New Mexico State Supreme Court
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday issued a written opinion that explained its reasoning behind a bench ruling regarding state emergency public health orders. The high court ruled last summer that the state and the governor are legally allowed to issue emergency health orders without a formal rulemaking process.
The court unanimously ruled that the state Department of Health and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are granted, by the Legislature, the ability to issue orders limiting certain business activities. In this case, businesses were ordered to cease indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year a group of business owners challenged those orders, arguing that they were arbitrary and capricious and that the normal rulemaking process should be followed to implement such emergency orders.