Opinion ID: 1387131
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Heading Rank: 6

Heading: application of the doctrine of separation of powers to the compact with pojoaque pueblo

Text: The Governor may not exercise power that as a matter of state constitutional law infringes on the power properly belonging to the legislature. We have no doubt that the compact with Pojoaque Pueblo does not execute existing New Mexico statutory or case law, but that it is instead an attempt to create new law. Cf. Texas v. New Mexico, 462 U.S. 554, 564, 103 S.Ct. 2558, 2565, 77 L.Ed.2d 1 (1983) (holding that, upon approval by Congress, a compact between states becomes federal law that binds the states); West Virginia ex rel. Dyer v. Sims, 341 U.S. 22, 28, 71 S.Ct. 557, 560-561, 95 L.Ed. 713 (1951) (characterizing an interstate compact as a legislative means by which states resolve interstate dispute). However, that in itself is not dispositive. The test is whether the Governor's action disrupts the proper balance between the executive and legislative branches. See Board of Educ. v. Harrell, 118 N.M. 470, 484, 882 P.2d 511, 525 (1994). In Nixon v. Administrator of General Servs., 433 U.S. 425, 443, 97 S.Ct. 2777, 2790, 53 L.Ed.2d 867 (1977), the United States Supreme Court said: [I]n determining whether the Act disrupts the proper balance between the coordinate branches, the proper inquiry focuses on the extent to which [the action by one branch prevents another branch] from accomplishing its constitutionally assigned functions. United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. at 711-12 [94 S.Ct. at 3109-10]. Only where the potential for disruption is present must we then determine whether that impact is justified by an overriding need to promote objectives within the constitutional authority of Congress. Ibid. Id. (citation omitted). One mark of undue disruption would be an attempt to foreclose legislative action in areas where legislative authority is undisputed. The Governor's present authority could not preclude future legislative action, and he could not execute an agreement that foreclosed inconsistent legislative action or precluded the application of such legislation to the agreement. The compact with Pojoaque Pueblo and those of which it is representative cannot be said to be consistent with these principles. The terms of the compact with Pojoaque Pueblo give the Tribe a virtually irrevocable and seemingly perpetual right to conduct any form of Class III gaming permitted in New Mexico on the date the Governor signed the agreement. See Compact Between the Pojoaque Pueblo and the State of New Mexico, at 4. Arguably, even legislative change could not affect the Tribe's ability to conduct Class III gaming authorized under the original compact. The compact is binding on the State of New Mexico for fifteen years, and it is automatically renewed for additional five-year periods unless it has been terminated by mutual agreement. Id. at 27. Any action by the State to amend or repeal its laws that had the effect of restricting the scope of Indian gaming, or even the attempt to directly or indirectly restrict the scope of such gaming, terminates the Tribe's obligation to make payments to the State of New Mexico under the revenue-sharing agreement separately entered into between the Governor and Pojoaque Pueblo. See Tribal-State Revenue Sharing Agreement, ¶ 5(A). [2] We also find the Governor's action to be disruptive of legislative authority because the compact strikes a detailed and specific balance between the respective roles of the State and the Tribe in such important matters as the regulation of Class III gaming activities, the licensing of its operators, and the respective civil and criminal jurisdictions of the State and the Tribe necessary for the enforcement of state or tribal laws or regulations. All of this has occurred in the absence of any action on the part of the legislature. While negotiations between states and Indian tribes to address these matters is expressly contemplated under the IGRA, see 25 U.S.C.S. § 2710(d)(3)(C), we think the actual balance that is struck represents a legislative function. While the legislature might authorize the Governor to enter into a gaming compact or ratify his actions with respect to a compact he has negotiated, the Governor cannot enter into such a compact solely on his own authority. Moreover, it is undisputed that New Mexico's legislature possesses the authority to prohibit or regulate all aspects of gambling on non-Indian lands. Pursuant to this authority, our legislature has, with narrow exceptions, made for-profit gambling a felony, and thereby expressed a general repugnance to this activity. Section 30-19-3. Whether or not the legislature, if given an opportunity to address the issue of the various gaming compacts, would favor a more restrictive approach consistent with its actions in the past constitutes a legislative policy decision. The compact signed by the Governor, on the other hand, authorizes Pojoaque Pueblo to conduct all forms of casino-style games; that is, virtually any form of commercial gambling. By entering into such a permissive compact with Pojoaque Pueblo and other Indian leaders, we think that the Governor contravened the legislature's expressed aversion to commercial gambling and exceeded his authority as this State's chief executive officer. Our conclusion that the Governor lacks authority to enter into the disputed compacts gains support from Justice Robert H. Jackson's concurring opinion in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 634-55, 72 S.Ct. 863, 869-80, 96 L.Ed. 1153 (1952). In that case, the Supreme Court faced the issue of whether President Truman had exceeded his constitutional authority by issuing an executive order directing the Secretary of Commerce to assume control of a number of steel mills. The President issued this order during the Korean War when the mills became incapacitated by a labor dispute. President Truman justified the seizure on the grounds that (1) he was the commander in chief of the armed forces, and (2) various statutes gave the President special emergency war powers. The Court struck down the President's action, holding that it was beyond the scope of Presidential authority. Id. at 589, 72 S.Ct. at 867-68. Noting that the seizure was contrary to the will of Congress, Justice Jackson wrote in a famous concurring opinion: When the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb, for then he can rely only upon his own constitutional powers minus any constitutional powers of Congress over the matter. Courts can sustain exclusive presidential control in such a case only by disabling the Congress from acting on the subject. Presidential claim to a power at once so conclusive and preclusive must be scrutinized with caution, for what is at stake is the equilibrium established by our constitutional system. Id. at 637-38, 72 S.Ct. at 871 (Jackson, J., concurring) (footnote omitted). Since 1923, the State of New Mexico has entered into at least twenty-two different compacts with other sovereign entities, including the United States and other states. [3] These agreements encompass such widely diverse governmental purposes as interstate water usage and cooperation on higher education. In every case, New Mexico entered into the compact with the enactment of a statute by the legislature. Apart from non-discretionary ministerial duties, [4] the Governor's role in the compact approval process has heretofore been limited to approving or vetoing [5] the legislation that approves the compact. This is the Governor's role with respect to all legislation passed by the legislature. See N.M. Const. art. IV, § 22. Residual governmental authority should rest with the legislative branch rather than the executive branch. The state legislature, directly representative of the people, has broad plenary powers. If a state constitution is silent on a particular issue, the legislature should be the body of government to address the issue. See Clinton v. Clinton, 305 Ark. 585, 810 S.W.2d 923, 926 (1991). Cf. Fair Sch. Fin. Council v. State, 746 P.2d 1135, 1149 (Okla.1987) (under state constitution, a legislature may generally do all but that which it is prohibited from doing); State ex inf. Danforth v. Merrell, 530 S.W.2d 209, 213 (Mo.1975) (en banc) (state legislature has the power to enact any law not prohibited by the constitution); House Speaker v. Governor, 195 Mich.App. 376, 491 N.W.2d 832, 839 (1992) (Any legislative power that the Governor possesses must be expressly granted to him by the constitution.). We conclude that the Governor lacked authority under the state Constitution to bind the State by unilaterally entering into the compacts and revenue-sharing agreements in question.