New Mexico Supreme Court strikes down Republican lawsuit challenging universal childcare

Duke Rodriguez, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination; Zac Anaya, who unsuccessfully ran for the state House of Representatives; and Sen. Steve Lanier (R-Aztec) in April filed a lawsuit that alleged Lujan Grisham violated the separation of powers in state government when she announced her universal childcare program last year.

Lawyers for Lujan Grisham’s administration countered that the state Legislature had long directed the Early Childhood Education and Care Department to expand eligibility for childcare assistance and argued that the Republicans’ case was “less a legal challenge than a political lament.”

A District Court judge in June ruled against Rodriguez, Anaya and Lanier, who subsequently appealed the case to the state Supreme Court.

An order filed Wednesday shows all five Supreme Court justices agreed to deny the appeal.

In a statement on social media, Lujan Grisham announced the decision and swiped at Rodriguez.

“This candidate lost in state District Court, lost in the Supreme Court and lost his bid to become the next governor of our state,” she wrote. “This means universal childcare in New Mexico is here to stay, and families have no more reason to fear that this life-changing program will be stripped away from them.”

Rodriguez told Source NM Thursday that he was disappointed with the order and said the justices should have issued a written opinion to explain their reasoning.

In public statements regarding the litigation, Rodriguez often invoked an old state Supreme Court case in which he was accused of implementing a state program in the late 1990s “without seeking legislative approval” while acting as then-Gov. Gary Johnson’s Human Services Department secretary.

On Thursday, he said he believed the court’s decision on universal childcare represented the death of “the Republican form of government in New Mexico,” adding that he believes it “completely erased the line between executive power and legislative authority.”

“The New Mexico Supreme Court handed this governor and every future governor power that properly belongs to the Legislature,” Rodriguez said. “Why have a Legislature at all? Why elect representatives? Why hold hearings? Why debate legislation? Why even require votes? Why should we pretend any further that there exists separate branches of government?”