Ethics, Disclosure and more Campaign Finance Reform Race to the Finish of the 2016 Legislative Session

HB 105 Electronic Reporting Requirements sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith (R-Tijeras) and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Abq) passed the Senate Rules Committee today unanimously and now moves on to the Senate Finance Committee before it goes to the Senate floor in these last few days of the session.  

This bill will amend the Campaign Reporting Act and the Lobbyist Regulation Act to require electronic filing of contribution and expenditure reports. It requires the Secretary of State to maintain the filing data in an open and structured format so that it may be easily searched by the public and to provide for cross-checking and compliance monitoring.

HB 105 also creates the non-reverting campaign reporting system fund in the state treasury. This fund will receive revenue lobbyist registration fees, and money in the fund is appropriated to the SOS to pay for upgrades, maintenance and operations of the electronic reporting system.

This link will take you to the KOB Ch 4 story on HB105.

HJR 5 Independent Ethics Commission sponsored by Rep. Jim Dines (R-Abq) and Rep. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces) made it to the Senate Rules Committee today as well.  Senators on the committee had significant feedback in regards to the detail contained in the amendment and requested amendments which will be considered first thing Tuesday morning. We remain optimistic that this critical state constitutional amendment will make it through these final committees for the voters to consider in November 2016.  With over 86% of registered voters across the state supporting an ethics commission, we think New Mexico has hit a tipping point to make this happen! 

Here is a link to take you to the Albuquerque Journal article on HJR 5.

Here’s a link to take you to the KOB Story on HJR 5.

SB11 Campaign Reporting Requirements sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) and Rep. Jim Smith (R-Tijeras) has rocketed through the Senate committees with unanimous support and it will be heard on the Senate floor Tuesday Feb. 16, 2016!  This important disclosure bill has been introduced in nine previous sessions with numerous amendments culminating into this fast lane tracking to pass this session.  Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizen’s United decision, our statute has fallen grossly behind the times, is filled with unconstitutional language and unenforceable requirements.  SB11 is the solution to those fatal flaws and hopefully this is the year that it can get up to the Governor’s desk! 

This year more good government issues that matter most to New Mexicans have made it farther than ever thanks to overwhelming support from the public who want change, YOU. We’ll keep you posted!