{"id":2804,"date":"2008-01-31T10:07:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-31T16:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/ethics-reform-isnt-picking-up-momentum\/"},"modified":"2008-01-31T10:07:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-31T16:07:00","slug":"ethics-reform-isnt-picking-up-momentum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/ethics-reform-isnt-picking-up-momentum\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethics reform isn’t picking up momentum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ethics reform got a late start in the current legislative session and isn\u2019t gaining much steam, regardless of what Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> said at a news conference on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

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

Most ethics bills were introduced later than the governor\u2019s other priorities. In addition, I\u2019ve already written about<\/a> Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez\u2019s<\/a> campaign contribution limits bill, which appears to have a loophole so big that anyone can avoid the limits, making it a worthless piece of legislation.<\/p>\n

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

Here\u2019s the reality:<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 The only ethics-reform measure moving through the Senate is Sanchez\u2019s apparently worthless contribution-limits bill, Senate Bill 387<\/a>, which is scheduled to be considered by the Rules Committee on Friday. We can only hope the committee amends it to close the loophole. If the bill passes there, it has less than two weeks to pass the Judiciary Committee, the full Senate and then be considered in the House.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Two other ethics bills that were introduced in the Senate are Sanchez\u2019s Senate Bill 264<\/a>, a better contribution limits bill that actually places limits of $2,300 during the primary and general elections on contributions to candidates for office, and Senate Bill 312<\/a>, sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson<\/a>, which would require quarterly contribution reports in off years \u2013 instead of annual reports \u2013 and change some other reporting requirements. Neither has been scheduled for a committee hearing, and since Sanchez introduced 387 after he had introduced 264, there\u2019s no indication he plans to move 264 at all.<\/p>\n

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

<\/span>\u2022 House Bill 309<\/a>, sponsored by Rep. Mary Helen Garcia<\/a>, would create and fund an independent ethics commission. This bill has yet to be scheduled for a committee hearing.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 House Bill 564<\/a>, sponsored by Rep. Gail Chasey<\/a>, would expand the state\u2019s voluntary public financing system to include candidates for statewide offices. It will be considered today by the Voters and Elections Committee, but also has to be considered by the Appropriations and Finance Committee before it can be voted on by the full House and then move to the Senate.<\/p>\n

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

Some lawmakers have touted as ethics reform two other proposals that are likely to pass. A bill that would fund a study on the creation of a state election commission is likely to be approved, as is additional funding to improve the state\u2019s online campaign finance reporting and disclosure system. Those bills \u2013 especially the funding for the online system \u2013 are important, but let\u2019s be honest: The proposals of substance \u2013 limiting campaign contributions, creating an ethics commission and expanding the public-financing system \u2013 aren\u2019t moving quickly, if at all.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, Lujan need to push<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>The lack of movement in the Senate is no surprise, but a number of House Democrats from around the state tell me it\u2019s clear that ethics bills aren\u2019t the top priority of Speaker Ben Lujan<\/a>, who is focused on other issues. The fact that Chasey\u2019s bill, which was introduced this week, is moving faster than Garcia\u2019s bill, which was introduced earlier in the session, is telling.<\/p>\n

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

And, though he says he can focus on all his priorities at once, it\u2019s also clear that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is focused elsewhere \u2013 in particular on his universal health-care proposal that was gutted by a House committee<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>During a Wednesday news conference, Richardson didn\u2019t even know that Sanchez\u2019s contribution limits bill \u2013 the one with the loophole \u2013 is a bill his staff doesn\u2019t like. His staffers, like members of Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s ethics task force, want a bill that limits contributions to individuals, political actions committees and political parties, not a bill that does nothing.<\/p>\n

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

And Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> hadn\u2019t decided as of Wednesday morning whether he would allow discussion during the session on a proposal to open legislative conference committees to the public. He\u2019s sat on this one for so long that it won\u2019t likely have time to move through the process before the end of the session.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said during Wednesday\u2019s news conference, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a>, that the ethics bills are moving. That only reveals his lack of focus on the ethics bills. The reality is that they aren\u2019t moving fast enough in this 30-day session that ends Feb. 14. At this point, lawmakers aren\u2019t going to have time to resolve some significant disputes over aspects of various proposals unless Richardson and Lujan really start pushing.<\/p>\n

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

Lujan moved domestic-partner benefits through the House in less than a week earlier in the session. The ethics bills need a similar push.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ethics reform got a late start in the current legislative session and isn\u2019t gaining much steam, regardless of what Gov. Bill Richardson said at a news conference on Wednesday. Most ethics bills were introduced later than the governor\u2019s other priorities. In addition, I\u2019ve already written about Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez\u2019s campaign contribution limits bill, […]<\/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-2804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804","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=2804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}