The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)
A number of sticking points still remain in the debate over the creation of a state ethics commission, including whether the body’s work should be confidential and the makeup of the commission itself.
That’s what came out of a discussion about three ethics commission proposals today in the Senate Rules Committee. Ultimately, the committee took no action, but sponsors of the three bills are now charged with combining their bills into one substitute.
The bills are Senate Bill 43, sponsored by Democrat Linda Lopez, Senate Bill 154, sponsored by Democrat Dede Feldman, and Senate Bill 268, sponsored by Republican Sue Wilson Beffort.
Lopez’s bill is the product of a bipartisan interim legislative subcommittee that met last year.
The debate about the commission’s make up centers around how many members it should have and who should appoint them, with the primary concern expressed being political balance so there’s less opportunity for a witch hunt. Proposals range from 6-11 members, with some appointed by lawmakers and others appointed by the governor.
As for confidentiality – the debate is over the public’s right to know versus the desire to protect officials from baseless attacks. Lopez’s bill – the one that leans most toward confidentiality – would require confidentiality during the process of an investigation, and violators could be subject to a criminal misdemeanor citation or a civil fine of up to $25,000.
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings said confidentiality is important.
“People can be ruined by the accusations out there,” he said. “And once they’re out there, you can’t get them back.”
Jim Noel, former head of the state’s Judicial Standards Commission who’s now working on ethics legislation for the governor, said the trend with judicial ethics boards is away from confidentiality.
Noel gave some opinions on a few points in the bill, but said generally the governor’s office is “very supportive” of the direction the Rules Committee is taking.
Steve Allen, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, also sounded optimistic.
“All of the current bills are actually improvements on what passed the House in the last session,” he said. “I am also optimistic that we can come together here and have some consensus on this thing.”
The House has passed a commission bill in the past, but the Senate has not.
The Rules Committee gave no timeline for the presentation of a committee substitute.