Proposals to limit gifts and campaign contributions to public officials and candidates are in the hands of Senators, but Sen. Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, just skipped over them as the group prepares to hear another controversial bill that could run out the clock on the session.
The House just sent Senate versions of the bills back to the Senate for the concurrence, but not before the House Judiciary Committee last night stripped amendments made by the Senate.
The move sets up a showdown with about 65 minutes left in the session.
Senate Bill 931, sponsored by John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, would prohibit public officials and candidates for state and local offices from accepting gifts with value of more than $100 during legislative sessions and $250 during the rest of the year. It would also prohibit lobbyists from giving gifts whose combined value total more than $1,000 to any state official or candidate for state office each year.
But the House version of the bill, which has languished in the Senate for weeks, has some significant differences. Most significantly, the Senate tacked on an amendment intended to exempt food from the definition of gifts, but the House removed it from the Senate version before sending it back this morning.
Senate Bill 800, sponsored by Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, which places limits on campaign contributions to candidates for offices and political action committees. The House version of the bill only applies to contributions to candidates, and the House Judiciary Committee stripped the PAC requirement from Feldman’s bill before returning it to the Senate.
Considering the fact that the Senate has left the identical House versions of the bills untouched on its calendar for a week, there’s a good chance the bills won’t even be heard. In addition, the Senate is about to begin its hearing on the controversial House Bill 496, sponsored by Rep. Dan Silva, D-Albuquerque, which would provide more than $200 million for road projects. It’s a bill that could take up the remainder of the time left in the session.
While senators are awaiting a call of the Senate for House Bill 496, Sanchez had an opportunity to hear the ethics bills. He skipped over the two bills, which were the first two items on the concurrence calendar, to hear the third item on that calendar.