Gov. Bill Richardson announced on Saturday that he will reconvene his ethics task force and may call a second special session to deal with ethics reform.
The announcement came the day after the first special session ended without any significant ethics reform being approved.
During the regular and special sessions, the Legislature approved amendments to the governmental conduct act, limits on gifts to public officials and candidates for office, and public financing of judicial races only if voters approve a constitutional amendment that eliminates the retention system.
Lawmakers failed to place limits on campaign contributions, create a state ethics commission or approve legislative expense funds.
Most of the ethics reform proposals were based on the work of the task force.
“We are not going to sit on our hands because a handful of state senators, including most Republicans, refuse to reform our ethics laws,”
It’s not just Republicans who are in opposition. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, was perhaps the most outspoken critic of ethics reform during the regular session, and he was joined in his complaints by many Democratic senators.
Opposition wasn’t limited to the Senate. Though the House approved the ethics commission, it joined the Senate in not providing any funding for it in the budget. Even if the commission had been approved, it would have lacked the tools needed to work.
The lack of action on ethics reform is part of the reason for the potential third session. But
“I want tough ethics proposals that will shed more light on government spending with the goal of preventing illegal kickback schemes like the one outlined in the courthouse scandal,”
Though it wasn’t officially part of the ethics reform package, the bill that was perhaps most relevant to the
Opposition will continue
Opposition to the proposals will continue, Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces and the minority whip, told the Associated Press. He said ethics reforms would trap people who are trying to be honest and could be abused.
“Just because you have an ethics commission or ethics laws doesn’t make someone ethical,” he told the news service, adding that, if voters elect ethical people, “then you don’t have to worry about ethics legislation.”
Even ethical people are tempted by massive campaign contributions. Limiting contributions is a no-brainer. And there are a number of examples from the past year, both in the executive and legislative branches of state government, that illustrate the need for an ethics commission.
A bipartisan group of senators argued during the regular session that scandal had not touched the Legislature, so there was no need for ethics reform that applied to the Legislature. They were wrong at the time. I’ve written before about a situation involving Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera, that warrants, but has not received, investigation.
Though four of the seven implicated in the
The Senate isn’t immune from scandal. That’s why the state needs an independent commission to keep an eye on it.