Court grants Legislature powers on pandemic relief spending

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the state Legislature deserves a leading role in spending decisions about more than $1 billion in federal pandemic aid. The high court on Wednesday delivered a rebuke to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her attempt to forgo the legislative process in deciding how to spend a major round of pandemic relief funding. A bipartisan group of state senators challenged the first-term Democratic governor in the high-stakes constitutional clash. Democratic state Sen. Jacob Candelaria teamed up with Republican Senate minority leader Gregory Baca. They said decisions about $1.7 billion in pandemic spending are too important for only the governor to decide.