The 2019 NMGPA is here!

How about some good news for a change? Common Cause New Mexico had a banner year in the New Mexico legislature this year, making huge strides on the good government issues we have been working on for years – ethics, transparency and voting rights.

Now that the dust has settled, we are unveiling our second official legislative report card, the NMGPA, www.nmgpa.org. The report card tracks how your elected legislators voted on key good government bills in 2019 and, on our website, records a “lifetime” score based on the 2017 and 2019 sessions.

Common Cause New Mexico is at the Roundhouse every day during New Mexico’s legislative session working for better disclosure laws, more accountability, and increased transparency in your state government. Building on many years of work, this year we passed enabling legislation to set up the New Mexico Ethics Commission and a disclosure bill for independent PACS, which had been vetoed by the previous governor.

We also passed early and automatic voter registration – measures that will expand access and voter participation. These advances came from concerned citizens like you making calls, visiting your elected officials, sending emails, and getting involved here in New Mexico where you can make the most difference.

And it is also due to legislators, whose efforts, for better or worse, are reflected in this NMGPA report card. Here’s how it works. We tracked the votes of legislators on five priority bills during the 2019 session:

• SB 3, Sen. Peter Wirth, Campaign Finance Reporting torequire disclosure of campaign spending by independent groups and PACs.
• SB 4, Sen. Peter Wirth: Campaign Public Financing Changes to tighten requirements for publicly financed candidates under the Voter Action Act.
• SB 668, Sen. Mimi Stewart: Enacting the State Ethics Commission
• SB 672, Sens. Linda Lopez & Daniel Ivey-Soto, Rep. Linda Trujillo: Allowing for Voter Registration during Early Voting and Providing for Automatic Voter Registration and Updates to Voter Registration
• HB 55, Reps. Gail Chasey, Damon Ely & Patricia Roybal Caballero; Sens. Carlos R. Cisneros & Mimi Stewart, Agreement to Elect President by Popular Vote toallow New Mexico to enter into a multi-state compact to award state’s presidential electoral votes to the winner of the national vote if states possessing a majority of the electoral votes (270) have joined the compact.

Legislators have multiple opportunities to vote for or against good government bills, depending on whether they encounter the measures (or amendments) in committee(s) or on the floor. Our grades reflect the varied opportunities each legislator had to act on these issues. For example, if a legislator had 15 opportunities to either support a good government bill or oppose it, and he did the right thing 14 times, his GPA would be 14/15 or 93%.

We think it’s a great way to hold legislators accountable for all their votes, and we intend to compile the scores each year, with each legislator receiving a cumulative GPA—just like in college.  Check out the complete methodology and votes at www.nmgpa.org and thank our sponsors, who each received an extra point on the GPA to reward their often heroic efforts.

Together, here in New Mexico, we are making an impact – preserving transparency, fighting for accountability, ethical conduct, and equal access to the ballot for all of our citizens. We cannot let up now. In these dangerous times for democracy, your efforts are vital.

Please stay active on our issues by:

1.    Following us on twitter @commoncausenm

2.    On Facebook at Facebook.com/commoncausenewmexico

We count on your engagement.