This article has been updated.
With Senate concurrence this morning to House changes to the bill, the Legislature has approved the implementation of campaign contribution limits beginning with the 2010 election cycle. Assuming the governor signs the bill, New Mexico will become the 46th state to enact some type of limits.
Gov. Bill Richardson has pushed the proposal for years and called for its approval earlier in the session. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment following this morning’s Senate vote.
There was little discussion in the Senate this morning when Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, explained the changes made by the House to Senate Bill 116, sponsored by Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque. It was on a voice vote that senators opted to concur and give final legislative approval to the bill.
The bill, as approved by the Legislature, would limit contributions to non-statewide candidates for office — including legislative candidates — to $2,300 per election from any entity except a political committee, which could give a maximum of $5,000 to non-statewide candidates. It would limit contributions to statewide candidates for office, political action committees and political parties to $5,000 per election from individuals and groups. There are two elections — a primary and a general — in each election cycle.
New Mexico is currently one of five states without some type of campaign contribution limits. Enacting such limits is one of several proposals that have been pushed for years by ethics-reform advocates, and approval of the proposal is likely to be listed by reform backers as the most significant ethics-reform accomplishment of the session.
Update, 10:55 a.m.
“The legislative leadership in both chambers deserves an enormous amount of credit for pushing this bill through to the governor,” said Steven Robert Allen, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico. “This is a major step forward for New Mexico. In future sessions, we will need to address broader campaign finance reforms — especially an expansion of public campaign financing to statewide executive races. For now, though, we should be thankful this important measure has passed.”