A bill that would limit campaign contributions and overhaul other financing laws was approved by the House on Monday, and now moves to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 821, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, was approved on a vote of 50-16, with those voting against it all republicans. Nine republicans voted in favor of the bill.
“I am pleased that this essential element of ethics reform received bi-partisan support today,” Stewart said in a news release. “The public has been asking us to enact laws like this one for years and it is our responsibility as the state Legislature to do so.”
The bill would create a number of new campaign finance reporting requirements for candidates and political action committees designed to increase the ability of the public to know about the money involved in elections. It would also limit campaign contributions to $2,300 for state races during each election cycle, adopting the federal caps on contributions.
Primary and general elections are considered separate cycles in the bill.
Many republicans who opposed the bill took the position that some Senate democrats have also expressed – that there haven’t been any ethics violations by House or Senate members in recent years, so there’s no need to include them in reform – an argument that ignores four scandals that touched legislators in 2006. (I wrote about that Monday. Read about it by clicking here.)
Opponents have pointed the finger at the scandal in the state treasurer’s office, not misdeeds by lawmakers, as the driving force behind ethics reform.
Rep. Kathy McCoy, R-Cedar Crest, questioned whether the bill would change anything.
“A crook is a crook is a crook, and crooks will be dishonest and go around the law no matter what we legislate,” she said.
But Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants and the majority leader, said the comprehensive package of ethics reform proposals are “about institutional integrity.”
“It is not a response to a particular case of wrongdoing,” he said. “People worry about money in politics with good reason. This package takes a huge step towards openness, fairness and integrity in our state government.”
In addition to contribution limits, the bill requires disclosure of every occupation and employer or business of a contributor of $100 or more. It closes a loophole by making the reporting laws apply to out-of-state political entities, which are currently exempt.
It also grants subpoena power to the secretary of state for investigations into possible violations of campaign finance reporting laws.
More ethics bills up for votes this week
Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, D-Nambé, defended the ethics package.
“We are serious about these initiatives becoming a reality,” he said in the news release. “We need to assure our citizens that we are protecting the integrity of our democratic process and access to the process. It is my sincere hope that we can achieve this is a bipartisan manner. It is unfortunate that some are choosing not to support this effort.”
Two of the other ethics reform bills will likely be voted on by the House this week. House Bill 818, sponsored by Lujan, would create a public financing system for statewide and judicial candidates similar to the system already in place for Public Regulation Commission races. House Bill 820, sponsored by
The bills should be up for a vote in the House this week.
“I hope all of them pass,” Stewart said.