The Northern New Mexico College Board of Regents wants the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office to issue an opinion on whether graduation instantly excludes a sitting student regent from serving on an institution’s governing body.
Board Vice President Damian Martinez recommended he and his colleagues ask the Office to interpret Constitutional Amendment Two of the New Mexico Constitution.
The interpretation or opinion is needed to help determine if Regent Melinda DeHerrera can continue serving, despite her May 13 graduation.
Martinez expressed concern because according to his interpretation of the law, student regents must be enrolled in classes during his or her time of service.
“The way the statute was written, a student regent should be a part of the student body,” he said. “If she (DeHerrera) is not taking any classes next semester. I think we have a constitutional crisis.”
However, before the Office can get involved, Martinez said the school would have to convince one of the lawmakers that covers Northern, to initiate the request.
“I think we need to get an AG (attorney general) opinion and we need to get the senator to ask for it,” he said.
Martinez was referring to Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties.
Richard Martinez said he has yet to be made aware of the need to seek an opinion or the institution’s need for a new regent.
He said he suspects the failure of the Governor’s Office to appoint, or the Rules Committee’s willingness to confirm, a new regent is politics at its finest.
“I don’t know if the governor isn’t replacing the regents because she is having fights with the Rules Committee,” Richard Martinez said.
Whatever the reason, Northern’s Board has been short a regent for more than two years and DeHerrera’s inability to serve would put the governing body down two members.
The shortage means every time a regent subcommittee, such as the Finance Committee meets, a public notice has to be issued. The issue will notify the public that a quorum of the Board, which in this case is two, may be present.
Bailey suggested the Board reorganize the various committees to eliminate the need for the public notices.
“One possible solution would be to put one staff member and one regent on the committees,” he said.
Removing one regent from the various committees would allow those rule- and policy-making bodies to conduct business out of public view.
Treasurer Kevin Powers said he isn’t sure how long the Office would take to issue an opinion, but believes there is a chance the opinion could leave them short yet another regent.
“If the AG’s opinion is contrary to the email we got, then theoretically, Regent De Herrera would not be a regent,” he said. “There would be a vacancy.”
The email from the Governor’s Office suggested DeHerrera would be able to serve until a replacement is appointed.
However, Garcia said the suggestion violates the state Constitution, which is why the regents are seeking a opinion.
Garcia said it has been quite some time since all five seats were filled, although there are many practical reasons why having the seats filled is advantageous to the school.
For starters, she said it would require fewer demands of individual regents to run the institution.
“It would be great to have a full Board,” Garcia said. “There would be a lot more brain power. It would be less work.”
Regardless of whether the Attorney General’s Office supports the governor’s belief that the student regent could keep her seat, the point is moot if DeHerrera isn’t interested in serving.
Powers publicly expressed, at the June 30 Board meeting, skepticism regarding her ability to balance her busy life and regent commitments.
“I know that it appears she doesn’t really have time or is not in a position to serve, or prefers not be on the Board,” he said. “I am hopeful we will get some action from the Governor’s Office.”
Like her colleagues, DeHerrera said she is hoping to get a definitive answer regarding her Board service, soon.
Despite Powers’s interpretation, DeHerrera said she is willing to stay on to help where needed.
The school’s lack of regents attracted the attention of independent auditors who listed the shortage as a finding on the school’s 2016 Fiscal Year audit.
Gov. Susana Martinez named DeHerrera a regent in early 2015, after the passage of an amendment to New Mexico’s Constitution that gives student regents voting power.
The amendment calls for the Governor’s Office to appoint a member of the student body to a two-year term.
The problem could have been avoided during the 2017 Legislative Session, but the Senate Rules Committee failed to call a confirmation hearing for Josh Martinez.
He is the Northern student the Governor’s Office nominated to serve the next two-year student regent term.
Josh Martinez said he doesn’t know why he wasn’t confirmed, but said he is still ready to serve Northern.
Prior to the amendment passing, students served as regents in a ceremonial capacity.
A representatives from the Governor’s Office said an announcement will follow any appointment to the Board.