New Mexico In Depth 2015 Legislative Guide

NM

New Mexico In Depth

In

Depth

legislative guide

A look at how the NM Legislature

can be more

transparent,

accessible and responsive
— and what’s keeping
that from happening

Illustration by Anson Stevens-Bollen – New Mexico In Depth

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Introduction

Contents

Dear Reader, 

Voters keep legislators from being paid...........................4
State Ethics Commission ‘postponed’................................ 11
State lags in disclosing campaign finance info.............. 14
Other states lead in campaign finance disclosure......... 16
Webcasting brings increased access................................ 18
Short-term capital outlay projects scrutinized................ 22
Examples of faulty spending process dot the state...... 25
How legislation moves through the Legislature.............. 26

ARTICLES

  This guide differs from others you might have read. In what
way, you ask?
Consider it our attempt to pull back the curtain on how the
New Mexico Legislature works and, in some cases, doesn’t. In
other words, we are not interested in the spectacle and theatrics of each year’s legislative session so much as how much information state lawmakers share with New Mexicans about how
they conduct the public’s business.
 At a deep, profound level, one of the great innovations of democracy is that it invests the public with the authority of oversight of their elected leaders.  To fulfill that responsibility, the
public needs information. 
 New Mexico state lawmakers often acknowledge this reality in
word – they like to say the Roundhouse is the People’s House –
but not always in deed, it could be argued. I don’t mean to suggest New Mexicans aren’t welcome at the Roundhouse. They are,
and state lawmakers often greet them warmly.
 In a functioning democracy, the assumption is people have
the knowledge to make informed decisions when elections roll
around.  But  how much  information  do state lawmakers  truly share with New Mexicans about their day-in, day-out working
out of the public’s business? How much do New Mexicans know
about the sources of money that fill the campaign accounts of
the state’s elected officials? How many New Mexicans know –
and might question – the wisdom of letting the state’s elected
officials police themselves when it comes to conflicts of interest
and potential ethical violations?
 These are all questions we pose in this guide in hopes of adding to a conversation that increasingly is occurring across the
United States about what democracy looks like in the 21st Century as technological innovation and economics disrupt many
of our nation’s cherished institutions.
 It is our sincere hope that this publication helps New Mexicans participate more effectively in the 2015 legislative session.
 Thank you in advance for reading the guide and joining us in
this important conversation.  You can find New Mexico In Depth
at nmindepth.com. For webcasting of legislative hearings and
floor debates from the Roundhouse, go to nmlegis.gov. The link
for webcasting is on the right side of the Legislature’s webpage.
 

Trip Jennings

NMID executive director

COMMENTARY

Hallway minutes and grocery lines don’t cut it............... 29
Free-market ideas for opening up the Legislature........ 30
Let the sunshine in during 2015 legislative session........ 31
Disclosure sheds light on money in politics....................... 32
Technology can build citizen-friendly process................ 34
Making state’s health care more transparent................ 35
Why do many lawmakers fear transparency?.............. 37

New Mexico In Depth
2015 Legislative Guide
Jan. 18, 2015
Trip Jennings
Executive director

Heath Haussamen

Special thanks to our
volunteer columnists:
Sarah Nolan
Paul Gessing
Susan Boe
Viki Harrison
Janice Arnold-Jones
Fred Nathan

Deputy director

Marjorie Childress

Director of organizational development

Reporters

Gwyneth Doland
Sandra Fish
Matt Reichbach
Sherry Robinson
Peter St. Cyr

Photographer
Mark Holm

Layout and design
Jason Harper

Illustrations

Anson Stevens-Bollen

Sponsorship solicitations
Peter St. Cyr

Sponsorship design
Linda Lillow

New Mexico In Depth aims to invigorate New
Mexico journalism through our reporting,
through working with other journalists
as collaborators or mentors, and through
media partnerships that leverage collective
resources, with the goal of telling in-depth
stories of people who represent our diversity
and challenging power in a way that informs
and empowers people and communities.
Learn more at NMInDepth.com.
This guide is produced in conjunction with
NMID’s media partners: Las Cruces SunNews, Santa Fe New Mexican, Farmington
Daily Times, Alamogordo Daily News,
Carlsbad Current-Argus, Ruidoso News,
Deming Headlight and Silver City Sun-News.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Opening the door
to the insiders’ club

