The office of Attorney General Gary King isn’t happy with today’s decision that attempting to force two nonprofits to register as political action committees violates their First Amendment right to free speech.
“We are disappointed in the outcome of today’s ruling and we will take some time to thoroughly review the court’s decision before deciding our next course of action. We are assessing our options and will likely make that public in a few days,” King said in a statement released by his office.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mary Herrera wrote in an e-mail only that her office and the AG “will be reviewing the opinion.”
Earlier today, U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera issued a 30-page decision stating that mailers like this one sent out by New Mexico Youth Organized (NMYO) — which is a project of the Center for Civic Policy (CCP) — and SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) two to three months before last year’s June primary don’t meet the narrow definition in federal law of political activity and thus can’t be regulated as such.
King has said the mailers cross the line between issue advocacy and political campaigning as defined by the state’s Campaign Reporting Act, alleging that they were designed to help progressive legislative candidates win elections. In addition to contending that the mailers were about an upcoming special session of the Legislature, not an election, the nonprofits have said all along that federal law trumps state law.
In her decision, the judge agreed with both points made by the nonprofits.
By way of disclosure, I also write for the New Mexico Independent, which is owned by the Center for Independent Media in Washington. When the group was starting up its New Mexico news site last year, CCP helped it locate funding sources. In addition, one of my colleagues at NMI, Marjorie Childress, works for SWOP. Neither organization has tried to use those facts to influence anything I have written.