Campaign Finance Bill in Senate Rules Committee Tomorrow at 9AM!

Campaign Finance Bill in Senate Rules Committee Tomorrow at 9AM!

Support better campaign finance and lobbyist reporting by joining Common Cause New Mexico for the hearing tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow, Saturday February 12, 2016, one of CCNM’s priority bills, SB11 Campaign Finance Disclosure, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth and Rep. James Smith will be heard in the Senate Rules committee at 9 AM.

Please spread the word and let’s fill the room!

This legislation has passed the Senate THREE times, the last two unanimously. And last year made it through all House committees before running out of time. The bill has been introduced in the same form as we left off last year, so come support all the hard work many of us have done over the last six years to see this pass.

We have always said this bill will level the playing field – candidates, political parties and some PACs already report their spending – and this bill ensures all the independent spenders are also disclosing when they reach certain spending limits.

The bill requires public disclosure of information about the campaign spending of PACs and Independent groups to disclose contributions and expenditures as the candidates and political parties are already required. It also adds definitions that are critical to improve transparency in our elections.

 In a 2016 poll conducted by Research and Polling, Inc., the public support for this legislation is off the charts! Of registered voters in New Mexico,

  • 91% want public disclosure of all large contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees (PACs), nonprofits, or unions
  • 91% support a bill that would require independent political groups to report who their donors are and how their money is being spent on campaigns