Illustration by Anson Stevens-Bollen – New Mexico In Depth

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

5

Voters keep legislators from being paid for their work
By Heath Haussamen
New Mexico In Depth
The week of Thanksgiving, state
Rep. Bill McCamley made a 12hour, 570-mile round trip from Las
Cruces to Santa Fe to present his
marijuana legalization plan to a legislative committee.
New Mexico’s lawmakers are the
only in the nation who aren’t paid
a salary. For his work, McCamley
received expense reimbursements
– $165 to cover food costs, which
also would have had to pay for a
hotel had he stayed overnight – and
about $300, or 56 cents for each
mile driven.
Neither do New Mexico’s lawmakers receive money to pay for
staff, offices, postage and phones.
So McCamley paid an intern out of
his political account to help prepare
his presentation and travel with
him.
That week, in addition to presenting his plan, McCamley met with a
constituent, did media interviews,
drafted a memo on economic policy and wrote thank-you notes to
campaign donors. He worked only
two days at the job that pays his
bills. He sells solar power systems
in Las Cruces.
Between his job and his legislative
duties McCamley typically works
80-90 hours a week, he says.
“I’m pretty stressed out about it
right now, but I want to do a good
job as a legislator,” he said. “And I
try to spend time with my girlfriend
so she doesn’t leave me.”
McCamley’s experience illustrates the challenges to serving in
the New Mexico Legislature.
Unlike McCamley, many New

Paying lawmakers could reduce
special-interest influence and
increase diversity in the Roundhouse
wasn’t as possible as today’s transportation options and the Internet
allow. There’s been a spike in the
number of bills state lawmakers
consider, the number of committee
meetings they attend between sessions, and even the number of constituents they represent as the state’s
population has grown. As a result,
the time demand on legislators has
increased dramatically.
The Legislature has made incremental reforms in recent years. It
webcasts legislative meetings for
people who can’t attend. It allows
lawmakers to file bills before the
session starts, increasing time for
public debate and analysis of policy
proposals.
But many believe it’s time for
wholesale reform to create a lawmaking system that keeps up with
the speed of the 21st Century.
In recent years, two bipartisan
task forces have recommended
paying lawmakers as an important reform to improve the system.
Proponents say it would increase
diversity in the Legislature by making it possible for a greater number
of New Mexicans to serve. It would
also reduce the influence of special-interest money, many believe.
21st Century update
Lawmakers are going to get paid
The New Mexico Legislature somehow, the argument goes, so
retains an informal culture that taxpayers should foot the bill inevolved out of a world more than stead of letting others, like lobby100 years ago when the workload ists.
In addition to increasing diverwas less and citizen participation
Mexicans can’t take a month or
two off from work to attend sessions held each year in Santa Fe and
meetings around the state in between. Neither can they afford the
costs of serving in a job that doesn’t
pay and doesn’t reimburse many
expenses.
Those realities create a Legislature that includes a number of lawyers in addition to retirees and people who are independently wealthy.
Many say the state’s Legislature
doesn’t represent New Mexico’s socioeconomic diversity.
Critics of the current system cite
another challenge to serving in the
Legislature. Because New Mexico
doesn’t pay for year-round professional legislative staff, lawmakers
are especially vulnerable to the influence of special interests. Without
professional staff, lawmakers often
lean on lobbyists paid by outside
interests to help decipher and, in
some cases, even write legislation.
All of these factors converge to
create an insiders club of sorts, an
institution that is for the most part
closed off from the public view,
critics say.

