N.M. Const. art. IV, § 31
No appropriation shall be made for charitable, educational or other benevolent purposes to any person, corporation, association, institution or community, not under the absolute control of the state, but the legislature may, in its discretion, make appropriations for the charitable institutions and hospitals, for the maintenance of which annual appropriations were made by the legislative assembly of nineteen hundred and nine.
Constitutional provision construed. — N.M. Const., art. IV, § 31 imposes limits on the Legislature’s authority to appropriate money. Moses v. Ruszkowski, 2019-NMSC-003.
Textbook loan program. — The Instructional Material Law (IML), §§ 22-15-1 to -14 NMSA 1978, in which the New Mexico public education department (department) purchases textbooks that are loaned free of charge to public and private school students enrolled in first through twelfth grade and in early childhood education programs, does not violate N.M. Const., art. IV, § 31, because under the IML, appropriations are made only to the department, the department is an executive agency established by the New Mexico constitution and is under the absolute control of the state, and the IML does not result in an appropriation to any person or entity not under the absolute control of the state as prohibited by Article IV, section 31. Moses v. Ruszkowski, 2019-NMSC-003.
Cross references. — For constitutional provision prohibiting the giving of any extra compensation to public officers, etc., see N.M. Const., art. IV, § 27.
For provision prohibiting donations by the state or its subdivisions to any person or private enterprise, see N.M. Const., art. IX, § 14.
Comparable provisions. — Montana Const., art. V, § 11.
Increase in retirement benefits. — Provision of Laws 1953, ch. 162 (Public Employees Retirement Act, Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978), which permitted those employees who had annuitant status under the 1947 act to participate therein provided they elected so to do by paying an additional lump sum to the association equivalent to one and one-half percent of the total salary received during the last five years immediately preceding retirement, does not violate this section. State ex rel. Hudgins v. Public Employees' Retirement Bd., 1954-NMSC-084, 58 N.M. 543, 273 P.2d 743.
Irrigation projects. — Appropriations under Laws 1961, chs. 181, 182 and 183 are not, nor do they appear on their face to be, for charitable, educational or other benevolent purposes; making permanent water sources available for irrigation purposes throughout the state is an economic necessity, and the fact that nonprofit organizations may incidentally benefit from the appropriations made to the state engineer, who has absolute control of their expenditure, does not put them within the classifications of this section. State ex rel. Interstate Stream Comm'n v. Reynolds, 1963-NMSC-023, 71 N.M. 389, 378 P.2d 622.
State Bar Act. — State Bar Act (former 36-2-2 NMSA 1978, repealed) did not violate this section. In re Gibson, 1931-NMSC-042, 35 N.M. 550, 4 P.2d 643, abrogated, In re Bristol, 2006-NMSC-041, 140 N.M. 317, 142 P.3d 905.
County fairs. — Laws 1913, ch. 51, regarding appropriations by counties to their fairs, contravened this section. Harrington v. Atteberry, 1915-NMSC-058, 21 N.M. 50, 153 P. 1041.
Applicability. — This section imposes limits on the legislature's power to appropriate money and the treasurer's power to disburse it; it has nothing to do with an administrative agency's disposition of its appropriation, nor does it have any application to a department's administration of federal or nonstate moneys. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-10.
Bill appropriating state funds to state fair is constitutional, for such fair is an instrumentality and under the control of the state. 1937 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 37-1560.
Armory. — Proposal to obtain an appropriation of funds to the state armory board, a creature of the state and under its absolute control, and to apply such appropriation to the construction of an armory involved no infraction of this section. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-235.
Irrigation projects. — The fact that others may incidentally benefit from the appropriations made to the state engineer, who has absolute control over their expenditure, does not put them within the classifications of this section. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-07.
Park and recreation commission. — Appropriation to the park and recreation commission (now state parks division of the natural resources department), a state executive body, under the "absolute control" of the state, was not unconstitutional; argument that groups not under state control would get the benefit of the appropriation was irrelevant so long as the appropriation was placed in the hands and under the control of a state official. 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 71-74.
