Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR McQueen
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 1/24/2025
SHORT TITLE Session Length, Subjects & Overrides,
CA
BILL
NUMBER
House Joint
Resolution 1
ANALYST Hanika-Ortiz
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
Election Costs
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
Total
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
New Mexico Attorney General (NMAG)
Secretary of State (SOS)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Joint Resolution 1
House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR1) proposes an amendment to Article 4, Section 5, of the
Constitution of New Mexico to provide that each regular session of the Legislature shall not
exceed 45 days in length, removes the restrictions on bills that may be considered in even-
numbered years, and provides for consideration of veto overrides for bills of a previous regular,
special, or extraordinary legislative session within the same legislative biennium. If ratified by
voters, the amendment would become part of the New Mexico Constitution and have legal force
of law.
The joint resolution provides that the amendment be submitted to the electorate for approval at
the next general election (November 2026) or at a special election called for the purpose of
considering the amendment. The amendment would only be effective if approved by a majority
of voters.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
House Joint Resolution 1 – Page 2
Under Section 1-16-4 NMSA 1978 and the New Mexico Constitution, the Secretary of State
(SOS) must print samples of the text of each constitutional amendment in Spanish and English in
an amount equal to 10 percent of registered voters in the state. SOS must also publish the
samples once a week for four weeks before 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, 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 move to a 45-day
session each fiscal year should result in savings in odd-numbered fiscal years and additional
costs in even-numbered fiscal years that would balance out. The overall budget impact for the
Legislature and legislative staff is therefore zero.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The amendment would eliminate the distinction between even- and odd-numbered year regular
sessions and limit them both to 45 days. The proposed amendment would also remove subject
matter restrictions on bills and allow veto override bills from any session within the same two-
year period.
With some exceptions, Section 2-6-1 NMSA 1978 imposes a time limit within which bills may
be introduced during sessions of the Legislature, limiting introduction of most bills to the 30
th
legislative day in regular sessions held in odd-numbered years and the 15
th
legislative day in
regular sessions held in even-numbered years. This statute would remain in force, which may not
give the Legislature enough time in certain fiscal years to consider bills and solicit public input.
However, it might give the Legislature and legislative staff more time to finalize the General
Appropriation Act than the time afforded now during the current short session length of 30 days.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
If HJR1 is ratified by voters, and until the change is fully adopted, there will be additional work
for the Legislative Council Service while they update rules and procedures for the Legislature.
Existing staff and budget resources should be able to accomplish this effort.
AHO/rl