Democratic lawmakers who have stood in the way of ethics reform, beware: A new poll finds that an overwhelming majority of New Mexico Democrats want tougher ethics laws.
The poll, released today by the Albuquerque Journal, finds that 88 percent of New Mexico Democrats want tougher ethics laws when asked this question: “Do you support or oppose tougher
There’s a good chance the Legislature will approve campaign contribution limits in January, as even the reform-adverse Senate majority leader, Michael Sanchez, has said he believes such a bill will pass. A task force convened by the governor is recommending the other proposals related to lobbyists and an ethics commission – proposals a number of powerful lawmakers from both parties oppose.
The Legislature’s interim Ethics Subcommittee, whose membership includes a number of reform opponents, is holding its first meeting to discuss ethics reform on Friday.
But legislative opposition to reform, coupled with the governor’s push for domestic partner benefits and the lieutenant governor’s push for universal health care during the 30-day session, has many believing most ethics reform proposals don’t stand a chance.
The new poll suggests the Legislature should give them a chance. The survey of 407
The poll found that 7 percent of the state’s Democratic voters oppose reform and 5 percent are undecided. Widespread support for tougher ethics laws extended across ethnic and geographic lines and age groups, the Journal reported. Some 91 percent of liberal Democrats, 87 percent of conservative Democrats and 85 percent of moderate Democrats support the tougher laws.
Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, told the Journal she hopes in 2008 “there will be a more receptive audience” in the Legislature to ethics reform. But House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambé, said that while he and the House support a number of proposals, he’s hesitant about an ethics commission.
“The issue here is ethical conduct,” he told the newspaper. “You’re never going to be able to legislate morals. You have those rules in Congress and look at what is happening there.”
Last year, the Senate refused to touch the ethics commission bill. The House overwhelming approved it but, perhaps revealing the true feelings of a majority of its members, refused to provide funding for its operations in its version of the budget bill.
It will be interesting to see if Democratic lawmakers who oppose the reform proposals will be swayed by the new poll. It will also be interesting to see, if the Legislature doesn’t approve tougher laws in the next session, whether voters will back up their poll answers with their votes next November.