Stefani Lord, a House Representative from New Mexico, said that a court filing challenges Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's line-item vetoes of House Bill 1 as an overreach that altered legislative intent. The statement was made on the social media platform X.
"Former Democrat Jacob Candelaria, now an Independent, has filed a Writ of Mandamus before the New Mexico Supreme Court challenging Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's unconstitutional line-item vetoes in HB-1," said Lord, New Mexico State Representative for 22nd District (R). "The petition argues that the governor distorted legislative intent and violated the separation of powers by rewriting appropriations law, not just vetoing items but creating new laws contrary to what the legislature passed. Go get her, Senator. Accountability matters."
In October 2025, a petition was submitted to the New Mexico Supreme Court seeking to annul Governor Lujan Grisham’s line-item vetoes of House Bill 1. The petition argues that these vetoes rewrote lawmakers’ intent in a $162 million special-session spending bill. According to Source New Mexico, Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez filed the case on October 16, contending that the vetoes violated the separation of powers and requested an immediate review.
The writ targets specific provisions of HB-1, including $12 million allocated to the Health Care Authority intended "to maintain the minimum federal" Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit for elders and people with disabilities—words which were struck by the governor—and approximately $6 million for public broadcasters linked to federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) cuts. The filing suggests that these edits could expand benefits beyond legislative intent and alter lapse/return-to-general-fund requirements.
New Mexico precedent advises against using the item-veto power to create new law. In cases such as State ex rel. Sego v. Kirkpatrick (1974) and State ex rel. Coll v. Carruthers (1988), the Court warned governors against distorting legislative intent through selective deletions; more recently, Candelaria v. Grisham (2023) addressed separation-of-powers issues over spending. According to Justia’s summary of Coll, such vetoes may be invalid if they effectively rewrite appropriations.
Representative Stefani Lord is a Republican member of the New Mexico House representing District 22, which includes Bernalillo and Torrance counties, serving since 2021. As reported by her official legislature page, she is a ranking member on House Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs and a member of House Consumer & Public Affairs committees. She has sponsored public safety and regulatory bills.