sity and reducing special-interest
influence, paying lawmakers might
open the door for other reforms. A
sometimes-recommended reform
– lengthening sessions to help with
the increased workload – might
gain more traction if lawmakers
were paid.
Another longstanding problem
is that committee meetings during
sessions rarely take place when
they’re scheduled, which makes citizen participation difficult in a state
that’s roughly the size of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York, Vermont
and Rhode Island put together. A
transition from an unpaid, “citizen”
legislature to a body whose members are paid might increase expectations of professionalism and pressure to start committee meetings
on time.
It might also build momentum for
other committee-related reforms,
including archiving webcasts for
later viewing and allowing remote
testimony by video.
In addition to paying lawmakers, some think taxpayers should
cover the costs of them doing their
jobs, like the work the intern did
on McCamley’s marijuana legalization proposal, instead of letting
donor-funded campaign accounts
pay those bills. Increasing the size
of the Legislature’s staff might give
lawmakers greater access to analysis that would reduce the influence
lobbyists exert on the legislative
process. It would also allow lawmakers to rely on their own staff to
research and write language for legislation that is sometimes currently
provided by lobbyists.
Continued on 6 ➤

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Alan Webber, who made a career in the business world, noted
the speed that society moves today. The conversation about reform
must start with the premise that the
world has changed, said Webber,
who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2014.
“The speed of change is faster.
The world of technology is faster,”
he said. “Lots of things that seemed
self-evident (when New Mexico
became a state in 1912) are much
more complicated. We really ought
to equip ourselves with the legislative structure to deal with these
problems, to get ahead of them.”
Voter skepticism
But it’s unlikely legislators will be
paid in New Mexico anytime soon.
Voters would have to approve a
change to the state Constitution to
allow it. They’ve voted against salaries four times in the state’s history – in 1941, 1949, 1978 and most
recently in 1990, when 75 percent
rejected the proposal.
That matches with the mood of
voters across the United States.
Morgan Cullen, a policy analyst
for the National Council of State
Legislatures who focuses on pay,
couldn’t think of one example, in a
state where voters have to approve

“

The reimbursement account
could be used to pay for staff,
It’s possible that there are poor people out there
phones, and constituent services.
Currently many, like McCamley,
that have some great ideas and would make outuse campaign funds for such exstanding leaders and lawmakers. They just need an
penses because the other option is
incentive.
paying out of their own pockets.
— J.T. Perez
Las Cruces
“If campaign funds are used for
the costs of serving constituents,
the potential for undue influence
might exist,” the task force’s 2007
said
J.T.
Perez
of
Las
Cruces.
pay increases for lawmakers, where
In every other state, lawmakers report sates. “Legislators might bethat has happened. Cullen said
Americans generally don’t realize get a salary, though the amount dif- come dependent on funds given to
“how much work it takes to get fers widely. It’s $100 per year in New them by third parties that promote
Hampshire and more than $90,000 special interests.”
elected and then also serve.”
The task force’s recommendation
For example, in November, Ari- a year in California.
New Mexico lawmakers can par- went nowhere.
zona voters soundly rejected a pay
increase that would have been the ticipate in a generous pension sysfirst for that state’s lawmakers in 16 tem if they serve at least 10 years. Mixed opinion
But that’s arguably a reward after
years.
Some reject the idea that pay
Brian Sanderoff, New Mexico’s they’ve left office, rather than com- would reduce special-interest inmost respected pollster, said voters pensation that helps more New fluence. Eric Griego, a private inhere would likely also reject paying Mexicans put aside other life duties vestigator in Albuquerque, pointed
to serve.
their lawmakers today.
to members of Congress, in WashMcCamley thinks he and other ington, whose current salary is
“I think New Mexicans and
Americans just have a skeptical at- lawmakers should be paid. When $174,000 a year.
titude about politicians these days he was a Doña Ana County com“Yet still they are beholden to
missioner, he served on a bipartisan special interests and largely ignore
in general,” Sanderoff said.
Not all New Mexicans oppose task force convened by then-Gov. those who they are supposed to replegislative salaries. Some NMID Bill Richardson that recommended resent,” Griego said. “… Why would
spoke with were enthusiastic about paying lawmakers about $25,000 it be any different in New Mexico?”
a year and giving each an expense
the idea.
Bernie Digman, a Las Cruces cof“It’s possible that there are poor reimbursement account of $10,000 fee shop owner, agreed. He cited the
people out there that have some per year. That would cost taxpayers U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens
great ideas and would make out- just over $3.9 million a year out of United decision that allowed
standing leaders and lawmak- more than $6 billion New Mexico
ers. They just need an incentive,” spends to pay for state government.
Continued on 8 ➤

