1998 -NMSC- 15, State ex rel. Taylor v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 29 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 24547,24547
• Citation: 125 N.M. 343,961 P.2d 768,1998 NMSC 15
• Parties: , 1998 -NMSC- 15 STATE of New Mexico, ex rel., J. Paul TAYLOR, Murray Ryan, Mary Jane Garcia, Rita Harrington, Jeanette Jordan, Dorothy Martinez, Norma Ruiz, Patricia Quintana and Roberta Vasquez, Petitioners, v. Hon. Gary JOHNSON, Governor of the State of New Mexico, and William H. Johnson, Secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department, Respondents.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

Page 768

961 P.2d 768

125 N.M. 343, 1998 -NMSC- 15

STATE of New Mexico, ex rel., J. Paul TAYLOR, Murray Ryan Mary Jane Garcia, Rita Harrington, Jeanette Jordan, Dorothy Martinez, Norma Ruiz Patricia Quintana and Roberta Vasquez, Petitioners, v. Hon. Gary JOHNSON, Governor of the State of New Mexico, and William H. Johnson, Secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department, Respondents.

No. 24547.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

May 29, 1998.

Freedman, Boyd, Daniels, Hollander, Guttman & Goldberg, Joseph Goldberg, Michael B. Browde, Robert C. Erickson, New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, Peter M. Cubra, Albuquerque, for Petitioners.

Hinkle, Cox, Eaton, Coffield & Hensley, L.L.P., Thomas M. Hnasko, Jeffrey L. Fornaciari, Santa Fe, for Respondents.

Tom Udall, Attorney General, Patrick T. Simpson, Craig B. Fredwell, Monica M. Ontiveros, Corliss G. Thalley, Elizabeth A. Glenn, Assistant Attorneys General, Santa Fe, for Amicus Curiae.

OPINION

BACA, Justice.

¶1 The Constitution of the State of New Mexico commands that "[t]he powers of the government of this state are divided into three distinct departments, the legislative, executive, and judicial, and no person or collection of persons charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any powers properly belonging to either of the others...." ...." N.M. Const. art. III, § 1. The case before us does not concern the merits of public assistance reform or conflicts of political ideology. Rather, it concerns only the sanctity of the New Mexico Constitution and the judiciary's obligation to uphold the principles therein. "It is the function of the judiciary ... to measure the acts of the executive and the legislative branch solely by the yardstick of the constitution." State v. Mechem, 63 N.M. 250, 252, 316 P.2d 1069, 1070 (1957), overruled on other grounds by Wylie Corp. v. Mowrer, 104 N.M. 751, 726 P.2d 1381 (1986). It is with this yardstick that we take the measure of this case.

¶2 This case began as a challenge of the power of the Executive to effect an extensive overhaul of the state's public assistance system without legislative participation. In the course of the proceedings before this Court, two issues presented themselves. First, the question arose whether Respondents had exceeded their constitutional powers in enacting and implementing certain welfare regulations. Subsequently, after this Court ruled Respondents had violated the constitutional provisions established by the separation of powers doctrine, the question arose whether Respondents had honored this Court's order. This question implicated an even more fundamental concept: respect for the rule of law. We address both questions in this opinion.

¶3 Petitioners filed a Verified Petition for a Writ of Mandamus directed at Governor Gary Johnson and the Secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department ¹ (Respondents). Petitioners alleged that Respondents exceeded their constitutional authority by implementing significant public assistance policy changes without legislative approval. This Court, in a decision rendered from the bench on September 10, 1997, held that Respondents violated the separation of powers provision in Article III, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution. Pursuant to this holding, we issued a Writ of Mandamus requiring Respondents: 1) to desist from the implementation of their public assistance changes; and 2) to administer the public assistance program in full compliance with existing law until it is constitutionally altered or amended by legislation signed into law by the Governor.

¶4 On October 24, 1997, Petitioners filed a motion to hold Respondents in contempt of court, alleging that Respondents were continuing to implement their public assistance changes. On December 10, 1997, the Court held a hearing requiring Respondents to show cause why this Court should not hold them in contempt for failing to comply with the Writ.

¶5 We first restate the holding and fully articulate the reasoning behind our September 10, 1997, decision holding that Respondents violated Article III, Section 1 of the state constitution. Second, we determine that Respondents have not complied with the Writ and, therefore, hold Respondents in indirect civil contempt.

I.

