By Mary Herrera
This is in regard to the New Mexico Independent article written by Trip Jennings (Lawmakers Mull Withholding Funds to Force Office to Comply With Tech Rules). Please see the attached secretary of state IT plans we submitted in September 2007 for FY 2009 and September 2008 for FY 2010 (Click here for FY 2009 and here for FY 2010).
Executive-branch agencies must submit their budgets and IT plans to several committees before a recommendation is given to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. As you will see, the Secretary of State’s Office has requested funds for a new campaign finance reporting system.
Several reporters claim I have been funded appropriately. Again, this is untrue.
Thanks to Sen. Dede Feldman, who reinstated her capital outlay money from prior years, we received a $70,000 appropriation. We used that to create an Excel spread sheet and update the forms for that year for candidates to file their campaign reports. This amount only allowed us to do minor enhancements.
The following fiscal year we were appropriated $176,500 for additional enhancements. Rather than spending any more funds on a 14-year-old system that is outdated and that FileOne (the company that makes the software) has advised us they will be doing away with in the next two years, we went to the Legislature to ask for a change in the language that would allow us to use these funds to pursue another option.
The Legislature allowed us to do that effective July 1 of this year.
We are now moving forward on utilizing these funds to purchase the Washington State system. Due to the funds available, we will have an improved system, but not a new system.
I have also attached a copy of the bill passed by Wyoming’s Legislature and related documents (click here to read them). Their Legislature budgeted $2.5 million for their secretary of state to implement a new system. The Colorado secretary of state just received $900,000 for an improved system as well.
I challenge Representative Janice Arnold-Jones to carry a bill for the State of New Mexico during the next legislative session to appropriate the correct amount of funding to install a new campaign financial system that the taxpayers deserve.
Herrera is New Mexico’s secretary of state. You can find the context for her commentary by clicking here.