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Capitol Report New Mexico - Update: We received a call from the Legislative Council
Service telling us the legal fees will actually be substantially more than the $3 million figure reported earlier Monday. In fact, the costs will end up being more like $5.4 million — “at least,” the LCS employee said. While the $3 million figure announced by Judge Hall is correct, we have been told the figure does not count:
*$300,000+ settled on for attorneys and costs to the Navajo Nation
*$460,000 in costs for plaintiffs, experts and legal fees
*$894,402 in legislative expenses, research and polling, and
*$800,000+ in expenses for executive offices of the Governor, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State
Adding those figures, the back of the envelope total is more like $5.4 million in legal fees that taxpayers will end up paying. That’s compared to $3.5 million in legal fees after the redistricting court battles of 2001.
Well, it wasn’t as expensive as the last time around but New Mexico taxpayers will still pay almost $3 million for lawyers involved the recent redistricting legal battles. On Monday, retired district judge Jim Hall – the man assigned to hearing the arguments over realigning voting boundaries for the state — announced awards of nearly $3 million in fees for attorneys who represented Democratic, Republican, Native American and Hispanic interests in redistricting trials heard earlier this year. Like all states, New Mexico has to reapportion districts according to the US Census every 10 years. The $3 million figure is an improvement over the $3.5 million that went out to attorneys the last time New Mexico wrestled with the issue in 2001-2002 and there were fears the price tag would be even higher. Ten years ago, then-Gov. Gary Johnson and the legislature couldn’t come to an agreement on redistricting and we saw a replay in this past legislative session when the Democratically-controlled Roundhouse passed a redistricting map over Republican objections. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed the legislation, sending the battle to court. Read More News New Mexico
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