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| SPONSOR: | Payne | DATE TYPED: | 02/13/00 | HB | |||
| SHORT TITLE: | Gubernatorial Appointee Reconfirmations | SB | SJR 20/aSJC | ||||
| ANALYST: | Burch | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY00 | FY01 | FY00 | FY01 | ||
| $ 17.0 | Nonrecurring | General Fund | |||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC files
Attorney General
Tourism Department
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
Human Services Department
Labor Department
Department of Environment
Corrections Department
Department of Public Safety
SUMMARY
Synopsis of SJC Amendment
The amendment strikes the word "elective", thus reverting Subsection A to current law providing for appointment of vacancies in any state office.
Synopsis of Bill
The joint resolution proposes to add a new subsection to Section 5 of Article 5 of the of New Mexico Constitution that requires a governor serving a second consecutive term to resubmit his cabinet appointees for reconfirmation or rejection by the Senate.
Significant Issues
Under current law, cabinet secretaries serving under a governor elected to a second consecutive term, are not reconfirmed by the Senate; they continue serve their appointment uninterrupted by confirmation proceedings. The proposal would provide the legislature an opportunity to re-evaluate gubernatorial appointees.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Secretary of State reports that it costs $17.0 to place an item on the ballot. The next general election will be held in November 2000.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Most agencies reported that the reconfirmation process would somewhat increase the administrative burden upon a sitting cabinet secretary who would be required to attend and devote attention to the reconfirmation process. One agency reported that it believes the proposal would cause instability within an agency during the final year of a governor's first term and during the beginning of a governor's second consecutive term.
The Secretary of State will be required to prepare the amendment for placement on the ballot.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
The title of the bill refers to "all gubernatorial appointees", but the text of the bill applies only to "all cabinet appointees". Perhaps the title should be revised to reflect "all cabinet appointees".
DKB/prr:gm