¶6 Congress enacted the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (AFDC) as part of the Social Security Act of 1935. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 601-687 (1994). AFDC created a new federal-state public assistance partnership. The federal government established the primary framework for public assistance programs and offered funding for states that implemented their programs consistent with federal guidelines.

¶7 Soon after the federal government passed AFDC, New Mexico elected to join the federal program, passing implementing legislation now called the Public Assistance Act (NMPAA), NM Laws 1937, ch. 18. ² The NMPAA authorizes administration of the AFDC program and sets the basic formula for determining eligibility. NMSA 1978, § 27-2-5(A) (1982). The Legislature also created the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD), NMSA 1978, § 27-1-1 (1977), to work with the federal government in administering public assistance programs. NMSA 1978, §§ 27-1-2 (1937), 27-1-3 (1982), 27-2-15 (1937).

¶8 In the decades following passage of federal AFDC, Congress made major adjustments to the program. In such instances, the New Mexico Legislature passed, and a governor signed into law, bills adopting the federal changes in New Mexico. See, e.g., NMSA 1978, § 27-2-10 (1973) (food stamp program); NMSA 1978, § 27-2-12 (1973, as amended 1993) (medical assistance); NMSA 1978, § 27-2-6.2(A) (1988) (work requirements).

¶9 The most recent change in federal AFDC occurred with the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996(PRA), Pub.L. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105 (codified at 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 601-19 (West Supp.1997)). The PRA repealed federal statutory and regulatory constraints on state administration of public assistance, permitting the states to create their own programs. To increase states' flexibility, the PRA replaced the former AFDC funding structure with a block grant program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). States now are eligible to receive TANF funds and use them as they wish in their own programs, subject only to minimal federal PRA guidelines. ³

¶10 The PRA's passage spurred legislative and executive action in New Mexico. Anticipating federal public assistance reform legislation in 1995, Governor Johnson submitted a state public assistance reform bill to the New Mexico Legislature in the 1996 legislative session. However, the bill died after failing to reach the floor of the New Mexico House of Representatives. After Congress passed and the President signed the PRA in 1996, the New Mexico Legislature, this time on its own initiative, began considering public assistance reform during its 1997 session. The New Mexico House of Representatives and Senate both passed substantially identical bills both known as the Family Assistance and Individual Responsibility Act (FAIR). The Act would have created a new NMPAA section to accommodate the TANF block grant program requirements and would have authorized HSD to administer the program.

¶11 Soon thereafter, Governor Johnson vetoed the FAIR Act and line-item vetoed language in the General Appropriations Act that allotted money for the FAIR program. He stated in his veto messages that, as the Executive, he possessed authority to exercise the discretion left to the states under the PRA. House Executive Message No. 14 (3/19/97). The Governor argued that the proposed state legislation encroached upon the executive's authority. Id.

¶12 Immediately following his veto, Governor Johnson announced the creation of his own public assistance reform plan, a program he labeled "PROGRESS." His proposed plan modified aspects of public assistance eligibility, support services, and delivery in New Mexico. Governor Johnson also stated that he intended to implement the program's public assistance changes through administrative regulation. Subsequently, HSD held public hearings regarding the proposed regulatory changes, and Respondents' program was adopted, taking effect on July 1, 1997.

¶13 On July 21, 1997, Petitioners filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Mandamus. The Petitioners asserted that Governor Johnson and then-Secretary of HSD, Duke Rodriguez, unlawfully implemented Respondents' program without seeking legislative approval, in violation of both state statute and the New Mexico Constitution's separation of powers provision. This Court held oral argument on September 10, 1997. In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled from the bench that Respondents had violated the New Mexico Constitution, Article III, Section 1. The Court ordered Respondents to:

a) desist from the implementation of their PROGRESS program, and b) to administer the Public Assistance Program in full compliance with New Mexico statutes until such time as existing law is altered or amended by the passage of a bill by the state legislature which is then signed into law by the governor in accordance with the provisions of the New Mexico Constitution.

Transcript of Oral Argument at 36 (9/10/97). When announcing the holding, the Chief Justice also asked the parties, "Are there any questions from counsel?" Id. There were none, and the Court issued the Writ.

II.

¶14 As a threshold matter, we address whether the Verified Petition for Original Writ of Mandamus is properly before this Court. Specifically, we consider two sub-issues: 1) whether this action is properly before this Court as an original proceeding; and 2) whether a writ of mandamus will issue to enjoin a state official from acting or whether it will only issue to compel an official act.

¶15 This Court has original jurisdiction in this proceeding pursuant to ...