Don’t let old law halt urgent preparations

This is a time for bending the rules.

The First Amendment clearly protects churches from interference by the government, but at a time when thousands of people are dying every day from a virus that we know with absolute certainty is spread by close contact with other people, those constitutional protections must give way to life-saving restrictions.

Allowing packed church services now would endanger not only those attending the services, but potentially everybody else they come within six feet of for the next 14 days. Two funerals in the small town of Albany, Georgia, led to a spread of the virus throughout the community, resulting in some 500 confirmed cases and at least 29 deaths.

Services will still be held by churches throughout town this Holy Week, but without the packed pews. Traditional messages will be delivered in a new way.

The government is not trying to silence religious speech. It is trying to slow a rampaging pandemic and preserve as many lives as possible. That must be the top priority.

In Las Cruces, attempts by the city government to prepare for the pandemic are being hampered by a provision in our state Constitution that was intended to deter profiteering when the railroad tracks were first being laid across New Mexico.

Our state had a pretty shady reputation at the time, and the Anti-Donation Clause (ADC) may have been needed to curb corruption more than 100 years ago. City coffers throughout New Mexico were emptied by town officials trying to lure the railroads to come through their communities.

The clause prohibits the state or any government entity within it from making “any donation to or in aid of any person, association or public or private corporation.”

That sounds simple. But, as Alan Hall wrote in a 2014 analysis of the clause, it isn’t. For example, money for college scholarships is seen as a violation of the clause, but not money for the Lottery Scholarship Fund.

Interpretations of the clause have changed over the years. The rules were tightened a few years ago to prohibit things like dances at the Munson Senior Center that had been held there for years.

The clause is now standing in the way of city officials as they work to prepare for the spread of the coronavirus in Las Cruces,

The City Council approved a $1 million aid package recently that will assist the school district and local non-profits, and pump money into its own planning and equipment. But there were other things the city wanted to do but decided against because of the ADC.

One idea was to purchase meals from local restaurants to help feed healthcare workers and first responders, addressing two problems at once. They also discussed gift cards from local businesses for healthcare workers or first responders and cash vouchers to help the unemployed.

All those ideas were set aside over concerns about the ADC, but councilors made it clear that this will not be their final attempt at addressing the many issues caused by the pandemic.

As of Monday, there were 29 confirmed cases in Dona Ana County. Based on the state averages, that probably means three or four people have been hospitalized. 

The healthcare crisis has not yet reached us with full force. Let’s hope it never does. But the financial crisis has. And city officials need to prepare for both.

At some point down the line, that may mean bending the rules. Get through the crisis and worry about the technicalities later.

Walt Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com.