Rep. Joseph Cervantes (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Members of the House gave unanimous approval today to legislation that would create an independent commission to examine how the N.M. Constitution compares with those of other states and propose changes.
House Bill 207, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, now heads to the Senate.
During discussion of the bill on the House floor, Cervantes said the Constitution talks about “novel things” such as polygamy, but also deals with more relevant topics, like when the Legislature will meet. He said it’s time to consider updating the document.
House members voted 65-0 to send the bill to the Senate.
The commission would include 15 members representing both political parties and different regions of the state. Those who would have appointment power include the governor, House speaker, Senate president pro tempore and the N.M. Legislative Council.
All with power to appoint members would have to make bipartisan selections. For example, the bill would give the speaker the power to appoint three members, but no more than two could belong to the same political party.
The commission would be required to report back to the Legislature no later than 30 days before the start of the 2013 session.
The legislation seeks $100,000 to fund the commission’s work. Though Cervantes has proposed such a commission in the past, and the House has voted in favor of it, this year the House Appropriations and Finance Committee OK’d funding it for the first time.
The Senate has never voted on Cervantes’ proposal.