Contributing service credit payments. — Payment of matching funds by an affiliated public employer for an employee's contributing service credit for services rendered after August 1, 1947, and prior to the effective date of his membership in the public employees retirement association, pursuant to former 10-11-9 NMSA 1978, would not violate this section. 1966 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-87.
Sick leave benefits. — This section would not prohibit legislation authorizing local school boards to devise a plan of compensation which would include the payment of benefits to retiring employees for accumulated, unused sick leave, so long as such benefits were, in fact, bargained for consideration in the form of compensation for services rendered as defined by contract between the employee and the local school board. 1977 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 77-18.
If the basis for a program of sick leave benefits for school employees is neither charitable nor benevolent but rather compensation for services rendered, then the prohibition of this section would not apply. 1977 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 77-08.
Private organization. — This section prohibits the use of public funds for the purpose of supporting any private organization. 1956 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 56-6426.
Private corporation. — Any appropriation to a private corporation whether directly or indirectly made would clearly be violative of constitutional provisions. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-41.
Privately owned county hospital. — County funds may not be donated to a county hospital owned by a private corporation. 1929 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 29-61.
County hospital run by private lessee. — The evident purpose of Laws 1955, ch. 224 (former 4-48-11, 4-48-14 NMSA 1978) was to provide a means by which a county operating a hospital itself could pay for such operation; for the county commissioners to use funds authorized thereby for support and maintenance of a hospital owned by the county but leased to a private organization would be in direct violation of this section. 1956 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 56-6426.
Public moneys may not be used in aid of denominational schools, and only for such benevolent purposes as were aided in Laws 1909, ch. 127, § 7 (since repealed). 1914 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 14-1344.
This section would be violated if public money was disbursed to nonpublic schools in order to purchase secular education service. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-06.
Vouchers for private school education. — Tuition assistance in the form of vouchers for private education may violate this provision, although the New Mexico Supreme Court has suggested that a constitutional issue is not raised if appropriations are made to a state agency, which in turn disburses the money. 1999 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 99-01.
Grants to defray tuition costs. — A bill providing that a sum of money be appropriated to the board of educational finance for allocation as grants to students for the purpose of defraying tuition costs at private colleges and universities may not violate this section because the legislative appropriation is not made to the students but to the board of educational finance, a state agency which would control the expenditure of the appropriation. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-07.
Hay purchase contributions. — Since assistance under the emergency roughage program was not limited to paupers or even to those who were in danger of becoming such, this section prohibits the state's contribution of $2.50 per ton toward the purchase of hay. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 57-62.
Historical society. — The state may not properly appropriate public moneys to the use and benefit of the historical society of New Mexico, a private corporation. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-41.
Federal matching funds in suspense accounts. — New Mexico may accept federal matching funds eventually to be paid to charitable or benevolent institutions where under 6-10-3 NMSA 1978 the moneys are put in suspense accounts and not deposited in the state treasury. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-07.
Law reviews. — For student symposium, "Constitutional Revision - State Aid to Private Enterprise in New Mexico," see 9 Nat. Resources J. 457 (1969).
For 1986-88 survey of New Mexico law of real property, 19 N.M. L. Rev. 751 (1990).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 63A Am. Jur. 2d Public Funds §§ 68, 69, 71.
Purpose, particularity of specification of, required in appropriation bill, 20 A.L.R. 981.
Contract to pay for services or reimburse expenditures as within constitutional inhibition of aid to sectarian institutions, 22 A.L.R. 1319, 55 A.L.R. 320.
Pension to one who had left service of state prior to enactment of pension statute as violating constitutional prohibition of appropriation for benevolent purposes to any person not under absolute control of state, 142 A.L.R. 938.
Releasing public school pupils from attendance for purpose of attending religious education classes as use of public money for sectarian purpose, 2 A.L.R.2d 1371.
Use of public school premises for religious purposes during nonschool time, 79 A.L.R.2d 1148.
Public payment of tuition, scholarship or the like to sectarian school, 81 A.L.R.2d 1309.
Use of public money for furnishing free textbooks to sectarian school or student therein, 93 A.L.R.2d 986.
81A C.J.S. States §§ 204 to 208, 211.