalillo being an urban county. One option can be pursued without the other. If the idea is really to seek single urban government status for Albuquerque and Bernalillo county, why go through the urban county "step" and require two charter commissions and two elections? There will be almost no time to operate as an urban county before a charter commission must be established to work on developing a single urban government. This will certainly be a confusing situation. Add to this mix the potential changes in expanding the county governing body and changing county offices from elected to appointed, and it becomes even more confusing. It may well be that the confusion inherent in this amendment has a great deal to do with the fact that it is written as two separate options and processes. The way it is written, it appears that either urban county status or a single, urban government are different and independent options sandwiched together and pushed on Bernalillo county voters consecutively. Voters may rightly ask why Bernalillo county is pursuing two different forms of government almost simultaneously. Conversely, if voters take at face value the county's claim of pursuing only a single unified government, they will no doubt ask why it chose such a convoluted, confusing, costly and time-consuming way to get to the point of developing this new form of government.
6. Adopting this amendment initiates the process of merging Bernalillo county and Albuquerque. When that happens, the urban forces will destroy both the autonomy of the county and its ability to maintain a rural environment for those who prefer it. A single, large governmental authority would be less responsive to the unique needs and desires of relatively small "communities" or neighborhoods within it. The political clout of residents of some unincorporated areas of Bernalillo county may erode depending upon how the proposed charter for the single urban government is written.
7. Although the provisions for a single urban government appear to give small municipalities such as Los Ranchos the option to retain their autonomy, an island in the sea of the megapolis is not likely to be a workable arrangement. Perhaps more importantly, the effect of a single, urban government on municipalities within the county has not been thought through and may in fact present serious problems. The only model in the state currently is Los Alamos, which is an incorporated county with no municipalities within its boundaries. In this proposal, the new entity, unlike Los Alamos, will have other municipalities within its boundaries; however, like Los Alamos, it has all the powers of a home-rule municipality. This may create some interesting situations and problems, such as whether the new unified government's "municipal" taxes and zoning requirements, for example, would be imposed within these small municipalities within the unified government's boundaries. The legislature could certainly expressly deny a unified government the power to impose certain taxes or zoning requirements in municipalities located within the government's territory, but under current law such taxes and zoning requirements appear to apply to everyone within the municipal (i.e., unified government) boundaries. It is likely other similar problems will arise and at this point it appears no one has looked at the various laws governing home-rule municipalities to determine the actual powers of this new type of unified government and how any resulting problems will be addressed or solved.
8. Potential problems have not been thought through before proposing this amendment to the people. As an example, how does one accommodate the reality that Rio Rancho and Corrales are located both in Bernalillo county and Sandoval county? There are also the problems noted above regarding the relationship between a unified government and the municipalities within that government's territory. Moreover, if this is truly a new type of government, there are also a multitude of questions about how it would wield the home-rule powers of both a municipality and a county, with very little state oversight and a great deal of autonomy. And, just as an interesting question, what happens when the city of Albuquerque disincorporates to be subsumed into the new single urban government? Bernalillo county is still a county, but Albuquerque is no longer a city. Does the name Albuquerque go away or will we still call "something" Albuquerque? Unlike Los Alamos, which is an incorporated county, it is a whole new kind of government. What are the implications of disincorporating Albuquerque and giving very broad home-rule authority essentially to Bernalillo county?
9. By freezing this proposal into the constitution, all future flexibility will be lost unless another constitutional amendment is adopted. Because the second section requires at least one additional submission of a proposed charter to the voters after initial rejection, and both sections permit repeated submission, the subject may be revisited ad nauseam with the attendant costs of charter preparation and voting.
10. It is poor policy to place provisions having only local application in the constitution, especially when the amendment may not be needed. A general provision already exists for the formation of an incorporated county with broad powers (Article 10, Section 5, constitution of New Mexico), and this provision could be amended to allow Bernalillo county to qualify. Current statutory law also allows cities and counties to merge into a single government (Chapter 3, Article 16, NMSA 1978), making this proposed amendment unnecessary.
11. Voters may want to think twice about giving to a single urban government all of the taxing powers of its constituent municipal and county governments. While the taxing powers of an urban county or single urban government are limited in this constitutional amendment to what the state legislature authorizes by general law, metro area legislators represent nearly one-third of the legislature and, if they wished, would likely be able to get legislation passed authorizing additional taxing authority for such urban governments.
DISCLAIMER
This publication contains the full text of the joint resolutions proposing the constitutional amendments. New material proposed to be added to an existing section of the constitution is shown by underscoring; language proposed to be deleted is shown within brackets. When an entire new section of the constitution is being proposed, the joint resolution states that fact.
Following the text of each proposed amendment is an analysis of the amendment and summaries of arguments most commonly made for and against the amendment. These arguments do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations undertaken during the time from introduction to passage of the proposed amendments. They represent the suggestions of the legislative council service staff of possible arguments in support of and in opposition to the proposed amendments.