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Continued from 5 ➤

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

corporations and unions to spend
unlimited amounts of money influencing elections.
“Paying legislators in today’s climate would in no way reduce the
influence of dark money or outside
money, so I’d have to say until we
can truly get big money out of politics it makes no sense to pay them
more,” Digman said.
Diane Snyder, a former state senator who has also worked as a lobbyist, supports giving legislators a
stipend for expenses. She said she
spent thousands of dollars of her
own money each year while she was
serving.
“Most just don’t have that kind of
money,” Snyder said. “I don’t.”
Roy Lemons of Belen said he supports paying legislators.
“Why would anyone expect

“

“

Continued from 6 ➤

Why would anyone expect someone to work for free?
I feel that if paid, just maybe these people would do
more for the people of New Mexico.

someone to work for free? I feel
that if paid, just maybe these people would do more for the people of
New Mexico,” Lemons said.
A 2007 report issued by a bipartisan task force convened by lawmakers recommended creating a
commission that would determine
legislative pay rates.
“Common sense dictates that the
men and women who make financial sacrifice and commitment to
serve as New Mexico legislators be
fairly compensated for their ser-

— Roy Lemons

Belen

vice,” the task force’s report states.
Getting what you pay for
But voters “have the last word” on
paying lawmakers, Sanderoff noted.
So how do those who support the
idea turn public opinion?
Webber suggested a grassroots
effort that starts with convening a
citizen study group to explore reform and build buy-in. Eventually
lawmakers would have to vote to
put any proposal on the ballot. Or

they could convene a constitutional
convention to explore more widespread changes to how the state
Constitution structures the Legislature.
Webber supports paying lawmakers but doesn’t think it’s the only
necessary reform.
“That’s not my idea of a system-wide look at what would make
the Legislature a body that would
help New Mexico guide a smarter
path into the future,” he said. “It’s
one idea.”
But it is one idea that could open
the door to other reforms by expanding the Legislature’s capacity,
diversity, professionalism and independence. Javier Benavidez, who
runs the nonprofit Southwest Organizing Project in Albuquerque, said
paying lawmakers would
Continued on 10 ➤

NM CAFé works to change policies that directly impact
our lives in New Mexico. We believe the stories of
everyday people hold the power to make change
through organized action and faith at the center.
In 2014, we raised the minimum wage to $10.10 in
Las Cruces and engaged over 11,000 voters. We are
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NM Comunidades en Accion y de Fe | 133 Wyatt Drive #1, Las Cruces, NM 88005
(575) 618-6228 | www.OrganizeNM.org | Twitter @OrganizeNM

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

IN SESSION

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SIMONICH
@MilansNMreport

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TERRELL
@steveterrell

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MALONE
@pmalonenm

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

ists. Many other states require such
disclosure.
“change the dynamic” by reduc“If you’ve got a great lobbyist, that
ing special-interest influence in the matters a lot more than whether a
Roundhouse, where currently lob- proposal benefits the New Mexico
byists don’t even have to wear badg- public,” Benavidez said about the
es identifying themselves as lobby- current system.
Continued from 8 ➤

For now, it seems, voters get what
they’re willing to pay for. McCamley, for example, has to put in the
necessary hours at the job that pays
his bills.
That sometimes takes precedence
over his constituents.

“There’s a good probability you’re
going to spend more time on things
you’re being paid for because that’s
how you eat,” McCamley said. “If
you’re paying people, there’s a good
chance they’re going to spend more
time on legislation.”

What New Mexicans are saying
Here’s what some told NMID they think about paying lawmakers and giving them stipends for expenses

Jody Crowley
Las Cruces

“We should reject the whole idea that
government should be an amateur
operation. That means having longer
sessions, adequate support staff, and
professional level pay. Won’t happen,
but we can dream. … I am rejecting
the idea that legislating should be
a hobby like fishing or amateur
theatricals. Legislating is serious
business and should be considered a
serious job, paid accordingly.”

