New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced legislation Monday in response to allegations of financial waste, fraud and abuse among Western New Mexico University officials that first surfaced in 2023.
Torrez said a yet-to-be-filed constitutional amendment, if passed and approved by voters, would clearly define the responsibilities of university boards of regents.
“The constitutional amendment we will be proposing makes it clear that regents have a fiduciary duty to that institution, meaning that they must act responsibly, ethically and in accordance with the law and university policies,” Torrez said. “When folks who represent these public institutions violate that public trust, they must face real consequences.”
Constitutional amendments proposed by the Legislature do not require the governor’s signature and if approved by both the House and Senate, would go to voters in the next general election.
Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, also announced a companion bill that would require more oversight when hiring a new university or college president.
If passed, Senate Bill 266 would give a university’s board of finance 30 days to approve, modify or reject a contract for a college “president, chancellor, vice president, vice chancellor, provost or vice provost,” submitted by the board of regents. If a board of regents doesn’t submit a qualifying contract, it would be rejected.
“They can’t just hire somebody and say, ‘We’re not going to send that contract to the board of finance for approval,’” Muñoz said.
The bill aims to require institutions to submit an annual report to the attorney general’s office detailing the current administration contracts, names, titles and total compensation. The board of finance of a university or college would also have to submit an annual report to the attorney general’s office, outlining the reviewed contracts.
Muñoz said his bill is about accountability and supporting students. Muñoz said after New Mexico introduced free college tuition, WNMU increased tuition when it had been asked not to..
“Who knows where the money went?” Muñoz asked. “We’ll have to figure that out with the auditor. Well, New Mexicans and students deserve the right to know where their money is going.”
Torrez said he hopes both the constitutional amendment and Muñoz’s bill will rebuild public trust of the state’s higher education institutions.
“Those two separate and powerful independent checks should bring an end to this kind of excessive compensation and give taxpayers in the state some peace of mind,” Torrez said.
This story was published by New Mexico Political Report as part of a collaboration between newmexico.news and UNM’s Statehouse Reporting Project.
