ALBUQUERQUE — Gov. Susana Martinez's administration defended itself Wednesday against allegations that it circumvented the law when it put the brakes on the publication of numerous pending and proposed rules in the state register, including new regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions across New Mexico.

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday with the state Supreme Court that the administration disregarded the law when it moved to halt the codification and printing of the greenhouse gas regulations, which were approved in December by state regulators and filed with the state records administrator. Without publication, the rules cannot become effective.

The law center petitioned the court on behalf of New Energy Economy, a nonprofit group that pushed for the greenhouse gas emissions cap. The center is asking the court to force Martinez and F. David Martin, whom she nominated to head the state Environment Department, to follow the law and have the regulations published.

Bruce Frederick, a staff attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, argues in the lawsuit that the emissions rules were adopted by the state Environmental Improvement Board and should not be considered as pending because they haven't been published in the register.

The lawsuit accuses Martinez, Martin and State Records Administrator Sandra Jaramillo of "several unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful actions."

"We are trying to uphold the rule of law and to ensure that the new governor and her staff follow it," Frederick said in a statement.

Martinez's office argues it is following the law and that an executive order issued by the governor on her first day in office calling for a 90-day review of pending and proposed rules does not violate the legal requirement that the State Records Center publish the rules "in a timely manner."

"The governor's office is adhering to this requirement, while properly reviewing this regulation pursuant to the executive order," Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell told The Associated Press. "The executive order does not seek to avoid or cancel publication, nor does it seek to amend or repeal the rule."

He added that the temporary postponement in publication will have no effect on the rule's application or implementation given that its effective date is Jan. 1, 2013 or later.

The Supreme Court has yet to take action on the law center's complaint.

The emissions rules in question are essentially a backup measure to regulations approved and published last year that allow the state to participate in a regional cap-and-trade program. Both measures call for large polluters such as coal-fired power plants and refineries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions each year from baseline levels.

Critics, including Martinez, expect the regulations to have a devastating impact on New Mexico's economy. The governor has referred to the rules as a "cap and tax."

In approving the rules, some members of the Environmental Improvement Board argued that health and environmental costs would be higher in the future if New Mexico failed to take a proactive approach to reining in greenhouse gases.

Aside from the emissions rules, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center said in its complaint that the administration's action has prevented the codification and publication of a total of 32 final rules. Those include rules aimed at preventing groundwater contamination by the dairy industry and numerous provisions adopted by the real estate and construction industries divisions.



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