{"id":33090,"date":"2011-10-21T08:14:16","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T14:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=33090"},"modified":"2011-10-24T08:08:20","modified_gmt":"2011-10-24T14:08:20","slug":"%e2%80%98unenforceable%e2%80%99-campaign-law-a-worry-headed-into-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/10\/%e2%80%98unenforceable%e2%80%99-campaign-law-a-worry-headed-into-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unenforceable\u2019 campaign law a worry headed into 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_32696\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignright\" style=\"max-width: 270px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-32696\" title=\"Hundreds\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Hundreds.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"270\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by AMagill\/flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>Flaws in state law mean New Mexico isn\u2019t prepared for the massive amounts of money that will likely be spent on the presidential, Senate and House races next year<\/h4>\n<p>Recent court decisions have rendered New Mexico\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sos.state.nm.us\/pdf\/2009CampaignPractices.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Campaign Reporting Act<\/a> \u201cunenforceable,\u201d one good-government activist says. Without strong disclosure laws in place, some worry the swing state could be flooded with undisclosed spending on ads next year.<\/p>\n<p>Especially unregulated in New Mexico are so-called independent expenditures \u2013 communications such as advertisements that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate that are not made in cooperation with any candidate or political party.<\/p>\n<p>Such expenditures include ads paid for by corporations or political committees. That type of spending is becoming the norm in American politics, and New Mexico law isn\u2019t equipped to handle it.<\/p>\n<p>That reality makes this \u201ccrisis time\u201d in New Mexico, according to Steven Robert Allen, executive director of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/site\/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&amp;b=4847593\" target=\"_blank\">Common Cause New Mexico<\/a>. The state has open Senate and House seats in 2012, and it\u2019s a swing state in what will likely be the most expensive presidential race in history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have an unenforceable Campaign Reporting Act in the State of New Mexico now. We\u2019re going into a gigantic presidential election cycle where we can expect tons of money flooding into the state from outside groups, and we don\u2019t have a way for handling that,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n<p>State Sen. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmlegis.gov\/lcs\/legdetails.aspx?SPONCODE=SWIRT\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Wirth<\/a>, D-Santa Fe, said New Mexico\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sos.state.nm.us\/pdf\/NMElectionHandbook_2011.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Election Code<\/a> \u201cdesperately needs a First Amendment tune-up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecent federal court decisions have reiterated how narrowly political disclosure requirements have to be tailored to pass constitutional muster,\u201d he said. \u201cNew Mexico\u2019s election statute failed the test on a number of fronts.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The flaws in New Mexico law<\/h3>\n<p>The concern of Allen, Wirth and others is caused by at least two issues:<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has deemed New Mexico\u2019s definition of a political committee <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ca10.uscourts.gov\/opinions\/09\/09-2212.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cconstitutionally infirm.\u201d<\/a> That happened in 2010 when the 10th Circuit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/06\/appeals-court-backs-nonprofits-in-fight-with-ag-sos\/\" target=\"_blank\">upheld a lower court\u2019s rejection<\/a> of an attempt by the secretary of state and attorney general to force two nonprofits to register as political committees.<\/li>\n<li>The U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission\" target=\"_blank\">the Citizens United case<\/a> means states can no longer limit the size of donations being spent on independent expenditures, so New Mexico\u2019s law limiting such donations isn\u2019t constitutional. Whether state limits on contributions to other groups and candidates are constitutional isn\u2019t as clear. The state GOP has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/10\/gop-challenges-state-campaign-contribution-limits\/\" target=\"_blank\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> challenging most provisions in the New Mexico\u2019s new contribution-limits law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s already a sign of what might be coming next year: A Rhode Island political action committee funded by a corporation has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/09\/citing-citizens-united-pac-jumps-into-cruces-mayoral-race\/\" target=\"_blank\">announced plans<\/a> to spend money to affect the Nov. 8 Las Cruces mayoral race. The PAC\u2019s founder says because of Citizens United the group won\u2019t disclose fundraising or spending. He says he expects lawsuits in New Mexico and Rhode Island to challenge his actions.<\/p>\n<p>Such tests of campaign finance law in the post-Citizens United era are becoming the norm.<\/p>\n<h3>Guv supports campaign finance disclosure<\/h3>\n<p>But in the Citizens United case the Supreme Court overwhelmingly upheld the right of governments to enact tough disclosure laws.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the new political landscape of unlimited corporate and union contributions to independent expenditure committees, the name of the game for voters will be donor disclosure and knowing where the money is coming from,\u201d Wirth said.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of the GOP lawsuit challenging contribution limits, Allen encouraged Gov. <a href=\"http:\/\/governor.state.nm.us\/\" target=\"_blank\">Susana Martinez<\/a> and the Republican Party to help enact new disclosure laws.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 130px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29292\" title=\"Wirth, Peter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Wirth-Peter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"120\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<h4 class=\"wp-caption-dd\">\u201cWithout statutory clarification, independent expenditure committees and nonprofits will continue to push the limits. When that happens it\u2019s the voters who are left in the dark.\u201d \u2013 Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe<\/h4>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cAt the very least, New Mexicans need to know who is funding which campaign. That seems like a basic element in any functioning Democracy,\u201d Allen said. \u201cCommon Cause would be very eager to work with the governor and the Republican Party on that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martinez disagrees with Common Cause\u2019s pushes for some ethics reforms including contribution limits, but she has been a supporter of disclosure. During her 2010 campaign she released finance reports <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/01\/martinez-to-release-finance-report-this-week\/\" target=\"_blank\">more often than required<\/a>. She also released a list of donors who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/01\/martinez-releases-list-of-inauguration-donors\/\" target=\"_blank\">funded her inauguration celebration<\/a>. Shortly after she took office, she required cabinet secretaries <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/01\/guv%E2%80%99s-cabinet-secretaries-disclose-financial-info\/\" target=\"_blank\">to disclose personal financial information<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said the governor \u201cbelieves strongly that the public has a right to know who is funding political campaigns and has always gone above and beyond in disclosing contributors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernor Martinez is willing to work with anyone sincerely committed to improving our campaign finance laws to ensure that the voices of candidates and political parties are not drowned out by special interest groups operating in secret,\u201d Darnell said.<\/p>\n<h3>Wirth and Allen have proposed a legislative fix<\/h3>\n<p>If a bipartisan effort to fix the law emerges, Wirth will likely be at its center. In this year\u2019s regular legislative session, he sponsored <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmlegis.gov\/lcs\/_session.aspx?Chamber=S&amp;LegType=B&amp;LegNo=547&amp;year=11\" target=\"_blank\">a bill<\/a> that would have amended the Campaign Reporting Act to require disclosure of independent expenditures, rewrite the definition of \u201cpolitical committee,\u201d and tweak the law in other ways.<\/p>\n<p>The bill, which Common Cause helped draft, passed the Senate but died in the House. Passing such a bill remains necessary, Wirth said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout statutory clarification, independent expenditure committees and nonprofits will continue to push the limits,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen that happens it\u2019s the voters who are left in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent court decisions have rendered N.M.\u2019s Campaign Reporting Act \u201cunenforceable,\u201d one activist says. Without strong disclosure laws, some worry the state could be flooded with undisclosed spending on ads in the presidential, Senate and House races next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[156,223,109,111,107,116],"class_list":["post-33090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-campaign-finance","tag-ethics-reform","tag-open-government","tag-roundhouse","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33090","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=33090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}