Laws shall go into effect ninety days after the adjournment of the legislature enacting them, except general appropriation laws, which shall go into effect immediately upon their passage and approval. Any act necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety, shall take effect immediately upon its passage and approval, provided it be passed by two-thirds vote of each house and such necessity be stated in a separate section.

ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For computation of time, see 12-2A-7 NMSA 1978.

Comparable provisions. — Idaho Const., art. III, § 22.

Iowa Const., amendment 40.

Utah Const., art. VI, § 25.

Limitation set on shorter but not longer periods. — This section places limitation upon the right of the legislature to provided a shorter period than 90 days within which laws shall become effective, but does not preclude it from fixing a longer period. State ex rel. N.M. State Bank v. Montoya, 1916-NMSC-071, 22 N.M. 215, 160 P. 359.

Pursuant to this provision the legislature may provide that legislative enactments should go into effect more than 90 days after their enactment, but the legislature cannot make nonemergency legislation effective less than 90 days after enactment. R.H. Fulton, Inc. v. New Mexico Bureau of Revenue, 1973-NMCA-133, 85 N.M. 583, 514 P.2d 1079.

"Passage of this act". — In Laws 1969, ch. 144, § 66, a temporary provision calling for the commissioner of revenue (now the director of the revenue division of the taxation and revenue department) to provide a system for registration of certain contracts entered into prior to "passage of this act," the quoted phrase is used in its technical sense to mean July 1, 1969, its effective date; to refer to any prior date would violate this section. R.H. Fulton, Inc. v. New Mexico Bureau of Revenue, 1973-NMCA-133, 85 N.M. 583, 514 P.2d 1079.

Computing 90-day period. — In calculating effective date of a new act, the day of the event is to be excluded and the last day of the number constituting the specific period is included, so that statute becomes effective at first moment of applicable day after the event, such as first moment of ninetieth day after adjournment of legislature. Garcia v. J.C. Penney Co., 1948-NMSC-065, 52 N.M. 410, 200 P.2d 372.

Legislative declaration of emergency contained in act is final, and is conclusive and binding upon the courts. Hutchens v. Jackson, 1933-NMSC-051, 37 N.M. 325, 23 P.2d 355.

Effect of emergency clause on referability. — The question of the referable character of a given act is not determined in one way or the other by its designation as an emergency measure. Flynn, Welch & Yates, Inc. v. State Tax Comm'n, 1934-NMSC-001, 38 N.M. 131, 28 P.2d 889; Todd v. Tierney, 1933-NMSC-094, 38 N.M. 15, 27 P.2d 991.

Limitation set on shorter but not longer periods. 1963 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 63-54.

Unauthorized effective date provision null. — The April 1 effective date provision of Laws 1964 (1st S.S.), ch. 17 (17-3-1 NMSA 1978) was a nullity since the legislature adjourned on February 25, and since the act did not pass as an emergency measure, the legislature was proscribed by the constitution from providing that the act would go into effect sooner than 90 days after adjournment. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-91.

January effective date. — Laws 1915, ch. 57 (since repealed), by reason of its proviso in § 24 thereof, went into effect on January 1, 1917, though that date was more than the constitutional 90 days after adjournment of legislature. 1915 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 15-1602.

1957 session laws. — The effective date of laws passed by the 1957 session of the legislature which did not bear an emergency clause was June 7, 1957. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 57-50.

Computing 90-day period. — In computing the 90-day time period under this section, the adjournment day is excluded, and the statute begins to operate on the last day of the 90. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-91.

The rule now supported by nearly all the modern cases is that time is computed by excluding the day, or the day of the event, from which time is to be computed and including the last day of the number constituting the specific period. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 57-50.

"Two-thirds vote" explained. — The provision in regard to the "two-thirds vote of the house" necessary to adopt an emergency clause does not mean two-thirds of all members elected, but, a quorum being present and acting, a concurrence of two-thirds of such members is sufficient. 1923 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 23-3677.

Bill carrying emergency clause becomes law upon approval of governor by his signing said bill. 1951 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 51-5338.

Law reviews. — For article, "Attachment in New Mexico - Part II," see 2 Nat. Resources J. 75 (1962).

For comment, "Land Use Planning - New Mexico's Green Belt Law," see 8 Nat. Resources J. 190 (1968).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 72 Am. Jur. 2d Statutes §§ 360, 361, 363 to 373.

Conclusiveness of legislative declaration of emergency requiring statute to take effect immediately, 7 A.L.R. 519, 110 A.L.R. 1435.

Date or event contemplated by term "passage," "enactment," "effective date," etc., employed by statute in fixing time of facts or conditions within its operation, 132 A.L.R. 1048.

Failure of governor to sign bill until after the date at which it is to become effective, 146 A.L.R. 693.

Stock of private corporation, effective date of statute prohibiting municipalities from acquiring or subscribing to, 152 A.L.R. 499.

Removal or suspension of constitutional limitation as affecting effective date of statute previously enacted, 171 A.L.R. 1079.

82 C.J.S. Statutes §§ 399 to 411.