Senate may kill bill to limit campaign contributions

The New Mexico Senate may be ready to defeat a bill that would places limits on campaign contributions to candidates for state offices.

A similar bill has been approved by the House, but the Senate just amended the bill so that, if it passed, it would take effect in the year 3007, effectively making it irrelevant. That may be a sign that it’s about to be defeated.

Senate Bill 800, sponsored by Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, would create a number of new campaign finance reporting requirements for candidates and political action committees and would limit campaign contributions to $2,300 for state races during each election cycle. Primary and general elections are considered separate cycles under the proposal.

The amount would increase to keep pace with the federal contribution limit, which is currently $2,300 and rises slightly every year. The limits would apply to contributions to candidates and political actions committees under a separate amendment approved by the Senate this afternoon.

It previously only applied to contributions to candidates.

The amendment that changed the effective date of the Campaign Reporting Act, as it’s called, was approved by the Senate on a vote of 19-17.

It was proposed by Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces.

“It’ll give us a little more time to get adjusted to the new rules,” he said.

If the bill passes, the House could amend the effective date to make the bill relevant, then send it back to the Senate for concurrence. And the bill is similar to House Bill 821, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, which has passed the House and is currently awaiting a hearing in the Senate judiciary committee.

I’ll have an update soon.

Update, 6:25 p.m.

Feldman proposed another amendment to move the effective date back to Jan. 1, 2008.

“I think this is a serious public policy issue for New Mexico,” she said, adding that she wanted the bill, if it was to die, to die on the “issues” and not an amendment “that makes fun of the issue.”

Sen. Joe Carraro, R-Albuquerque, originally voted to amend the effective date to 3007. He said he did that because the Senate has become too political, and Feldman has been part of that, and it needs to stop. He then announced he would change his vote, support Feldman’s amendment and allow a serious bill to be voted on based on the merits.

“We need ethics reform,” Carraro said.

Update, 6:30 p.m.

The bill has been amended back, on a vote of 21-15, to make the effective date Jan. 1, 2008.

Update, 6:50 p.m.

I’m leaving the Senate for awhile to cover the hearings on the housing authority reform bills in the House Business and Industry Committee, so I’ll update this issue later.