What’s ahead for the session with just 3 weeks to go?

02.25.2019

Three big wins from last week…. But we aren’t there yet!

ETHICS:

The NM Ethics Commission (HB 4) unanimously passed its first committee, House Judiciary, on Saturday Feb. 23 thanks to the hard work of Rep. Daymon Ely and Common Cause’s Heather Ferguson. This is just the start of the work that good government proponents will have to do to pass the bill with adequate jurisdiction, funding and transparency over the next three weeks until the end of the session.

Please contact House Appropriations Chairwoman Rep. Patty Lundstrum and committee members to reaffirm $1 million in funding for a strong commission.

See the latest media coverage on HB4:

House Panel Begins Debate on Ethics Commission Bill – ABQ Journal 

Ethics Commission Passes its First Hurdle – ABQ Journal

VOTING:

Both of Common Cause’s Voter Access Bills – HB 84 and HB 86 – passed the House on Feb. 20 after many hours of debate and numerous attempts at filibusters (vote was 44-22). Many thanks to Rep. Sarinana and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who defended HB 84 to provide automatic voter registration at MVD and other state agencies for three hours on the House floor.

Our thanks and congratulations to Rep. Joy Garrett for leading the house floor debate on HB 86 to allow for Election Day and Early Voting Registration along with our formidable Secretary of State, to carry it over the House finish line in a vote of 44-22. Speaker Brian Egolf, who presided during these long and tense debates, deserves a round of thanks for his leadership and support of these important bills.

We know that our members believe that good democracy is worth the fight!! We should be making voting easier—not harder.

See the latest media coverage on HB84:

AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION MOVES CLOSER TO REALITY IN ANOTHER STATE, DESPITE REPEATED REPUBLICAN OPPOSITION – Newsweek

Both of these bills are now pending before the Senate Rules Committee.

Neither the Senate nor the House have begun to hear one another’s bills yet, but this will happen soon and it is important that our priority bills be at the start of the line. The clock is ticking!

Also pending in the Senate Rules Committee:

HB 55, AGREEMENT TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT BY NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE, which has also passed the House.

CCNM Member Action Request:
Let Chairwoman Sen. Linda Lopez and other members of the Senate Rules committee that you would like HB 55, 84 & 86 to be heard soon!

CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURE & PUBLIC FINANCING:

Two priority Campaign Finance Bills sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth have passed the Senate and are pending now before House Committees. Please use the links to committees below to ask that they be scheduled for hearings.

SB 3, CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth SB 3, requires the disclosure of independent spending and is now awaiting scheduling in the House Judiciary Committee.

SB 4, CAMPAIGN PUBLIC FINANCING CHANGES, sponsored by Peter Wirth SB 4, a public financing clean-up bill, is now awaiting scheduling in the House State Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee.

These House bills are waiting to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee:

Also pending in House Appropriations:

Our Victories So Far:

  • SB 191, Lobbyist Reporting Requirements, to close a loophole, is already SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR INTO LAW!
  • HJR 4, Free and Fair Elections Resolutions, which would have allowed for a runaway U.S. Constitutional Convention has been TABLED indefinitely.

Thanks to all of our members who called and emailed to support all of CCNM’s Priority Bills!

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See More: Legislative EthicsLimits on the Influence of Money In PoliticsLobbying