PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 4, SECTION 22 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO REQUIRE THE GOVERNOR TO PROVIDE VETO MESSAGES ON ALL BILLS VETOED IN WHOLE OR IN PART AND TO PROVIDE THAT ALL BILLS PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND NOT ACTED ON BY THE GOVERNOR WILL BECOME LAW.
Ballot title word order differs between sources: SOS guide and Santa Fe County list read "TO REQUIRE THE GOVERNOR TO PROVIDE VETO MESSAGES ... AND TO PROVIDE THAT ALL BILLS ... WILL BECOME LAW"; earlier SOS publication 2026-CA-and-GOB-Questions.pdf (Aug 2026, now 404) as indexed by search read "to provide that all bills ... will become law and to require veto messages". Guide version used; not resolved.
fiscal_impact comes from a legislative-session fiscal analysis of the resolution, not a voter-guide fiscal statement; version analyzed is stated in notes.
NM publishes no "a YES vote means" statements; yes_means/no_means null.
Arguments are neutral staff summaries (Legislative Council Service), not advocate-signed arguments.
No official fiscal note in the guide for constitutional amendments.
GAP-FILL 2026-10-10: fiscal_impact quoted verbatim from New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, Fiscal Impact Report, "FISCAL IMPLICATIONS" section (https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/25%20Regular/firs/HJR02.PDF). Single-sourced (one official document). FIRs are prepared for standing finance committees during the session; LFC disclaims accuracy for other purposes. Covers the resolution as last analyzed.
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 4, SECTION 22 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO REQUIRE THE GOVERNOR TO PROVIDE VETO MESSAGES ON ALL BILLS VETOED IN WHOLE OR IN PART AND TO PROVIDE THAT ALL BILLS PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND NOT ACTED ON BY THE GOVERNOR WILL BECOME LAW.
Not published by the state
Not published by the state
In 2025, the New Mexico Legislature passed Constitutional Amendment 1, which, if adopted, would amend Article 4, Section 22 of the Constitution of New Mexico to remove what has been referred to as the "pocket veto". The pocket veto occurs when, after the adjournment of the legislature, the governor does not sign a bill that was presented to the governor during the last three days of session. By not acting on the bill, the bill does not become law. Constitutional Amendment 1 proposes to flip this dynamic. If this proposed amendment is approved by voters, a bill presented to the governor during the last three days of the session would by default become law if the governor does not issue a veto message within 20 days after the legislature's adjournment. In order to veto a bill passed by the legislature, the governor would be required to provide a written, substantive explanation for the veto.
Under Section 1-16-4 NMSA 1978 and the New Mexico Constitution, the Secretary of State (SOS) is required to print samples of the text of each constitutional amendment in both Spanish and English in an amount equal to 10 percent of the registered voters in the state. SOS is required to publish the samples once a week for four weeks preceding the election in newspapers in every county in the state. Further, the number of constitutional amendments on the ballot may impact the ballot page size or cause the ballot to be more than one page, also increasing costs. The estimated cost per constitutional amendment is $35 thousand to $50 thousand, depending on the size and number of ballots and if additional ballot stations are needed. Should this proposed constitutional amendment be approved by voters, a cost that is indeterminate but minimal may impact the Office of the Governor if additional support is needed to review bills passed by the Legislature and prepare veto messages as applicable. Another cost burden mentioned by Office of the Governor could be costly legal challenges related to explanations given by the Governor.
1. Provides greater transparency to the public and the legislature regarding why a governor vetoed a bill. With the ability to pocket veto a bill, the governor can veto a bill passed by both chambers of the legislature without an explanation. This can leave the public and the legislature in the dark about what objections the governor had and does not provide information on how the bill might be reintroduced in the future in a manner that the governor would sign. By using the pocket veto, the governor is able to avoid explaining the governor's position on potentially politically sensitive pieces of legislation. Eliminating the pocket veto would ensure that a substantive explanation is given by the governor for the veto, the public knows the opinion of the governor on the legislation and the legislature understands how to address the governor's concerns. 2. Potentially brings greater balance among the branches of government. The governor's ability to pocket veto a bill gives the governor great power over the enactment of laws passed by the legislature. With the elimination of the pocket veto, the legislature would have an increased chance of passed bills becoming law, especially for a politically fraught bill, because to veto a bill, the governor would have to be intentional about the veto and provide a reason. The proposed amendment would also provide an avenue for the judicial branch to weigh in on whether the governor has provided a "substantive explanation" for the veto if the explanation is challenged.
Summary of arguments as published in the NM SOS 2026 Voter Guide (sourced from the NM Legislative Council Service publication "Constitutional Amendments 2026"); no individual author named
1. This proposed amendment is unnecessary and could be overly burdensome. The proposed amendment is unnecessary because the legislature currently can require the governor to provide a reason for vetoing a bill by presenting the bill to the governor before the last three days of a session. The legislature also has the option to override a governor's veto, regardless of the governor's rationale for pocket vetoing a bill. Further, with only 20 days to act after the adjournment of the legislature, providing a written, substantive explanation for every bill to be vetoed could be overly burdensome and create a logjam of work in the executive branch in the short time after session that the governor has to consider legislation for signature or veto. This could result in "bad bills" becoming law because the governor ran out of time before a veto message could be written. 2. The requirement to provide a "substantive explanation" is undefined. To veto a bill, the governor would be required to provide a "substantive explanation" for the veto, but there is nothing in the proposed amendment to indicate what that would entail. This could lead to an increase in litigation between the legislative and executive branches at a cost to the taxpayers. Additionally, the litigation could delay the enactment of a bill, leaving the public in limbo as to whether or when the law will be in effect.
Summary of arguments as published in the NM SOS 2026 Voter Guide (sourced from the NM Legislative Council Service publication "Constitutional Amendments 2026"); no individual author named
Both columns use the same layout. Text is quoted from the official state guide. Views expressed belong to the argument authors.