Pam Wolfe
Las Cruces

“I agree that administrative help
during the off-campaign/session
cycle seems to be something many
legislators really need/want. These
guys work like crazy. It would benefit
the constituents if they had some
administrative help. I think it would be
a productive use of revenue.”

Kathy McCoy

former state legislator
“I’m neutral on legislator salaries, but
what I wanted more than anything
else was some administrative help
with the duties of the office... things
like research, mailings, and constituent
services. And a shared local office
space to meet with people would have
been great. Always meeting in coffee
shops and bagel joints just seemed
unprofessional. Perhaps a ‘salary’

resolves some of these issues, but it
also might draw people who ‘are in it
for the money.’”

Mitch Hibbard
Piñon

“We will never be represented by a
citizen legislature until it is a paid
position. No normal average citizen
can afford to take the sessions off, not
to mention the numerous committee
meetings between sessions. That is
why we are represented by those
with extraordinary incomes, wealthy
retirees and, for some reason,
several involved with public school
administration.”

forward-thinking governor to push for
it. Legislators are reluctant to have it
be a campaign issue that can be used
against them.”

Edwina Hewett
Mountainair

“I do not support wages/salaries.
… Elected seats are not full time
jobs; well, at least they shouldn’t be.
Instead, all elected offices should
be treated as the opportunity to
be of service, be servants to their
communities, states, and our nation.
If you make those seats salaried
positions, you will never, never
get them out – look at the lower
government offices on the county
Barbara Alvarez
levels. The same people have rotated
those seats long enough to go into
Las Cruces
retirement which has set up a scenario
“Legislators definitely need to be paid. of the few governing the many.”
Whether they are in Santa Fe for 30
or 60 days, they are away from their
Stephanie L. DuBois
regular jobs and either using leave
Tularosa
or just not earning money. This limits
“I think a salaried position might be
the pool of possible legislators to
an incentive for qualified people to run
those who can *afford* to be away
for the state Legislature who are not
for a month or two to the wealthy or
those who have generous leave plans independently wealthy. Right now it is
extremely difficult for the average New
at work. While regular pay may not
Mexican to run for a legislative seat.”
completely eliminate the tendency to
‘hold the hand out’ to benefactors, it
Mark Boitano
may reduce this somewhat.”

Antonio “Moe” Maestas
current state legislator

“Paid, full-time, legislators is better
for democracy. It would take… a

former state legislator

“The workload on a citizen legislator
is enormous. I don’t think the position
merits a salary because the upside
of the time commitment for no

pay (is that) many legislators term
limit themselves after a few terms.
One practical way to increase
the productivity of non-salaried
legislators and reduce the influence of
special interests is to give them staff
during the interim and limit the number
of bill introductions per session. …
I like the idea of part-time interim
staff for one and full-time for multiple
legislators because it would give
them tools to build capacity around
issues their constituents are interested
in. Much of the discussion at interim
committee meetings is originated by
special interests. I dislike the idea
of an expense account. This would
require more uncompensated time to
report and raise questions of what
type of expenses are allowable.
Legislators have funds for expenses
in their campaign accounts for which
they are fully accountable.”

Kevin Bixby
Las Cruces

“Legislators make a good 1-2 or more
month salary with their per diem. Trust
me, I have friends who are legislators.
Their compensation above board
(not counting what the well-heeled
lobbyists give them under the table)
is on par with a good nonprofit
compensation. I personally do not
know any legislators taking lobbying
money on the side, by the way,
because I would prefer to kill them
than let them be my friends.”

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

11

State Ethics Commission ‘postponed indefinitely’
New Mexico is one of
eight states without an
independent panel
By Peter St. Cyr
New Mexico In Depth
New Mexico’s founders wanted
a diverse legislature made up of
farmers, teachers, bankers and other hard-working people. Over the
past 103 years, these “citizen legislators” have informed government
policy, shaped budgets and created
laws that govern our daily lives.
  Year after year,  the state’s unpaid  representatives have headed
to the Roundhouse prepared to
serve the public. Some, however,
have ended up serving themselves,
friends and special interests.
 The state’s constitution bars legislators from directly or indirectly
earning benefits from legislation,
but recusals from votes are rare and
enforcement of state ethics laws is
even rarer.
 New Mexico regularly flunks ethics scorecards. And no one seems
surprised when New Mexico’s risk
for political corruption is ranked
one of the highest in the nation.
  Lawmakers have  passed  laws to
strengthen the  Gift Act, boosted
conflict of interest provisions in
the Governmental Conduct Act,
capped campaign contributions,
and updated campaign finance reporting rules. But they’ve never
agreed to set up an independent
state ethics commission similar to
those 42 other states rely on to investigate and train elected leaders.

