Secretary of state seeking change
Toulouse Oliver wants to change NM referendum process
SANTA FE — For years, attempts to repeal New Mexico laws via the state’s referendum process were few and far between.
That changed this year, when Republican-leaning groups submitted about 60 referendum petitions aimed at striking down bills passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, including laws that ban coyote-killing contests and prohibit local “right-to-work” ordinances.
Now, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is seeking to change the referendum process to give her office more time to respond to petitions.
In a recent interview, Toulouse Oliver said the rush of referendum petitions — many submitted by self-described “patriot” groups — were a burden on her office, which was forced to hire outside attorneys to help meet a 10-day response requirement in state law.
“They all came in within a couple months of the session,” said Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat who was elected as New Mexico’s top elections official in 2016 and re-elected last year.
She said her proposal to push
the response deadline to 30 days after a referendum petition is received would not make it more difficult for such efforts to be launched — or change when they could be filed.
“That’s a constitutional process and we have no quibble with the voters of the state being able to petition,” Toulouse Oliver said. “That’s democracy.”
The proposed changes in New Mexico law would be intended “just to make sure we have enough time to do it right, do it well and not have an overly burdened general counsel,” she added.
With a 30-day legislative session set to start next month, Toulouse Oliver said she hoped to discuss the issue with Gov. Michelle Lujan
Grisham.
Adding the bill to the session’s agenda would require the governor’s approval, as the shorter 30-day sessions held in even-numbered years are generally limited to budgetary matters and issues authorized by the governor for consideration.
A Lujan Grisham spokeswoman said Friday the governor’s agenda has not been finalized, and proposed changes to the referendum process have not been “ruled out.”
Meanwhile, all 60 or so referendum petitions submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office this year were ultimately rejected, either for technical reasons or because of a constitutional prohibition on repealing laws that were enacted for “public peace, health or safety.”
Since statehood, just three referendum attempts had been officially launched, and only one — in 1930 — was ultimately successful in repealing a state law, according to the Legislative Council Service.
In large part, that’s because such efforts require a large amount of voter signatures — at least 10% of the number who voted in last year’s general election — in order to make it on the general election ballot, even if the secretary of state approves the initial petition.
Among other bills, Toulouse Oliver said the Secretary of State’s Office will also push for legislation that would make changes aimed at clarifying what voters are required to include when returning absentee ballots, after a recent legal kerfuffle in Dona Aña County.
The 30-day session starts Jan. 21.