Bill > SB266

This bill aims to stagger the terms of district court judges and metropolitan court judges in New Mexico. The key provisions are: 1. District court judges' terms will be staggered, with one-third of the positions expiring every six years, starting in 2026, 2028, and 2024. This is to balance the number of judicial positions appearing on the ballot in any one election cycle, enable more effective evaluation of judges by the judicial performance evaluation commission, and create greater continuity of judges at the trial court level. 2. Metropolitan court judges' terms will be staggered, with one-half of the positions expiring every four years, starting in 2024 and 2022. This is for similar reasons as the district court judge term staggering. 3. The administrative office of the courts is required to maintain a current list of judges and their term expiration years on its website. 4. The legislature finds that these judicial term adjustments are necessary to achieve the stated goals.

Government Affairs, Justice

https://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/legislation.aspx?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=266&year=21