Democrats in the Legislature are considering going to court over at least one of Gov. Susana Martinez's line-item vetoes from the recent legislative session.

Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe, said Monday that the possibility of legal action would be discussed at the May 9 meeting of the Legislative Council, an interim committee made up of leaders from both parties and both chambers.

"We met with the leadership last week," Varela said. "What they might do is wait until the next Legislative Council meeting to discuss the possibility of filing a challenge."

The state Constitution gives the governor the power to veto expenditures. But some lawmakers have said Martinez went beyond her power in some of her line-item vetoes.

One such example, Varela said, was a $150,000 appropriation to the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority to oversee the regional housing authorities. Martinez didn't veto the appropriation, but she lowered the appropriation to $50,000.

In her veto message, Martinez said, "I agree that regional housing authority oversight is a necessary expenditure. My disagreement is with the amount appropriated for this purpose. I have disapproved of the excessive part of the appropriation."

But some legislators say a governor has the power only to approve or veto an appropriation, not change the amount.

A spokesman for Martinez has said the governor's office had researched the line-item vetoes and was confident they all were legal.

Another controversial line-item veto in the budget bill was $450,000 to fund the Commission on the Status of Women. Martinez at the outset of the session recommended getting rid of the agency to help balance the budget. But the Legislature balked.

Mary Molina Mescal, former head of the commission, said earlier this month she's looking at possible legal remedies. "You can't take funding away from an agency that's in state statute," she said. "You have to take it out of state statute first. She tried that and she wasn't successful."

In another bill, some legislators have said Martinez acted illegally by line-item vetoing a $128 million increase on unemployment taxes for businesses. She drew her pen through the tax increase but signed the bill, which reduced unemployment benefits.

Some business groups including the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Commerce and Industry were in favor of the increase, saying companies probably will face an even larger tax increase if the unemployment fund becomes insolvent.

Some claim Martinez doesn't have the power to line-item veto the tax increase because it's not an appropriation.

The Associated Press pointed out that former Gov. Bill Richardson in 2010 line-item vetoed a proposed gross-receipts tax on food, but signed other provisions of the bill into law. Nobody filed suit against Richardson's action.

Martinez told reporters that there might be a bill to "fix" the unemployment fund when the Legislature meets in special session on redistricting later this year.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.