Thursday, January 13, 2011

Lawsuit targets NM gov's actions on new rules

by Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
January 12, 2011

"ALBUQUERQUE — Gov. Susana Martinez's administration defended itself Wednesday against allegations that it circumvented the law when it put the brakes on the publication of numerous pending and proposed rules in the state register, including new regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions across New Mexico.

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday with the state Supreme Court that the administration disregarded the law when it moved to halt the codification and printing of the greenhouse gas regulations, which were approved in December by state regulators and filed with the state records administrator. Without publication, the rules cannot become effective.

The law center petitioned the court on behalf of New Energy Economy, a nonprofit group that pushed for the greenhouse gas emissions cap. The center is asking the court to force Martinez and F. David Martin, whom she nominated to head the state Environment Department, to follow the law and have the regulations published.

Bruce Frederick, a staff attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, argues in the lawsuit that the emissions rules were adopted by the state Environmental Improvement Board and should not be considered as pending because they haven't been published in the register.

The lawsuit accuses Martinez, Martin and State Records Administrator Sandra Jaramillo of "several unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful actions."

"We are trying to uphold the rule of law and to ensure that the new governor and her staff follow it," Frederick said in a statement." More>>>>

Does this have the beginnings of the Governor Martinez legacy?

1 comment:

  1. Its hard to understand why conservatives, who claim to be interested in free enterprise, are working so hard to stifle the green economy and preserve the carbon economy. Of course the oil industry lavished vast sums on Martinez (you can read her contribution reports online with all the names of Texas contributors). She works for the oil industry, eating fat laden beef at their banquets, riding around in their suburbans with the good old boys in their big hats, taking their money drawn on Ft. Worth banks. This is a subculture that clashes with those who populate the green economy. These folks live in Hobbs and Farmington, not Santa Fe. They have no use for Intel or solar plants.

    This clash is a front on the culture wars. Sadly this war will rage for the next 4 years, as Martinez and her far-right Harrison Schmitt drive us all crazy with their blatant corruption, rationalized in a million ways to appeal to their talk radio crowd. Let's get busy countering her every day. And let's make sure we have strong candidates to run against her when she goes for the US Senate in 2012.

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