With their right to lobby the Legislature backed by a federal appeals court, two nonprofits that fought with state officials over mailers they sent in 2008 are out with a new mailer pressuring the governor and lawmakers on various tax-related bills.<\/p>\n
The mailer from the Center for Civic Policy<\/a> and SouthWest Organizing Project<\/a> (SWOP), which hits mailboxes this weekend, tells Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> that the \u201csame old\u201d policies \u201cwon\u2019t cut it\u201d and urges her to \u201cchoose the road that will make things better for New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n The mailer (read the front here<\/a> and back here<\/a>) states that government shouldn\u2019t \u201crig the system to benefit the rich and big corporations.\u201d It urges the enacting of a law that would require all out-of-state corporations doing business in New Mexico to pay state taxes and another that would require reviews of tax breaks given by the state. It also states opposition to \u201cgiving even more corporate income tax breaks.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time the nonprofits have sent out mailers since their fight with Attorney General Gary King<\/a> and then-Secretary of State Mary Herrera ended, but the situation is noteworthy because of the effect the legal battle between the nonprofits and the state officials over such mailers has had on New Mexico campaign law heading into this year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n In 2010, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals deemed New Mexico\u2019s definition of a political committee \u201cconstitutionally infirm<\/a>,\u201d upholding a lower court\u2019s rejection<\/a>\u00a0of the attempt by the secretary of state and attorney general to force the nonprofits to register as political committees because of their mailers.<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the reasons some say New Mexico\u2019s Campaign Reporting Act<\/a> is essentially unenforceable<\/a> headed into the 2012 election. Sen. Peter Wirth<\/a> has proposed legislation<\/a> that would help address the issue.<\/p>\n As for the fight between King and Herrera and the progressive nonprofits, the 10th Circuit ruled that, because the nonprofits\u2019 central purpose isn\u2019t advocacy for candidates, and their election-related expenses don\u2019t make up a preponderance of their budgets, they can\u2019t be forced to register as political committees, regardless of what state law requires. That\u2019s why the court tossed out the law that King and Herrera tried to use to force the nonprofits to register as political committees.<\/p>\nThe history<\/h3>\n