Democracy Bills Clear First Committees

Two CCNM priority bills cleared their first committees Wednesday morning

Two CCNM priority bills cleared their first committees Wednesday morning: Lobbyist Reporting Requirements and National Popular Vote.

Better disclosure of lobbying activities empowers the public by informing them of who is trying to influence legislators and what their motives might be.  And the National Popular Vote Compact would work within the laws governing the Electoral College to delegate participating states to vote for the winner of the National Popular Vote, regardless of the outcome on a state-by-state basis, thusly guaranteeing a majority winner for presidential elections.

SB 191 – LOBBYIST REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto – passed unanimously through the Senate Rules committee.  Read more from NM In Depth here: Senate Rules quick to pass lobbyist loophole fix. 

HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT, ELECTIONS & INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE:

Friday, January 25, 2019 – 8:30 A.M. – Room 305

HB 55 was passed by the House State Government, Elections & Indian Affairs Committee with a 6-3 vote along party lines on Wednesday. The bill will now go to the House Judiciary Committee. Please tell your legislators on the House Judiciary that you support NPV!

HB 55 calls for the state legislature to sign on to a compact with other states who all agree to allot the state’s electoral college votes to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes in all 50 states. The National Popular Vote compact has already been passed by 12 states, accounting for 172 electoral votes.

Great work by NPV NM and their lobbyist, Diane Wood, in mobilizing a huge group of their grassroots supporters who packed the committee room today! We were also joined by many of our partner organizations: the League of Women Voters, several Indivisible NM groups, Retake our Democracy, New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, the ACLU, Olé and others.

Here’s a brief overview of the two priority bills ahead for tomorrow, including Same-Day Registration and 3-Day Voter Registration.  Learn more from NM Political Report here: Register and vote on the same day? Dems want to make it a reality

Other CCNM priority bills, such as the enabling legislation for the new Independent Ethics Commission voters passed in November, are just getting their finishing touches on their language and should be introduced early next week!

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