Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1912-06-21
WINTER SESSION
MUST Be- HELD
Attorney General Clancy
Renders Opinion of
Importance
GOVERNOR ASKS OPINION
Newspaper Stories to Contrary
Have Nothing to Sustain
Their Assertions.

There can be no doubt that there
must be session of the legislature
beginning at - O'Clock noon, on the
second Tuesday of next January
In these words, Attorney General
Frank w. Clancy in an opinion re-
quested by the governor today, de-
clares that the constitution absolutely
provides that the winter session must
be held. The attorney general, in the
course of his opinion, refers to certain
stories to the contrary which appeared
in Albuquerque newspapers, and says
they have nothing to support their
contentious that the January session
is not obligatory. The opinion is one
of the most important rendered by
the attorney general recently and is
in full as follows:
Santa Fe, June 90, 1912.
Hon. William c. Mcdonald, Governor
of New Mexico, Santa Fe, n. NJ.
Dear Sir-I have today received your
letter of yesterday in which you state
that there has been a question raised
as to whether under the constitution
there will be regular session Of the
legislature of New Mexico beginning
with the second Tuesday of next jan
uary, and you request that | give you
my written opinion on this subject at
the earliest moment practicable.
have noticed in several of the news
Papers statements to the effect that
there can be no regular session of the
legislature next winter, but have not
seen or heard any statement OF any
reason for such suggestion. | have
no doubt whatever that there should
be regularly, in accordance with the
constitution, a session of the legisla-
ture beginning on the second Tuesday
of next January, and | believe a very
brief statement Of the constitutional
provisions Will be convincing.
The sessions of the legislature are
provided for in section of Article "
of the constitution, which reads as
follows:
''The first session of the legislature
shall begin at twelve O'Clock, noon, on
the day specified in the proclamation
of the governor Subsequent ses
sions shall begin at twelve o'clock
noon, on The second Tuesday of san
uary next after each general election
Nc regular session shall exceed sixty
days, except the first, which may be
ninety days, and no special session
shall exceed thirty days
It will be seen that, standing alone
this section would require us, for an
answer to the present question, to de
eide what is a general election
There are, however, other provisions
in the constitution which make it per
fectly plain that the election which
we will have in November next is {
general election, but before calline
your attention to those provisions II
may be well briefly to consider Wheth
er or not the next November election
would be general election if we hac
nothing as a guide except the section
above quoted.
As defined by Webster, general
means common to many or the great
GSt HuulUtl NlhCl} 6pi teu- piS'p
extensive, though not universal
There is no difficulty in applying these
definitions to an election, and an elec
ton. no matter for what purpose
which is held throughout the whole
state, is clearly common to many
widely spread and extensive
In Maryland it has been held tha
an election general throughout thu
state, for members of congress ant
judges, was a general election within
the meaning of a statute requiring
question to be submitted to the peopl'
at a general election, though it wa
net general election as the term wa
used in the constitution.
Mackin V. State, 60 Md 247.
In another Maryland case, it wa
decided that statute which impose
a 6uty on a county clerk after eacl
and every general election include
an election for members of congres
and for president although it was no
an election for members of the stat
legislature and state officers generally
Downs v State, IS Nd. 1913.
Authorities can be found apparentl
in conflict with these views, but
will. believe, upon examination b
found that the conflict is apparen
only and arises from the fact that b
statutory or by constitutional prov
sions, a restricted definition for tn
term general has been given. |
our constitution, however, We have n
such restriction of the meaning OF tn
word, but on the contrary, as alread
stated, there are provisions clearl
showing that such an election as on
next one is a general election.
By section of Article " of tn
constitution, Immediately precedin
the section hereinbefore quoted, it
provided that senators shall be elec
ed for the term of four years an
members of the house of represent
tives for the term of two years, an
that they shall be elected on the da
provided by law for holding the ge
eral election of state officers or repr
sentatives in congress" Next Mover