By KRWG News
Las Cruces – Another state judge has ruled that New Mexico's "tax lightning" law is unconstitutional.
State District Judge Manuel Arrieta's ruling in Dona Ana County supports similar rulings from state District Court judges in Bernalillo County.
His decision came Thursday in a lawsuit filed by a Las Cruces couple who challenged a state law that took effect in 2001. That law caps property taxes at 3 percent for existing home owners, but has no such protection for new owners after a house is sold.
Arrieta's ruling says lawmakers went beyond the limitations of the Constitution in adopting the legislation.
County Assessor Andy Segovia tells the Las Cruces Sun-News he has no plans to challenge the ruling in the New Mexico Court of Appeals, where several other tax lightning cases are being considered.
___
Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.