During a spot check of campaign spending records, election officials realized a glitch in the database showed discrepancies between information searchable online and printable reports. Online, the purpose of some expenditures is omitted, for example.

The glitch was discovered after an ethics complaint was filed against Republican candidate for secretary of state Nora Espinoza, relying on the system’s printable reports.

Progress Now New Mexico has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office alleging state Rep. Paul Pacheco failed to disclose a conflict of interest on a major project.

According to the complaint, Pacheco violated state law and House ethics rules when he requested over $1.2 million in state funds for the project managed by his brother, architect David Pacheco.

The Attorney General’s Office is currently reviewing the complaint.

Photo of Rep. Paul Pacheco by Gopmario on Wikimedia Commons.

The treasurer of the state Democratic Party has filed an ethics complaint against Republican nominee for secretary of state, Nora Espinoza.

The complaint alleges violations of state law in her campaign finance reports, specifically failing to report the purpose of some expenditures, failing to identify certain vendors and spending for credit card reimbursement, and failing to properly identify some donors’ occupations, instead stating “business” or “business person.”

Espinoza is running to complete the term of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran, who resigned after misusing campaign funds.

Photo of Nora Espinoza courtesy of the New Mexico Legislature archived website.

State Sen. John Arthur Smith, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and Treasurer Tim Eichenberg, have requested Gov. Susana Martinez to call a special session of the Legislature. The oil and gas slowdown has significantly affected the state’s budget, bringing the state’s overall revenue down $446 million for the 2016 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. As a result, the state government now finds itself at least $150 million short of funding to remain solvent throughout the calendar year.

Eichenberg indicates a failure to call a special session could result in the treasurer’s office failing to honor payments necessary to critical government functions such as schools, police, and prisons.

Photo of the New Mexico State Capitol by Urban on Wikimedia Commons.

Former House Speaker Ken Martinez has resigned from the Legislature, effective Wednesday, July 20. Because Martinez was not seeking re-election this year, Harry Garcia, a businessman from Grants, has already been elected to Martinez’s seat serving House District 69, beginning in January.

Gov. Susana Martinez may choose an interim successor to serve until Garcia’s term begins once she receives recommendations from the six counties the seat represents, which include Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, San Juan, Socorro, and Valencia.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley is requesting the county attorney investigate donations to the political action committee (PAC) New Mexicans for New Mexico, which is supporting County Commission candidates Steven Michael Quezada and Robert Chavez.

There is a $1,000 cap for contributions from people doing business with Bernalillo County, but disclosure reports reveal owners of businesses with city contracts donating to the PAC in amounts exceeding the limit.

The matter has been referred to the county’s ethics commission for further investigation.

Gov. Martinez has signed legislation designed to standardize electronic reporting for candidate, lobbyist, and political committee filings. Intended to increase transparency and make it easier to access public records, House Bill 105 creates an electronic database that will be searchable, contain cross-references, and allow the public to download records for their own analysis.

The bill also requires lobbyists to notify the state of amended filings or termination of the lobbyist’s employment within one week of the occurrence. Additionally, the bill changes reporting dates from May 1 to the first Wednesday after the first Monday in May, and adds a reporting date of the first Wednesday after the first Monday in October.

The bill also requires individuals receiving contributions reported by lobbyists to receive automatic electronic notice of the contributions within 24 hours of the lobbyist’s filed report.

Portions of the bill will go into effect on July 1, 2016, with the remaining provisions effective as of December 15, 2017.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, February 18, 2016. Before adjourning, lawmakers passed House Bill 105 to revamp its campaign finance information system.

Gov. Susana Martinez has until March 9 to act on legislation. Any bill failing to reach her desk is now dead.

Photo of the New Mexico State Capitol by Urban on Wikimedia Commons.

The state House of Representatives have voted in favor of a house joint resolution to amend the state constitution to create an independent state ethics commission. The commission would be in charge of overseeing the conduct of executive and legislative state officers, employees in the executive and legislative branches, government contractors, and lobbyists.

The resolution now moves to the Senate for approval. If the resolution passes, it will be placed on the November 8 ballot.

State Representative Jeff Steinborn has introduced three pieces of legislation aimed at lobbyist disclosure and transparency. Steinborn’s bills would require employers of lobbyists to file biannual reports disclosing all funding spent to lobby the state government; would require lobbyists to disclose specific pieces of legislation and administrative issues they are hired to work on; and would require lobbyists to specifically list each legislator who receives a gift, meal, or other expenditure from them.

Steinborn has been successful with lobbyist legislation in the past, having passed a bill requiring the Secretary of State to publish lobbyist spending online in a searchable and downloadable format.

Following questions about campaign spending practices and the conviction of former Secretary of State Diana Duran for misuse of campaign contributions, a new unit is being created to better enforce and explain the state’s campaign finance laws to legislators and other candidates. Current Secretary of State Brad Winter is creating the Education, Ethics, and Compliance Unit to more closely monitor campaign spending and to answer any questions legislators might have.

Previously, only two staffers covered the campaign filings of over 100 legislators, candidates, and other state and county officials. Additional staffers are being brought in, with each monitoring around 20 legislators.

Winter also released a new lobbyist training guide, and offered webinars to be held prior to the Legislature’s next session, which begins on January 19.

Former Secretary of State Dianna Duran was sentenced to over seven years in jail, with all but 30 days suspended, and was ordered to pay $14,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to felony embezzlement charges. Duran, who siphoned money from her election account to fuel a gambling addiction, was also ordered to perform 2,000 hours of community service.

As part of her plea agreement, Duran has until December 16, 2015 to withdraw her guilty plea and go to trial. If she does not withdraw her guilty plea, she must report to jail by December 18, 2015.

State House Democrats announced their plan to introduce a package of bills aimed at creating an independent ethics commission, overhauling the state’s lobbyist and campaign finance reporting systems, and strengthening forfeiture penalties for corrupt officials.

Following the scandal of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran involving fraud and embezzlement, the state lawmakers plan on introducing the bills in the upcoming legislative session as a way to promote trust and transparency.

Pre-filing of proposed legislation can begin on December 15, and the 2016 legislative session will open on January 19.

After state lawmakers voiced concerns about problems with the state’s lobbyist reporting system, Secretary of State Mary Quintana intends to clarify campaign finance and lobbying rules.

Members of the Legislature became concerned after reports exposed confusion about what is required under the reporting system.

Quintana admitted to shortcomings in the law, and vowed to work with lawmakers and others to create new, less ambiguous rules.