{"id":1331,"date":"2007-03-01T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-01T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/03\/unanimous-senate-vote-against-timely-campaign-finance-disclosure-has-reformers-shaking-their-heads\/"},"modified":"2007-03-01T07:11:00","modified_gmt":"2007-03-01T13:11:00","slug":"unanimous-senate-vote-against-timely-campaign-finance-disclosure-has-reformers-shaking-their-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/03\/unanimous-senate-vote-against-timely-campaign-finance-disclosure-has-reformers-shaking-their-heads\/","title":{"rendered":"Unanimous Senate vote against timely campaign finance disclosure has reformers shaking their heads"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>With its opposition to opening conference committees to the public and just about all ethics reform proposals moving through the House, the Senate has done a lot lately to upset reformers. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A unanimous vote by the lawmaking body on Wednesday means the anger and disappointment will continue to grow.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Senate Bill 363<\/a>, sponsored by Majority Leader Michael Sanchez<\/a>, D-Belen, was approved on a vote of 32-0. It would eliminate the requirement that candidates file campaign disclosure reports electronically, and move the state away from better disclosure of money that influences elections.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The Legislature and governor enacted a law in 2003 requiring that candidates, beginning in 2006, file campaign finance reports electronically. It was an attempt to create an online database that would give the public more timely access to information about the money that influences elections.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In its first year in 2006, the system had problems. Many candidates had a hard time filing, especially with the first reports due in the spring \u2013 some because they\u2019re not computer literate and others because the secretary of state\u2019s office set up a mediocre system. Some reports still aren\u2019t online.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

With Rebecca Vigil-Giron leaving office at the end of the year, problems with the system weren\u2019t addressed and it was all but abandoned.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

While it was operational, however, the system made the reports more easily accessible online. People no longer had to drive to Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> or pay to have copies mailed to them elsewhere in order to view the reports.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Under Sanchez\u2019s bill, candidates would no longer be required to file electronically. They could opt to do so, or they could submit paper reports in person or by fax. The secretary of state\u2019s office would then have two weeks to manually input the reports into its database and put the information online \u2013 a mandate the bill doesn\u2019t fund.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So let\u2019s see \u2013 the secretary of state was told to set up a new system, and did, but it has some problems. Rather than helping fix the problems, Sanchez and the Senate want to make the system optional, which will make it more difficult for the public to get many finance reports in a timely manner and will actually increase the workload of the secretary of state\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Sounds like a recipe for failure.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Are we to assume this is an unintended consequence of Sanchez\u2019s bill, rather than its intent? Why doesn\u2019t the Senate want to improve the current system? Why give up after one year, change courses, and dump a lot more work on an office that\u2019s already sorely underfunded and is having major financial problems?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The best case scenario under the system the Senate has approved is that the public will have online access to finance reports within two weeks. The reports are hardly relevant at that point.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The state needs to be moving toward more timely online disclosure, not away from it. It\u2019s called getting young people involved in government, folks. Politicians frequently complain young people aren\u2019t involved, but bills like this frustrate and alienate computer-savvy generations.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

Wednesday\u2019s vote by the Senate was quickly criticized by Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> and New Mexico Common Cause Executive Director Matt Brix, according to the Associated Press<\/a>. Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> refused to say, however, that he would veto the bill, which appears to be on the fast track through the House with only one committee assignment, the Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Secretary of State Mary Herrera<\/a> told the news service her office doesn\u2019t have the staff or resources to meet the two-week deadline the bill imposes.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This bill sets the system up to fail. There\u2019s no good reason for its approval. Keep in mind that we have a new secretary of state, one who has pledged to modernize a Web site Vigil-Giron neglected during her eight years in office.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This is a system that could be improved, if the Legislature were inclined to pledge its support for better public disclosure.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 10:25 a.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Kate Nash of the Albuquerque Tribune has written an excellent analysis of the Senate\u2019s actions. You can read it by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With its opposition to opening conference committees to the public and just about all ethics reform proposals moving through the House, the Senate has done a lot lately to upset reformers. A unanimous vote by the lawmaking body on Wednesday means the anger and disappointment will continue to grow. Senate Bill 363, sponsored by Majority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}