{"id":1503,"date":"2007-04-02T02:54:00","date_gmt":"2007-04-02T08:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/04\/governor-may-call-another-session-for-ethics-reform\/"},"modified":"2007-04-02T02:54:00","modified_gmt":"2007-04-02T08:54:00","slug":"governor-may-call-another-session-for-ethics-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/04\/governor-may-call-another-session-for-ethics-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor may call another session for ethics reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> announced on Saturday that he will reconvene his ethics task force and may call a second special session to deal with ethics reform. <\/p>\n

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

The announcement came the day after the first special session ended without any significant ethics reform being approved.<\/p>\n

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

During the regular and special sessions, the Legislature approved amendments to the governmental conduct act, limits on gifts to public officials and candidates for office, and public financing of judicial races only if voters approve a constitutional amendment that eliminates the retention system.<\/p>\n

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

Lawmakers failed to place limits on campaign contributions, create a state ethics commission or approve legislative expense funds.<\/p>\n

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

Most of the ethics reform proposals were based on the work of the task force. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> wants the group to examine the reasons the proposals weren\u2019t approved.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWe are not going to sit on our hands because a handful of state senators, including most Republicans, refuse to reform our ethics laws,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said in the news release. \u201cThe people of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> expect more from their elected leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s not just Republicans who are in opposition. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez<\/a>, D-Belen, was perhaps the most outspoken critic of ethics reform during the regular session, and he was joined in his complaints by many Democratic senators.<\/p>\n

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

Opposition wasn\u2019t limited to the Senate. Though the House approved the ethics commission, it joined the Senate in not providing any funding for it in the budget. Even if the commission had been approved, it would have lacked the tools needed to work.<\/p>\n

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

The lack of action on ethics reform is part of the reason for the potential third session. But Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> made clear that last week\u2019s announcement of indictments of former Senate President Manny Aragon and others in the Bernalillo County Metro Court<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> scandal were a factor.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI want tough ethics proposals that will shed more light on government spending with the goal of preventing illegal kickback schemes like the one outlined in the courthouse scandal,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cI want the task force to move quickly and recommend strong legislation and a timeline for a possible ethics special session this year. I will also consult with legislators about a possible special session.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Though it wasn\u2019t officially part of the ethics reform package, the bill that was perhaps most relevant to the Metro Court<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> scandal was approved during the regular session and has already been signed by the governor. House Bill 770<\/a>, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, gives citizens, including government employees and contractors, protection and incentive to expose government officials and contractors who defraud taxpayers.<\/p>\n

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

Opposition will continue<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Opposition to the proposals will continue, Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson<\/a>, R-Las Cruces and the minority whip, told the Associated Press<\/a>. He said ethics reforms would trap people who are trying to be honest and could be abused.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cJust because you have an ethics commission or ethics laws doesn\u2019t make someone ethical,\u201d he told the news service, adding that, if voters elect ethical people, \u201cthen you don\u2019t have to worry about ethics legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Even ethical people are tempted by massive campaign contributions. Limiting contributions is a no-brainer. And there are a number of examples from the past year, both in the executive and legislative branches of state government, that illustrate the need for an ethics commission.<\/p>\n

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

A bipartisan group of senators argued during the regular session that scandal had not touched the Legislature, so there was no need for ethics reform that applied to the Legislature. They were wrong at the time. I\u2019ve written before<\/a> about a situation involving Rep. Richard Vigil<\/a>, D-Ribera, that warrants, but has not received, investigation.<\/p>\n

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

Though four of the seven implicated in the Metro Court<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> scandal, including Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, haven\u2019t admitted to crimes or been convicted, three have pleaded guilty. It\u2019s fair to say that a crime was committed against the state, and an egregious abuse of capital outlay money took place.<\/p>\n

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

The Senate isn\u2019t immune from scandal. That\u2019s why the state needs an independent commission to keep an eye on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson announced on Saturday that he will reconvene his ethics task force and may call a second special session to deal with ethics reform. The announcement came the day after the first special session ended without any significant ethics reform being approved. During the regular and special sessions, the Legislature approved amendments to […]<\/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-1503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1503","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=1503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}