The New Mexico Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of mandamus against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham about her line-item vetoes of the 2023 tax omnibus.
The writ, filed by Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, in September, alleged that Lujan Grisham did not have the constitutional right to line-item veto any of the tax omnibus bill. The governor in New Mexico has the power to line-item veto bills, but only those with appropriations.
The case is closed due to the denial of the petition.
“My client respects the Court’s judgment. The single paragraph Order the Supreme Court issued today, however, does not explain the Court’s rationale for denying our client’s request to overturn Governor Lujan Grisham’s line-item vetoes to the Legislature’s 2023 omnibus tax bill,” Garcia’s attorney Jacob Candelaria told the NM Political Report via email Thursday. “Given the important unanswered constitutional questions that remain in light of today’s order, I fully expect there will be more litigation on this issue in the future as the executive continues to push the bounds of its authority over the Legislative process and the power of the purse.”
Candelaria is a former state senator.
A writ of mandamus is a court order to a government official “compelling performance of a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty… it is used only when all other judicial remedies have failed,” according to Barron’s Law Dictionary.
The 2024 tax omnibus, HB 252, was recently approved by the House and is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee.
State Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, sponsored the 2024 bill and said they crafted this version to avoid any potential line-item vetoes.
The NM Political Report reached out to the governor’s office for comment but did not hear back.