New Mexico 2016 ballot measures

2016 New Mexico Ballot Measures
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Five ballot measures were certified to appear on the New Mexico ballot on November 8, 2016. All five measures were approved.

HIGHLIGHTS

One of the certified measures, Amendment 1, was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment addressing the court's authority to deny bail.

The other four certified measures were legislatively referred bond questions: Bond Question A, Bond Question B, Bond Question C, and Bond Question D.

New Mexico only allows citizen initiatives in the form of veto referendums. New Mexico petition signature requirements are determined by calculating 10 percent of the votes cast in the state's last general election. If a petition gathers enough signatures to equal 25 percent of the votes in the last general election, the law targeted by the referendum is suspended until the election. In 2016, initiative supporters had to gather 51,944 valid signatures by four months prior to the general election—by July 8, 2016—in order to qualify for the ballot. Petitioners needed 129,859 signatures in order to suspend the law until the election.

The New Mexico Legislature has the power to place constitutional amendments on the ballot when a majority of all members of both houses vote in favor of the amendment. The legislature can call for a special election for an amendment. Once on the ballot, the amendment must be approved by a simple majority of the electors. The state legislative session ran from January 19, 2016, to February 18, 2016.

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in New Mexico and List of New Mexico ballot measures

• Between 1996 and 2016, 91 measures have appeared on the ballot in New Mexico.
• From 1996 to 2016, an average of about eight measures have appeared on the ballot in New Mexico in even-numbered years, while 2003 is the only odd-numbered election year since 1996, with two measures on the ballot.
• Between 1996 and 2016, 78 of 91 measures—or 86 percent—were approved, while 13 of 91 measures—14 percent—were defeated.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Bail	Grants courts the authority to deny bail in some felony cases	a
BI	Bond Question A	Bond issues	Issues bonds for senior citizen facility improvements	a
BI	Bond Question B	Bond issues	Issues bonds for academic and public library resource acquisitions	a
BI	Bond Question C	Bond issues	Issues bonds for higher education and school improvements	a
BI	Bond Question D	Bond issues	Issues bonds for public safety improvements	a

Not on the ballot

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Public Regulation Commission Appointments Amendment	Admin of gov't	Provides for appointments for the public regulations commission
LRCA	Dates for School Elections Amendment	Elections	Removes the mandate that school elections be held on different dates than any other elections
LRCA	Marijuana Legalization Amendment	Marijuana	Legalizes recreational marijuana for those 21 years of age or older
LRCA	Independent Police Review Boards Amendment	Law Enforcement	Creates an independent police review board tasked with addressing citizen complaints
LRCA	Independent Redistricting Commission Amendment	Redistricting	Creates an independent redistricting commission
LRCA	Legislative Supermajority for Constitutional Changes Amendment	Supermajority	Requires a two-thirds vote in the legislature to place constitutional amendments on the ballot
LRCA	Motor Vehicle Tax Revenue Appropriations Amendment	Transportation	Designates for what tax revenue from motor vehicles can be appropriated
LRCA	Permanent Funds for Childhood Education Amendment	Education	Provides for an additional distribution of permanent funds for early childhood education
LRCA	Permanent Fund Distribution Amendment	Gov't Finances	Increases the amount of distributions from the permanent funds
LRCA	Court Jurisdiction Amendment	Judiciary	Removes district court appellate jurisdiction of DUI cases
LRCA	Use of Marijuana Revenues Amendment	Marijuana	Requires marijuana revenues to be used for Medicaid or drug rehabilitation programs
LRCA	Salaries for State Legislators Amendment	Gov't salaries	Pays state legislators an annual salary equal to the median household income in the state
LRCA	Registration for Qualified Electors Amendment	Elections	Requires all qualified electors to be registered to vote
LRCA	Independent Ethics Commission Amendment	Gov't acc	Creates an independent ethics commission to oversee the legislative and executive branches
LRCA	School Board of Regents Nominations Amendment	Admin of gov't	Provides nominating committees for all members of boards of regents
LRCA	School Elections Amendment	Elections	Allows school elections to be held with other elections
LRCA	State Funds for Tribal Colleges Amendment	Gov't Finances	Allows tribal colleges to receive state funds
LRCA	Permanent Funds for Early Childhood Amendment	Gov't Finances	Provides for an additional distribution of permanent funds for early childhood education
LRCA	Legislative Witnesses and Testimony Amendment	Legislature	Authorizes the legislature to compel witnesses to attend legislative hearings
LRCA	Transfer Probation to Judicial Branch Amendment	Judiciary	Transfers the administration of probation services to the judicial branch

See also

• 2016 ballot measures
• List of New Mexico ballot measures
• Laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico
• Campaign finance requirements for New Mexico ballot measures

External links

• New Mexico Secretary of State