State Rep. Jeff Steinborn became on Friday the latest lawmaker to introduce a bill that would cap campaign contributions in New Mexico.
Steinborn’s House Bill 495 is different than bills that have been given serious consideration in recent years in that, in addition to placing limits on campaign contributions, it would also make it a fourth-degree felony to violate the act in excess of $10,000.
“House Bill 495 is not only the toughest campaign contribution legislation introduced this session,” the Las Cruces Democrat said in a news release, “but it is also endorsed by members of both parties. If enacted in law, these limits would ensure that New Mexico’s government belongs to our citizens and not to the deep pockets of large campaign contributors.”
Steinborn’s news release listed Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque; Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque; and Rep. Paul Bandy, R-Aztec as the primary co-sponsors of the legislation.
The bill would cap contributions to candidates at $2,300, to political committees at $5,000, and to political parties at $10,000. The bill matches the 2008 limits for federal candidates except in the case of political parties’ contributions to candidates, which under federal law can be as great as $5,000. And while federal law allows limits to increase automatically based on consumer price indexing — as the limit individuals can give to candidates just increased from $2,300 to $2,400 — Steinborn’s bill would require that any future increases in state contribution limits be approved by the Legislature and governor.
“The need for contribution limits in New Mexico is long overdue. I applaud this bipartisan effort to come together for the benefit of our state, and I urge the Legislature to adopt this very important measure,” Stewart said of the bill.
New Mexico is one of only a handful of states with no campaign contribution limits. In 2007 and 2008, the House and Senate approved different contribution-limits bills and never reconciled those differences, so the proposal died.
The other contribution limit bills that have been introduced this year are:
• House Bill 252, sponsored by Al Park, D-Albuquerque.
• Senate Bill 116, sponsored by Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque.
• Senate Bill 262, sponsored by Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park.
• Senate Bill 346, sponsored by Bernadette Sanchez, D-Albuquerque.