National Building v. State Board of Education

510 P.2d 510, 85 N.M. 186
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedMay 25, 1973
Docket9518
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 510 P.2d 510 (National Building v. State Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Building v. State Board of Education, 510 P.2d 510, 85 N.M. 186 (N.M. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

MONTOYA, Justice.

Plaintiffs, owners of the property in Albuquerque, New Mexico, known as “The National Building,” hereinafter called “appellants,” brought an action against the State Board of Education, its Vocational Rehabilitation Division, and various of its officers, hereinafter called “appellees.” Appellants allege that appellees breached a contract to lease certain office space and, by reason thereof, are entitled to damages or specific performance of the contract.

After the filing of certain affidavits and requests of admissions, both appellants and appellees filed a motion for summary judgment. The appellees’ motion for summary judgment was granted and this appeal ensued.

Appellees entered into a lease with appellants, which commenced on September IS, 1966. The lease provided for, inter alia, a renewal at the end of each state fiscal biennium for four successive bienniums, resulting in a ten-year lease. That portion of the lease pertinent to the issue before us provides:

“4. It is expressly covenanted and agreed, however, that in the event the Legislature of New Mexico fails to make sufficient appropriations for the operation of the agency occupying the said premises, or the Legislature fails to provide sufficient appropriations for the payment of the rentals provided for herein, or in the event the agency occupying such premises is directed to move its offices by virtue of action of the Legislature of New Mexico or pursuant to order of any Court of competent jurisdiction in any action instituted against said agency or the State of New Mexico or any of the officers or agencies of the State of New Mexico, or in the event the agency occupying these premises is abolished by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico, then Lessee shall have the right to terminate this lease upon sixty days notice in writing by Lessee to the Lessor, prior to the end of any state fiscal biennium, which termination date may not take effect sooner than the end of the first state fiscal biennium following the commencement of this lease.”

In 1971 the New Mexico Legislature passed its general appropriations bill, ch. 327, Laws 1971, which provided, inter alia, that:

“ * * *. The Department [Vocational Rehabilitation Division of the' State Board of Education] shall relocate its Albuquerque office to a site more accessible to its clients.”

Pursuant to this provision, appellees vacated the premises which they had leased from the appellants and refused to make further payments under the terms of the lease.

It is appellants’ position that the portion of ch. 327, Laws 1971, quoted above, is null and void, being violative of the contract clause of both the federal and state constitutions.

Article I, § 10, Constitution of the United States, provides that “No State shall * * * pass any * * * Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, * * Furthermore, Art. II, § 19, Constitution of New Mexico, states that “No * * * law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be enacted by the legislature.”

These constitutional provisions concerning legislative impairment of obligations created by contract are deeply imbedded in our judicial system, and rightly so, but appellants have not demonstrated in what manner ch. 327, Laws 1971, operates to impair the obligation of contract entered into by the respective parties.

Appellants do not deny entering into the lease. By signing, appellants “ * * * expressly covenanted and agreed * * * that * * * in the event the agency occupying such premises is directed to* move its offices by virtue of action of the Legislature of New Mexico * * * then Lessee shall have the right to terminate this lease * *

Thus by its very terms, the lease contemplates exactly what came to pass: “ * * * the agency occupying such premises * * * [was] directed to move its office by virtue of action of the Legislature of New Mexico * * Rather than violate the federal or state constitutional proscription against governmental impairment of contracts, ch. 327, Laws 1971, merely fulfilled one of the terms expressly contracted for by the parties. We, therefore, hold that ch. 327, Laws 1971, does not violate federal or state constitutional provisions impairing the obligation of contracts.

Appellants next contend that the statutory authorization for appellees to vacate the premises as set forth in ch. 327, Laws 1971, is null and void because it violated art. IV, § 16, New Mexico Constitution, which provides that matters contained in the body of the bill must be clearly expressed in the title of the bill and that only appropriations be contained in the general appropriations bill.

Chapter 327, Laws 1971, is entitled with notable generality:

“MAKING GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS AND AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURES FOR LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE AGENCIES, DEPARTMENTS AND INSTITUTION, INTEREST, SINKING FUNDS, PAYMENT OF PUBLIC DEBT, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND OTHER EXPENSES REQUIRED BY LAW FOR THE SIXTIETH AND SIXTY-FIRST FISCAL YEARS AND MAKING DEFICIENCY APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FIFTY-NINTH FISCAL YEAR.”

In City of Albuquerque v. Garcia, 84 N.M. 776, 778, 508 P.2d 585, 587 (1973), we stated:

“Article IV, § 16 has often been considered by this court. No useful purpose would be served by reviewing those decisions. We are not disposed to broaden its operation. * * *”

Quoting from Grant et al. v. State, 33 N.M. 633, 636, 275 P. 95, 96 (1929), the Court in Garcia, supra, continued:

“ ‘A title need not disclose the means and instrumentalities provided in the body of the act for accomplishing its purpose. Provisions reasonably necessary for attaining the object of the act embraced in the title are considered as included in the title. [Citation omitted.]’ ”

In State ex rel. Whittier v. Safford, 28 N.M. 531, 534-535, 214 P. 759, 760 (1923), we stated:

“ * * * . To sustain appellant’s contention would result in holding that nothing but bare appropriations shall be incorporated in such general appropriation bill. This is neither the purpose nor spirit of the constitutional provision under consideration. The details of expending the money so appropriated, which are necessarily connected with and related to the matter of providing the expenses of the government, are so related, connected with, and incidental to the subject of appropriations that they do not violate the Constitution if incorporated in such general appropriation bill. It is only such matters as are foreign, not related to, nor connected zvith such subject, that are forbidden. Matters which are germane to and naturally and logically connected with the expenditures of the moneys provided in the bill, being in the nature of detail, may be incorporated therein.

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Bluebook (online)
510 P.2d 510, 85 N.M. 186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-building-v-state-board-of-education-nm-1973.