A bill that would expand the state’s public financing system remains in limbo in the Senate Rules Committee after members who were present for a vote on whether to table the bill earlier today were evenly split.
The party-line vote on a motion from a Republican senator to table Senate Bill 165 was 3-3. Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, did not attend the meeting, and Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, left the meeting when debate on the bill started.
At the time of the committee’s vote on the bill, the Senate had already begun its daily floor session. Sanchez runs the floor sessions.
The bill is sponsored by Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, and would expand the state’s voluntary public financing system to include legislators with the 2012 election and statewide elected officials after that. The system currently applies to state judicial and Public Regulation Commission races.
At today’s hearing, Griego told committee members that there are a lot of reform proposals that would toughen penalties or make small, systemic changes to improve ethics in the state, but his is the one bill that would make a widespread, systemic change.
“This really tries to get to the heart of what I believe and what many believe is the heart of the problem with our process,” he said.
Griego acknowledged the budget crunch and the likelihood that many will be unwilling to fund an expansion of the public financing system this year. But, he said, since the expansion wouldn’t take effect until 2012, passing the bill now would allow for planning and implementation to begin. It could be funded later, he said.
Among those who voiced support for the bill were representatives from the attorney general’s and secretary of state’s offices, Common Cause New Mexico, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and the AARP.
So did Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque and one of the committee’s members.
“Until we go to some form of a public financing system, we will continue to do back flips and somersaults to avert the perception that money buys influence and access in our political process,” she said.
No one in the audience spoke in opposition to the bill, but Sen. Dianna Duran, R-Tularosa and a committee member, expressed concern based on a need to clean up the state’s voter rolls. Griego said the state and counties would have three years to do that before the 2012 election.
Ethics bills on Monday’s schedule
The committee meeting ended with a number of other ethics bills unheard. They’ll be on the agenda again when the committee meets at 8 a.m. on Monday. Griego’s public financing bill could also be brought up again.
The New Mexico Independent, which webcast today’s meeting, plans to webcast Monday’s meeting as well.
Here are the ethics bills on the schedule for Monday:
• Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, and Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Griego, which would both prohibit lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for one year after they leave office.
• Senate Bill 116, sponsored by Feldman; Senate Bill 262, sponsored by Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park; and Senate bill 346, sponsored by Bernadette Sanchez, D-Albuquerque, which would all enact campaign contribution limits.
• Senate Bill 128, sponsored by Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, which would require that candidates file reports of expenditures and contributions twice a year in off-election years. Currently, the law requires that annually.
• Senate Bill 258, sponsored by Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, which would ban all campaign contributions to statewide elected officials from state contractors or prospective contractors.
• Senate Bill 263, sponsored by Beffort, and Senate Bill 296, sponsored by Feldman, which would both require that prospective and current state and local government contractors disclose their campaign contributions.