No attempt has been made to ensure the validity or consistency of these arguments. Cogent and valid arguments may have been omitted by oversight. No attempt has been made to have the same number of arguments for or against any particular amendment, and no weight for or against an amendment should be based on the number of arguments.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 2 A JOINT RESOLUTION
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 10, SECTION 2 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO ELIMINATE TERM LIMITS FOR COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. It is proposed to amend Article 10, Section 2 of the Constitution of New Mexico to read:
"A. In every county all elected officials shall serve four-year terms, subject to the provisions of Subsection B of this section.
B. In those counties that prior to 1992 have not had four-year terms for elected officials, the assessor, sheriff and probate judge shall be elected to four-year terms and the treasurer and clerk shall be elected to two-year terms in the first election following the adoption of this amendment. In subsequent elections, the treasurer and clerk shall be elected to four-year terms.
C. To provide for staggered county commission terms, in counties with three county commissioners, the terms of no more than two commissioners shall expire in the same year; and in counties with five county commissioners, the terms of no more than three commissioners shall expire in the same year.
D. [
All county officers, after having served two consecutive four-year terms, shall be ineligible to hold any county office for two years thereafter.] The number of terms that elected county officials may serve shall be unlimited."Section 2. The amendment proposed by this resolution shall be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at the next general election or at any special election prior to that date which may be called for that purpose.
ANALYSIS
Constitutional Amendment 2 eliminates term limits for county elected officials. The current constitutional provision prohibits elected county officials from seeking any county office after two four-year terms but allows them to seek county office again after a two-year layoff. This amendment would remove all restrictions. If adopted, elected county officials could seek and be elected to an unlimited number of terms, consecutive or otherwise.
Disclaimer
The following arguments for and against this proposed amendment do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations undertaken during the time from its introduction to passage. They represent the suggestions of the legislative council service staff of possible arguments in support of and in opposition to the proposed amendments. No attempt has been made to ensure the validity or consistency of these arguments. Cogent and valid arguments may have been omitted by oversight. No attempt has been made to have the same number of arguments for or against any particular amendment, and no weight for or against an amendment should be based on the number of arguments.
Arguments for the Amendment: 1. Term limits violate democracy's basic premise that voters have the ultimate power to select who represents them. By artificially forcing certain incumbents off the ballot, term limits deprive voters of their right to elect the candidate of their choice.
2. Term limits, especially in New Mexico's sparsely populated counties, artificially limit the pool of available and qualified candidates for elective office. It is illogical to arbitrarily limit a person's opportunity to continue serving in office, but it is especially objectionable when there may be few qualified and willing candidates to replace the official who is forced out.
3. Term limits really don't work anyway. Observe how often an elected official and an experienced appointed deputy merely exchange offices each time the term limit bar comes into play. This practice is approved by the voters who support the view that the electorate would rather have continuity of experience rather than paranoia about entrenchment.
4. Enforced term limits relegate valuable experience to the trash heap along with institutional memory and operational continuity. With no senior officeholders around to share their knowledge and experience, more power is vested with unelected and unaccountable people. We should make it easier, not harder, for qualified individuals to remain in public office. Term limits preclude the development of seniority. The establishment of seniority can produce positive results, such as the seniority that might benefit an official's constituents.
5. Term limits produce a "lame duck" incumbent during a second term. The office holder does not have to worry about being accountable to the electorate if he makes bad or wrongly motivated decisions.
6. This section of the constitution has been amended three times in attempts to find satisfactory combinations of terms of office and term limits for county officials. It is time to end this impossible quest and do away with a flawed public policy.
Arguments against the Amendment: 1. New Mexico has had term limits for elected county officials since statehood. Over the years, the details have changed but the principles have held fast. Why change a proven concept?
2. A constitution should not be subjected to constant change. This provision has been changed twice in the past eight years. It is offensive to the validity and reliability of our state constitution to change its language that often.
3. The current provision only produces an enforced retirement for two years. That is long enough to allow some new blood and new ideas to have a chance without forever prohibiting former officeholders from returning to office. If the voters don't like the change, they have an early opportunity to reinstate the former office holders.
4. Currently, the second term of a county official permits the innovation of programs and ideas without the fear of being defeated in a bid for reelection. Term limits provide an environment for change that is sorely needed in local government.
5. We have all seen the emergence of fiefdoms resulting from continued office-holding, and this has occurred in the past even with some type of term limit. To do away with the limitation would be an invitation to those who seek absolute power.
6. Term limits are good for democracy because they lower the entry barriers to political office that discourage challengers. Term limits lower entry barriers by reducing the advantage of incumbency, including years of free political advertising, a wealth of political contacts and growing staff support. This in turn encourages additional challengers to take the risks of mounting their own campaigns.
7. Term limits, by preventing the accumulation of seniority by certain officials, reduce inequalities in the distribution of the legislative powers of county commissioners. An equal distribution of legislative power is a fundamental democratic goal. Without term limits, some county commissioner districts might have senior incumbents who wield enormous power, while other districts have junior members with very little power.
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