Decision 2026: Constitutional Amendment 1 could change how bills become law in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — We are just five days away from Decision 2026. A lot is at stake in New Mexico: your vote for governor, U.S. representatives, U.S. senators and more. The impact of those decisions is obvious. But it’s also important to know what’s further down the ballot because every question will end up shaping our lives.

There are four amendments that could change our state Constitution. KOB 4 has gone over some of them before. Constitutional Amendment 1 impacts our governor.

“Here in New Mexico, there is a desire to prohibit the pocket veto from continuing on,” UNM law professor Joshua Kastenberg said.

What’s a pocket veto?

Kastenberg said a pocket veto, or what our state currently has, allows the governor to veto a bill without a reason, or simply let the clock run out.

“When a governor doesn’t want to sign a bill, all the governor in a state like ours has to do is pretend the bill never got to her desk and just ignore it, and then it’s vetoed,” Kastenberg said.

Lawmakers like House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, say without that explanation, there’s a lack of accountability.

“Imagine being at work. You’re working on a big project. You think it’s really good. You’ve gotten a lot of support for it, and one person at your company won’t sign off and won’t explain why. That’s the situation that we have right now,” Szczepanski said.

Right now, New Mexico governors have three days to act on most bills during the legislative session. But that timeline is extended for bills passed during the final three days of the session.

“For bills that pass toward the end of the legislative session, which is the vast majority of bills, the governor has 20 days to take action on those bills,” Szczepanski said. “And basically, some bills are signed, and some bills experience what’s called a pocket veto.”

What would happen if it passes?

If passed, Constitutional Amendment 1 would force the governor to take action on every bill. If they don’t, it would become law.

“Under this amendment, at the end of the signing period, the governor has to take action on each and every bill. So instead of running out of time and some bills failing to become law, the governor would definitively sign bills that become law, or veto bills and provide an explanation,” Szczepanski said.

Why should the average New Mexican care about this amendment?

To put it simply, if passed, it’ll change the way bills become law in our state. It might sound like a governor or lawmaker problem, but what they pass during the legislative session directly impacts every New Mexican.

“The proponents of this amendment would argue that while that may not be the substantive issue in front of the voters right now, it will be one day. And the best way to make government work is to find those broken points in it and fix the system,” Kastenberg said.

For more information about this year’s election, click here.

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