![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Money-336x216.jpg\")
<\/a>Pictures of Money \/ Creative Commons<\/p>
“Please know that this office shares your concerns and we are in the process of drafting a rule which will hopefully clarify the many shortcomings in the Lobbyist Regulation Act,” Quintana’s letter states. (photo cc info<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n In addition, the office would welcome\u00a0legislative efforts to fix\u00a0weaknesses in state laws related to campaign finance reporting, acting Secretary of State Mary Quintana wrote in a recent letter<\/a> to\u00a0Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen and House Majority Leader Nate Gentry.<\/p>\n “Please know that this office shares your concerns and we are in the process of drafting a rule which will hopefully clarify the many shortcomings in the Lobbyist Regulation Act<\/a>,” Quintana’s letter states.<\/p>\n The letter comes after\u00a0KOB-TV decided to cross-check<\/a> the finance reports of 10 legislative leaders with\u00a0what lobbyists reported donating to their campaigns.<\/p>\n KOB found the task nearly impossible. In a\u00a0letter they wrote to Quintana<\/a> about KOB’s investigation, Papen, D-Las Cruces, and Gentry, R-Albuquerque, explained three problems that led to discrepancies:<\/p>\n The result is that news organizations like KOB and members of the public can\u2019t accurately track money flowing from\u00a0lobbyists and the organizations they represent to candidates \u2014 even if the lobbyists and candidates are reporting donations as the law requires.<\/p>\n That newly discovered problem comes on the heels of the resignation of Quintana’s old\u00a0boss, former Secretary of State Dianna Duran, who pleaded guilty last month<\/a> to two felonies related to\u00a0abusing the state\u2019s campaign finance reporting system.<\/p>\n It’s up to Gov. Susana Martinez to appoint Duran’s replacement<\/a>. In the meantime, Quintana is in charge of the Secretary of State’s Office.<\/p>\n In response to the KOB investigation, Papen and Gentry asked Quintana to work on a new rule clarifying lobbyist reporting.\u00a0\u201cWe know that you share our desire to promote transparency in campaign finance and would appreciate your assistance in this regard,\u201d they\u00a0wrote\u00a0in their letter.<\/p>\n In her response, Quintana wrote that “significant changes” were made to the Lobbyist Regulation Act and other reporting laws in the 2014 and 2015 legislative sessions.<\/p>\n “There are shortcomings in the law which naturally lead to confusion,” Quintana wrote. “… While we continuously carry out our statutory mandate\u00a0to educate and seek voluntary compliance with\u00a0the law, it is difficult to do when the law is unclear on such a complex subject matter.”<\/p>\n Quintana\u00a0wrote that\u00a0the Secretary of State’s Office hoped to work with Papen, Gentry and others to “bring clarity” to campaign reporting laws.<\/p>\n The Secretary of State’s Office had worked for months on a proposed rule<\/a> to clarify\u00a0how candidates should interpret various provisions in another law related to campaign reporting — the state’s Campaign Reporting Act<\/a>. Efforts to enact that rule were derailed after Duran was charged but before she resigned.<\/p>\n\n