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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 12
57
TH LEGISLATURE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
FIRST SESSION
, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Nathan P. Small and Charlotte Little and Sarah Silva
and Anita Gonzales and Javier MartÃnez
A JOINT RESOLUTION
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 12, SECTION 13 OF THE
CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO ESTABLISH THE FIDUCIARY DUTIES OF
MEMBERS OF BOARDS OF REGENTS OF STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS,
VEST DISTRICT COURTS WITH ORIGINAL JURISDICTION OVER ACTIONS TO
REMOVE BOARD MEMBERS AND PROVIDE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR A
MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS OF A BOARD OF REGENTS MAY SEEK REMOVAL
OF A MEMBER.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. It is proposed to amend Article 12, Section 13
of the constitution of New Mexico to read:
"A. The legislature shall provide for the control
and management of each of the institutions, except the
university of New Mexico, by a board of regents for each
institution, consisting of five members, four of whom shall be
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qualified electors of the state of New Mexico, one of whom
shall be a member of the student body of the institution and no
more than three of whom at the time of their appointment shall
be members of the same political party; provided, however, that
the student body member provision in this subsection shall not
apply to the New Mexico school for the deaf, the New Mexico
military institute or the New Mexico school for the blind and
visually impaired, and for each of those three institutions all
five members of the board of regents shall be qualified
electors of the state of New Mexico.
B. The governor shall nominate and by and with the
consent of the senate shall appoint the members of each board
of regents for each of the institutions. The terms of
nonstudent members shall be for staggered terms of six years,
and the terms of student members shall be two years.
C. The governor shall select, with the advice and
consent of the senate, a student member from a list provided by
the president of the institution. In making the list, the
president of the institution shall give due consideration to
the recommendations of the student body president of the
institution. Following the approval by the voters of this 2014
amendment and upon the first vacancy of a position on the
northern New Mexico state school board of regents, the governor
shall nominate and by and with the consent of the senate shall
appoint a student member to serve a two-year term.
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D. The legislature shall provide for the control
and management of the university of New Mexico by a board of
regents consisting of seven members, six of whom shall be
qualified electors of the state of New Mexico, one of whom
shall be a member of the student body of the university of New
Mexico and no more than four of whom at the time of their
appointment shall be members of the same political party. The
governor shall nominate and by and with the consent of the
senate shall appoint the members of the board of regents. The
present five members shall serve out their present terms. The
two additional members shall be appointed in 1987 for terms of
six years. Following the approval by the voters of this
amendment and upon the first vacancy of a position held by a
nonstudent member on the university of New Mexico's board of
regents, the governor shall nominate and by and with the
consent of the senate shall appoint a student member to serve a
two-year term. The governor shall select, with the advice and
consent of the senate, a student member from a list provided by
the president of the university of New Mexico. In making the
list, the president of the university of New Mexico shall give
due consideration to the recommendations of the student body
president of the university.
E. Each member of a board of regents holds a
position of trust and owes a fiduciary duty to the institution
that the member serves, and the member's control and management
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of that institution shall at all times be subject to and
limited by the member's adherence to the member's fiduciary
duty. The fiduciary duties of each member of a board of
regents include a duty of undivided loyalty; a duty of due care
and prudent administration of the member's responsibilities; a
duty to act in good faith; and an obligation to conduct
business in accordance with the laws of the state of New Mexico
and the internal policies of the institution that the member
serves. The fiduciary duties of a board of regents of an
institution extend to any of the institution's administrators
to whom the board of regents delegates its authority. The
legislature may provide for additional duties for a board of
regents and may define the scope of the board of regents'
control and management of the institution that the board
serves.
[E.] F. Members of the board shall not be removed
except for incompetence, neglect, [of duty ] breaches of
fiduciary duties, breaches of other duties or malfeasance in
office. [Provided, however, no removal shall be made without
notice of hearing and an opportunity to be heard having first
been given such member. The supreme court of the state of New
Mexico is hereby given exclusive original jurisdiction over
proceedings to remove members of the board under such rules as
it may promulgate, and its decision in connection with such
matters shall be final. ] Incompetence, neglect, breach of a
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fiduciary duty, breach of other duties or malfeasance of a
member of a board may be remedied as provided by law or as
recognized in a common-law cause of action. A member of a
board of regents may be removed from the board of the
institution that the member serves by an action seeking removal
of the member filed in the district court by the attorney
general or by a majority of the other members of the board of
regents of the institution that the member serves. "
SECTION 2. The amendment proposed by this resolution
shall be submitted to the people for their approval or
rejection at the next general election or at any special
election prior to that date that may be called for that
purpose.
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