SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The New Mexico Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a lawsuit that accuses the governor of overstepping her authority by vetoing funding to the Legislature along with state universities and colleges.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was ordered to respond to a petition from the Democratic-led Legislature that says her line-item vetoes would “effectively abolish” state institutions of higher education and upset the balance of power between branches of government.
Oral arguments were scheduled May 15 in the extraordinary legal challenge that springs from an escalating feud over how to resolve the state’s financial crisis.
Lawmakers sent Martinez a $6.1 billion budget package in March that would boost spending slightly and include several tax increases.
Martinez rejected the tax hikes and issued line-item vetoes that defunded the Legislature and cut $745 million in annual general fund spending to state universities, community colleges and specialty schools.
Michael Lonergan, a spokesman for Martinez, said Monday that the state Constitution gives the governor the right to veto that spending.
“The governor doesn’t believe families should have to shoulder $350 million in tax hikes, and she’s going to continue to block the Senate’s efforts to do so,” Lonergan said in an email.
Martinez plans to call lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a special session to resolve the budget issues.
She has suggested shoring up state finances with further government belt-tightening, including reduced government contributions for employee pensions and suspending spending on infrastructure. Lawmakers from both parties have stressed the need for new long-term sources of state revenue.
The Legislature has the authority to override the governor with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, but Republicans in the House in particular appear unlikely to offer support.
Faltering state tax revenues are linked to a downturn in the oil sector, economic malaise and New Mexico’s unemployment - the highest in the nation.
The situation already has triggered cuts to public school athletic programs, layoffs at state museums and shortages of public defenders.
In its two-page order, the state Supreme Court also sought briefings from a council of six state university presidents about the governor’s line-item vetoes of higher education funding.
The presidents have voiced concerns that the budget stalemate may be frightening off prospective students and eventually could drive up borrowing costs for capital projects and affect academic accreditation.
A possible 7.5 percent tuition increase was under consideration at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in anticipation of further state spending cuts.
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