Latest news with #SenateJointResolution7
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NM AG Torrez opposes motion to dismiss case against former WNMU president Joseph Shepard
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Jan. 28 held a news conference to announce the state's legal efforts to challenge President Trump's federal funding freeze. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a response in court Thursday opposing a motion to dismiss the case against former Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard for alleged civil violations. Torrez filed a civil suit against Shepard and the WNMU Board of Regents in January in response to the board's decision to award Shepard a $1.9 million severance package. That complaint alleges Shepard and the board violated fiduciary duties, the states anti-donation clause and the Open Meetings Act, as well as laws relating to unjust enrichment, parties not fulfilling their contractual obligations and acting on an unenforceable contract. The university has been under scrutiny over the past year and a half for lavish spending by leadership and misuse of funds, as detailed in a report published in November by the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor. The board unanimously voted to terminate Shepard's contract in December, then approved what Torrez has frequently referred to as a 'golden parachute' severance payment. The school released the payment to Shepard in early January. Shepard filed a motion to dismiss the case against him on Feb. 19, arguing Torrez does not have the authority to bring claims of breach of fiduciary duty, lack of consideration, unconscionable contract and unjust enrichment against him. According to court documents, Shepard claims he did not owe a fiduciary duty to WNMU when negotiating his termination from the university and the severance payment was made 'in exchange for valid consideration,' to which the anti-donation clause does not apply. A New Mexico Department of Justice news release Friday characterized Shepard's motion as an 'attempt to avoid legal scrutiny.' 'The Board of Regents does not have unlimited power to approve unlawful expenditures of public funds, and Dr. Shepard should not be allowed to profit from an invalid and unjust agreement,' Torrez said in a statement. 'Our lawsuit seeks to protect taxpayers and hold public officials accountable.' Torrez's response to the motion maintains that the board acted unlawfully, without public transparency, in violation of state law and encourages the court to deny Shepard's motion and continue the lawsuit. The court has not scheduled a motion hearing as of press time. Torrez and several lawmakers back a constitutional amendment introduced this legislative session, which, if approved by voters, would add regent fiduciary duties to the law; reasons for removal from their position; and clarify who has authority to seek the removal of regents from the board. House Joint Resolution 12 passed by a vote of 64-1 on the House Floor on March 1 and was referred to Senate committees. Senate Bill 19 proposes establishing training requirements for new regents and Senate Joint Resolution 7 proposes creating a regent nominating committee that would screen potential regent candidates and make a list for the governor to choose from. The attorney general's response is filed below. 2025-03-06 Resp to Shepard MTD SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills, constitutional amendments addressing regent appointments and training move forward
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (right) and Rep. Javier Martínez (left) discuss legal against Western New Mexico University Board of Regents and outgoing President Joseph Shepard during a news conference Jan. 9, 2025. The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced a proposal to overhaul oversight of university boards of regents in New Mexico Wednesday. Co-sponsor Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) presented House Joint Resolution 12 to members of the House Education Committee, who passed it unanimously. The resolution, supported by Attorney General Raúl Torrez, would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment that codifies regents' fiduciary duties; moves proceedings for removing regents from the state Supreme Court to district courts; and allows the attorney general or a majority of the board to initiate removal of a regent. HJR 12 now heads to the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee. The resolution is one of four bills and resolutions introduced thus far addressing the role of regents, how they are chosen and how they are prepared for serving in their roles. The legislation follows Western New Mexico University board of regents' authorization of a $1.9 million payout to outgoing university president Joseph Shepard, who is accused of wasteful spending and improper use of university funds. Several regents resigned in the aftermath. Senate Joint Resolution 7, co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces) and Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), proposes an amendment to the New Mexico Constitution requiring the governor to select a regent for nomination from a list provided by a nominating committee for each university or community college. SJR 7 was passed unanimously through the Senate Rules Committee Friday, Feb. 7. Steinborn told Source that he thinks SJR 7 is the most important of his two regents bills because it gets to the crux of who is appointed to make decisions at universities and how. He said he has been working on this initiative for many years. 'Since my very first session, when I saw just how politicized these regent positions really were,' Steinborn said. 'I felt like we needed a better system – of taking these jobs really seriously, to make it based on merit, of who actually had the most to offer our universities.' Senate Bill 19, also sponsored by Steinborn, also passed through the Senate Rules Committee Friday with a unanimous vote and now heads to the Senate floor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed constitutional amendment would end 'patronage' in regent selection process
A constitutional amendment that would partially strip the governor of New Mexico of the power to nominate university regents cleared its first legislative hurdle Friday with unanimous approval from the Senate Rules Committee. But Senate Joint Resolution 7 faces a potentially more challenging assignment next: the Senate Judiciary Committee. "This bill has had an interesting history," Sen. Jeff Steinborn, a Las Cruces Democrat who has carried similar measures nine times before between 2013 to 2021, told members of the Senate Rules Committee. "It has passed the Senate before, it has passed the House before, just not in the same session," he continued. "It has passed this committee. It has not passed this committee. I won't give you the reasons why. But there's a lot of insider influence, frankly." But Steinborn said he's not giving up, and a recent scandal at Western New Mexico University in Silver City is helping his case, at least in the court of public opinion. The board of regents at Western signed off on a $1.9 million payout to the university's former president, Joseph Shepard, amid ongoing investigations over alleged improper use of public funds involving Shepard and the regents themselves. "Let's stop treating [these positions] as patronage jobs and let's start treating them as very important executive jobs where we need to actually recruit people who have something to bring to the table to our universities," Steinborn said. "It seeks to raise our game, frankly, as a state and for these schools. ... The way it works now is only people who are really politically connected to a governor probably are ever considered. Oftentimes, it's people who've supported a governor." Under the proposal, which Steinborn said could go to voters next year if approved by the Legislature, nominating committees for each higher education institution in the state would vet and interview candidates and then recommend the top contenders to the governor for appointment. Under the existing system, the governor has sole authority. "The governor would still get to make an appointment, [it] doesn't take away the governor's power," Steinborn said. "The Senate still gets to confirm these appointments. What it does do, though, is set up a professional interview process of ... a nonpartisan group of people so that we can actually try to get the best pool of people." Steinborn said unqualified candidates have been selected to oversee the state's higher education institutions in the past. "Right now, quite frankly, it's been a patronage basis, and I hate to say that," he said. "Not totally," Steinborn quickly added. "Sometimes people who are supporters of governors are excellent candidates." But during his time in the Legislature, Steinborn said politics — not qualifications — have influenced the selection process. "I've served now with three governors. Previous two, it was unbelievable," he said. "It just really does a disservice to maximizing the performance of our schools for our kids, for making them relevant so that we can move forward as a state."
