Ethics reform got a late start in the current legislative session and isn’t gaining much steam, regardless of what Gov. Bill Richardson said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Most ethics bills were introduced later than the governor’s other priorities. In addition, I’ve already written about Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez’s campaign contribution limits bill, which appears to have a loophole so big that anyone can avoid the limits, making it a worthless piece of legislation.
Here’s the reality:
• The only ethics-reform measure moving through the Senate is Sanchez’s apparently worthless contribution-limits bill, Senate Bill 387, which is scheduled to be considered by the Rules Committee on Friday. We can only hope the committee amends it to close the loophole. If the bill passes there, it has less than two weeks to pass the Judiciary Committee, the full Senate and then be considered in the House.
• Two other ethics bills that were introduced in the Senate are Sanchez’s Senate Bill 264, a better contribution limits bill that actually places limits of $2,300 during the primary and general elections on contributions to candidates for office, and Senate Bill 312, sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson, which would require quarterly contribution reports in off years – instead of annual reports – and change some other reporting requirements. Neither has been scheduled for a committee hearing, and since Sanchez introduced 387 after he had introduced 264, there’s no indication he plans to move 264 at all.
• House Bill 309, sponsored by Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, would create and fund an independent ethics commission. This bill has yet to be scheduled for a committee hearing.
• House Bill 564, sponsored by Rep. Gail Chasey, would expand the state’s voluntary public financing system to include candidates for statewide offices. It will be considered today by the Voters and Elections Committee, but also has to be considered by the Appropriations and Finance Committee before it can be voted on by the full House and then move to the Senate.
Some lawmakers have touted as ethics reform two other proposals that are likely to pass. A bill that would fund a study on the creation of a state election commission is likely to be approved, as is additional funding to improve the state’s online campaign finance reporting and disclosure system. Those bills – especially the funding for the online system – are important, but let’s be honest: The proposals of substance – limiting campaign contributions, creating an ethics commission and expanding the public-financing system – aren’t moving quickly, if at all.
The lack of movement in the Senate is no surprise, but a number of House Democrats from around the state tell me it’s clear that ethics bills aren’t the top priority of Speaker Ben Lujan, who is focused on other issues. The fact that Chasey’s bill, which was introduced this week, is moving faster than Garcia’s bill, which was introduced earlier in the session, is telling.
And, though he says he can focus on all his priorities at once, it’s also clear that
During a Wednesday news conference, Richardson didn’t even know that Sanchez’s contribution limits bill – the one with the loophole – is a bill his staff doesn’t like. His staffers, like members of
And
Lujan moved domestic-partner benefits through the House in less than a week earlier in the session. The ethics bills need a similar push.