NEW MEXICO Monday Movements on Bills

SB 205, Unaffiliated Voters in Primary Elections, sponsored by Sen. John Sapien, passed the Senate Rules Committee today!

SB 205 would amend the election code to allow a registered voter who has not designated a political party preference on their voter registration certificate to choose to affiliate with a major political party during a primary election by requesting any major political party ballot of their choice. Next it is off to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Tuesday February 28

HJR 3, Independent Redistricting Commission, sponsored by Representative Carl Trujillo, Senator Bill O’Neil and Senator Mark Moores, will have its second hearing in the House Local Government, Elections, Land Grant and Cultural Affairs Committee at 1:30 PM in Room 315, to review a newly amended version of HJR3 that will include language requiring that the commission’s make-up reflect a broad geographic distribution from around the state and a few other technical changes. 

HR3, Continual Engrossing of Legislation, sponsored by Rep. Nate Gentry, will be heard in the House Rules and Order of Business committee at 11 AM in room 307. HR3 would amend House Rules that upon adoption of a committee report recommending amendments to a bill, memorial or resolution, the chief clerk will post on the legislative website a document with the amendments incorporated into its text. The document will make clear which text is original and which is language added or struck by amendment. This is a great initiative for transparency in making these amendments available and accessible to the public as bills move through the legislative process!

Wednesday March 1

SB 225, Estimated Lobbyist Expense Report Filing, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Steinborn, is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Rules Committee at 8:30 a.m. in Room 321. This bill adds a requirement for lobbyists’ employers to make an estimated lobbying expense report with the Secretary of State (SOS) no later than January 15th and May 1st of each year and outlines the contents of the required reports. The reports are required to also contain the actual expenses incurred by lobbyists’ employers for the previous reporting period.

SB 228, Post-Session Lobbyist Reports, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Steinborn, is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Rules Committee at 8:30 a.m. in Room 321. This bill would require each lobbyist or lobbyist employer who is required to file an expenditure report, to file a report with the Secretary of State (SOS) within one week following a legislative session. Each lobbyist or lobbyist employer would be required to disclose which legislation was advocated for or against by the lobbyist and their employer, and whether the lobbyist or lobbyist employer supported or opposed that piece of legislation.

SB 393, Lobbyist Reporting Requirements, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto and Rep. James Smith, is scheduled in the Senate Rules Committee at 8:30 a.m. in Room 321. This bill amends the Lobbyist Regulation Act changing the reporting threshold to require cumulative reporting of expenses incurred under $100, in addition to the existing requirement for reporting single transactions over $100. 

Thursday March 2

SB 97, Public Financing of Campaign Fixes, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth, is on the agenda in the House Local Government, Elections, Land Grant & Cultural Affairs Committee at 1:30pm in Room 315.

New Mexico currently has three systems for public financing of campaigns: the Public Regulation Commission, Court of Appeals and the NM Supreme Court. This bill fixes current statutory language that is unconstitutional following recent case rulings, it prohibits candidates who run unopposed from receiving more than 10% of the public funding available to them, and prohibits the use of campaign funds for living expenses or compensation to the candidate or candidate’s family.

Please check in for an update from the Common Cause New Mexico team tomorrow so see what other bills may be added to committee calendars on the Democracy Wire page of our website!

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