1. who occupies each branch
a. Legislative Branch: bicameral house (elected)
i. Senate- 42 senators
ii. House of Representatives- 70 Representatives
b. Executive Branch:
i. Governor (elected)
1. Cabinet (elected)
a. Lieutenant Gov.
b. Secretary of State
c. Sec. of Cultural Affairs
d. Sec. of CYFD
e. Sec of Indian Affairs
f. Sec. of Public Education
c. Judicial Branch:
i. NM Supreme Court: 5 justices
ii. Court of Appeals: 10 justices
iii. District Courts: 13 districts with a total of 88 judges
2. length of each term
a. Legislative:
i. Senate: 4 year terms; unlimited re-election
ii. House of Representatives: 2 year terms; unlimited
re-election
b. Executive: 4 year terms; may only serve 2 consecutive
terms
c. Judicial: retained or rejected every eight years in general
election
3. when does the leg. branch hold its session vs. Fed. govt. session
a. NM: 3rd Tuesday in January
i. Odd years- 60 day session
ii. Even years- 30 day session
1. Can be called into special session by the
governor
2. Duties- consider budget, appropriations,
revenue bills, special messages from governor,
bills from previous sessions that were vetoed
rd
b. US: Jan 3 each year; spend approx. 140 days in sessions
4. what exactly does the governor do
a. Governor Duties: hiring staff, give state report, command
NM National Guard, submit bills to legislature, sign bills
into law, veto or line-item veto bills
5. what does the judicial branch oversee
a. NM Supreme Ct.: criminal matters, sentencing, appeals
hearings
b. Ct. of Appeals: civil, non-capital criminal, and juvenile
cases; administrative appeals
c. District Ct.: property, domestic, misdemeanor cases
i. Magistrate Ct.: jury trials, preliminary felony
hearings, misdemeanor, traffic violations
ii. Probate: domestic cases
iii. Municipal (city): petty misdemeanors, traffic
violations, municipal ordinance violations
6. Who are the representatives for your district
a. San Juan County (4 Senate districts & 5 Rep. districts)
i. NM Leg. Senators:
1. Neville
2. Sharer
3. Pinto
4. Munoz
ii. NM Leg. Representatives:
1. Montoya
2. Strickler
3. Bandy
4. Clahchinschilliage
5. Johnson