Attorney General Opinions and Advisory Letters

Decision Information

Opinion No. 58-190

Collection Attorney General Opinions and Advisory Letters
Date 09/16/1958
File Number 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-190

Decision Content

Opinion No. 58-190

September 16, 1958

BY: OPINION OF FRED M. STANDLEY, Attorney General Robert F Pyatt, Assistant Attorney General

TO: Honorable Murray E. Morgan, Commissioner of Public Lands, Santa Fe, New Mexico

QUESTION

QUESTION

"Whether or not Chapter 183, Laws of 1957, or any other law, authorizes the Governor to make such factual findings and to hire and fire Forest Conservation Commission personnel without the concurrence of the other members, especially in the absence of an express previous delegation of such authority by the full Commission."

CONCLUSION

No.

OPINION

ANALYSIS

Sec. 62-2-6 to and including Sec. 62-2-11, N.M.S.A., 1953 Comp., 1957 Supp., have been carefully reviewed by us. Nowhere therein is there authority for the Governor alone to hire and fire personnel of the Commission. Nor does such authority exist elsewhere. Hence our negative conclusion.

Of course, Sec. 62-2-7 empowers the Governor to appoint a forester to serve as a member of the Commission at the Governor's pleasure. But nowhere is the Governor given like authority over Commission employees.

 You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.