Opinion ID: 1441686
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Terms of Denish and Kelly have Expired.

Text: (45) We made a distinction at the beginning of this discussion between a vacancy in a term of office and the expiration of a term of office. We have concluded that no vacancy exists in the terms of Denish and Kelly and that Governor Johnson had no power to appoint replacements under Article XX, Section 5. However, as just explained, we do find that the terms of Denish and Kelly have expired, and accordingly we conclude that the powers of the Governor lie in a different constitutional provision. (46) When an appointee remains in office until the end of his or her term, the Governor's only constitutional option is to select a nominee who will be submitted to the Senate for approval. The Constitution has a holdover provision to preclude an office from remaining vacant until the new nominee is duly qualified: Every officer, unless removed, shall hold his office until his successor has duly qualified. N.M. Const. art. XX, § 2 (Repl.Pamp.1992). The expression duly qualified means that the successor must be chosen according to the requirements of New Mexico state law. In the case of New Mexico Tech regents, due qualification is described in Article XII, Section 13 of the New Mexico Constitution, quoted above: appointees to the boards of regents of educational institutions are nominated by the governor and must receive the consent of the senate. (47) Thus, even though an officer's term is technically expired, he or she will remain in office with all the powers of that office until the successor is duly qualified. Thus, Denish and Kelly are constitutionally empowered to remain in office beyond the predetermined expiration of their terms. They hold office under the auspices of the holdover provision of Article XX, Section 2 until their successors are duly qualified. (48) When a term expires, the Governor has no power to place a person directly into office as he would an interim appointee to fill a midterm vacancy. See N.M. Const. art. XX, § 5; see also Territory ex rel. Klock v. Mann, 16 N.M. 744, 747, 120 P. 313, 315 (1911) (Where provision is made by statute for an officer to hold over until his successor is duly elected and qualified, the holdover is regarded as in all respects a de jure officer and the expiration of his term does not produce a vacancy which may be filled by the authority having the power to fill vacancies.). There is no authority under New Mexico law for the Governor to make a recess appointment when a term expires, contrary to the suggestion made in Governor Johnson's letters to Horn and Taylor of August 11, 1995. [11] Whether or not the Senate is recessed, the Governor cannot unilaterally install a new state officer to replace one whose term has expired. (49) We have indicated that the Governor expressed reluctance to take a position regarding whether the expiration of a term creates a vacancy for purposes of the governor's interim appointment authority. There should be no mistake that this interim appointment authority does not come into play upon the expiration of a term. The only possible exception to this rule might occur if an appointee was unable to remain in office after the term expired. In that case the office would become vacant and Article XX, Section 5 would apply. In all other circumstances, the holdover provision prevents the possibility of a vacancy before a successor has been duly qualified. Klock, 16 N.M. at 748, 120 P. at 315 ([T]he right to hold-over continues until a qualified successor has been elected or appointed by the body electorate; or the appointing power, which by law is entitled to elect or appoint such successor.). (50) We note that a regent's term almost always will expire when the Senate is not in session because the Senate does not meet on the first of January. For this reason the holdover provision of Article XX, Section 2 almost always applies. The Governor's only power in this circumstance is to nominate a replacement who cannot take office until he or she has been duly qualified. (51) It is important to recognize that when the law requires staggered terms, the holdover provision is not a simple extension of the expired term. Rather it is an intrusion into the term following. Cf. Selway v. Schultz, 268 N.W.2d 149, 151 (S.D.1978) (concluding that the holdover period after the expiration of a term must be included in the successor's term); Opinion of the Justices, 112 N.H. 433, 298 A.2d 118, 119 (1972) (The statute fixes the term of the office, not of the appointee [, and the statute does not extend] the term to include a period of holding over.). Thus, when the Constitution requires regents to serve six-year terms beginning on specified dates, if six months pass before a successor is duly qualified, the successor's actual tenure in office will be reduced to five years and six months. In other words, the term of office will expire at the Constitutionally predetermined time no matter what date the regent actually assumes office. Selway, 268 N.W.2d at 151 (It is clear that the statute fixes the term of the office and not that of the officer.). (52) The fact that Denish and Kelly have remained in office beyond the ends of their terms will shorten the tenures of their successors. Thus, as the chart in the Appendix indicates, Denish's term ended January 1, 1995. Her successor will thus serve the unexpired portion of the six-year cycle ending on January 1, 2001. Kelly's term ended January 1, 1993. His successor will serve the remainder of the six-year cycle that ends January 1, 1999.