New Mexico's veto war: the battle over the budget reaches new heights in the land of enchantment.

• Author: McKay, Dan
• Position: POLITICS - Reprint

Attorneys for Governor Susana Martinez asked New Mexico's highest court to uphold her authority to eliminate funding for higher education and the Legislature itself. But they also stressed that the veto of funding isn't permanent: It can be restored in some form during a special legislative session, and no one is in danger of running out of money before then, her attorneys said.

The legal filings came in response to a May 5 deadline issued by the state Supreme Court, which, at the time this magazine went to press, was considering an emergency petition to invalidate Martinez's line item vetoes of funding for higher education and legislative agencies.

Legislative leaders sued the governor in April, arguing that she doesn't have authority to reject funding for an equal branch of government or for educational institutions established in the constitution. They accused her of trying to "effectively abolish" the legislative branch of government and higher education.

The state Supreme Court scheduled a hearing May 15 for oral arguments.

Attorneys for Martinez said the state constitution empowers the executive branch to reject all or parts of spending bills passed by the Legislature--and there's no prohibition on using that power the way she did. Furthermore, her attorneys said, the dispute isn't "ripe" for a court decision yet.

The governor already has called a special legislative session--the appropriate venue to craft a new spending plan for higher education and the Legislature, according to the filing, signed by private attorney Paul Kennedy. "The governor never stated that she is abolishing the Legislature or any state educational institutions," the governor's response said. "Neither the legislative agencies nor the educational institutions have run out of funds, and there is still time to appropriate funds for the next fiscal year." The court, then, should wait to make a decision, the governor's legal team said.

The New Mexico Council of University Presidents also weighed in. The council told the Supreme Court that budget uncertainty is already harming recruitment and retention efforts for faculty and students in some fields. Some of the damage caused by the vetoes is irreparable; some students have already been discouraged. They fear their schools may close or wonder whether they would be better...