SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 5

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald P. Ortiz y Pino

FOR THE LAND GRANT COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT NEW MEXICO'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REPORT ON HISTORICAL INEQUITIES ARISING FROM THE LAND GRANT CONFIRMATION PROCESS FOLLOWING THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO.

     WHEREAS, from the end of the seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, the sovereigns of Spain and Mexico made land grants to individuals, groups and towns in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848 between the United States and Mexico, and Article VIII of the treaty guaranteed that the private property rights of the inhabitants in the ceded territories as well as the rights of their heirs would be respected; and

     WHEREAS, Article VI of the United States constitution affirms that treaties are the supreme law of the land; and

     WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 5 of the New Mexico constitution states that the rights guaranteed to the people of New Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo shall be preserved inviolate; and

     WHEREAS, in 2001, United States Representative Tom Udall introduced H.R. 1823, which would establish a presidential commission to determine and evaluate the validity of certain land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico Senators Pete V. Domenici and Jeff Bingaman and Representative Tom Udall requested that the United States general accounting office study how the United States has implemented the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that pertain to the protection of community land grant claims in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, in 2001, the general accounting office identified lands in New Mexico that it considered to be community land grants, and in 2004, it issued a final report concluding that the treaty was "implemented in compliance with all applicable U.S. legal requirements"; and

     WHEREAS, the report identified options the United States congress could consider in response to concerns regarding New Mexico community land grants, including: (1) taking no additional action; (2) acknowledging difficulties in evaluating the original claims; (3) establishing a commission or other entity to evaluate and resolve concerns about individual claims or categories of claims; (4) considering transferring federal land to communities; and (5) considering making financial payments to claimants' heirs or other entities for the nonuse of land originally claimed but not awarded; and

     WHEREAS, following the issuance of the 2004 general accounting office report, the New Mexico legislature in House Joint Memorial 41 requested that the United States congress support legislation to implement the options suggested by the general accounting office report; and

     WHEREAS, in 2003, the New Mexico legislature created a Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty division in the state attorney general's office; and

     WHEREAS, the division commissioned an independent response to the 2004 general accounting office report, which was prepared by New Mexico legal aid; and

     WHEREAS, having received the report from the attorney general, the legislature believes it to be an excellent and well-researched piece of historical and legal scholarship that raises serious questions and concerns about the general accounting office's legal conclusions, the basis for its reasoning and inequities affecting the historical treatment of land grants in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the evidence presented by the attorney general's report raises serious doubts about the historical fairness of the land grant confirmation process as well as the lack of due process and a misunderstanding by the general accounting office of Spanish and Mexican law;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the attorney general's report be entered into the United States Congressional Record by New Mexico's congressional delegation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, since the ability of the judicial branch of government to address land grant claims has been severely limited by United States supreme court jurisprudence, as made very clear in both the general accounting office report and the attorney general's report, the United States congress should consider all its legislative options to address this important matter; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico legislature call on New Mexico's congressional delegation to take a leadership role in addressing concerns raised in the attorney general's report and to consider fully all appropriate remedies to address the historical treatment of land grant claims in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the members of New Mexico's congressional delegation.

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