A New Mexico judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that tried to block the state’s universal child care program, clearing the way for the aid to keep flowing to families regardless of income.
District Judge Elaine Lujan said the case brought by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez and other plaintiffs was moot and that they lacked standing to sue. The ruling means the state can keep covering daycare costs under the expanded program, at least for now.
The challenge centered on how Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration moved to eliminate an income cap and co-pays for child care assistance before lawmakers had formally weighed in. The plaintiffs said that sequence mattered because the administration acted first and only later did the Legislature authorize and fund the expansion. The state, in response, said that later action by lawmakers made the dispute academic.
Attorney Jacob Candelaria, who represented Rodriguez and the other plaintiffs, argued the administration had overstepped. “Just because (Lujan Grisham) thinks she has a great idea doesn’t mean she gets to write the law and enforce the law,” he said during the hearing in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The court’s dismissal does not resolve the broader fight over who gets to set the terms of the program, but it does preserve the policy in place while the state continues operating it. Rodriguez’s attorneys said they will appeal, leaving open whether the challenge can be revived in a higher court.