Mark Holm – New Mexico In Depth

Freshmen representatives look through paperwork during a day of training at the Roundhouse in late 2014. New Mexico is one
of a handful of states without a state ethics commission. In many states, such a commission helps prepare lawmakers for the sometimes-difficult situations they will encounter as public officials.

  For years, groups like Common
Cause, League of Women Voters, New Mexico Foundation for
Open Government, Albuquerque
Chamber of Commerce and even
a task force Co-Chaired by former Gov.  Garrey  Carruthers  and
then-University of New Mexico
Law School Dean  Suellyn  Scarnecchia  have tried to advance a
state  ethics commission. They
contend an independently funded
panel given the power to subpoena
testimony and documents would
increase accountability for lawmak-

ers and provide ethics training for
officials, state employees and even
lobbyists.
 Lawmakers have considered but
sent no bill to set up an ethics commission to the governor’s office. Last
year, lawmakers denied voters a
say on the  issue  when they  killed
a  proposal to put a constitutional
amendment on the ballot.
 Despite proponents’ rigorous advocacy  for an  independent ethics
panel, it doesn’t appear anything
will change this year. Gov. Susana
Martinez opposes the creation of a

state ethics commission.
  In her 2012 State of the State
address, Martinez made a point to
remind legislators and agency staffers that, “Public service should be
about serving the public — not setting up a future payday.” But Martinez isn’t convinced politicians can
effectively watch over  themselves.
A former prosecutor, Martinez says
she prefers that allegations of corruption be investigated by law enforcement agencies.
Continued on 12 ➤

12

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Continued from 11 ➤
  Newly elected House Speaker Don Tripp, R-Socorro,  is also
skeptical of  a state ethics commission.  Like Martinez, he wants the
Department of Public Safety to set
up a political corruption unit.
“Corruption is a crime and it
should be treated like one,” writes
House GOP Caucus Communications Director Chris Sanchez on behalf of Tripp. “An ethics commission
sounds good in theory and is worthy
of debate and consideration, but any
commission would have to be created in a way that ensures it doesn’t
become a political weapon for partisans to punish their opponents.”
  That argument doesn’t sit well
with Common Cause New Mexico
Executive Director  Viki  Harrison.
She  points to safeguards set up by

other states with established ethics
commissions that impose consequences for citizens who abuse the
system by filing frivolous or frequent complaints in “bad faith.”
  Even with  safeguards,  recently
retired state Rep. Tom Taylor  suggests  an ethics commission  could
be used to “drag people through the
dirt.” And  like Taylor, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, the
highest ranking Democrat in the
Legislature,  isn’t  convinced that a
state ethics commission is needed.
 Legislators, Sanchez said, simply
need to “hold themselves to a high
standard” and follow ethics rules
already in place in both chambers.
  But, over time those  standards seem to have been attenuated
by  New Mexico  legislators  who’ve
said they still need to earn a living.
 After retiring from the Senate in

2013, Dede Feldman chronicled the
ethical choices she  and other  lawmakers  have  confronted  in Santa
Fe.
In her award-winning book  Inside the New Mexico Senate: Boots,
Suits, and Citizens,  Feldman suggests  resistance to an independent
ethics commission “contributes to
the impression that senators hold
themselves above the law.”
 “An independent ethics commission could educate public officials
on the legalities, enforce existing
laws, and hold them accountable,”
she wrote.
 Still, the levers of power and politics make it difficult for legislators
to point fingers at their colleagues.
In 1992,  Democratic  Rep. Ron
Olguin faced expulsion from the
House after he was accused of  soliciting a $15,000 bribe for his

help in getting the Legislature
to fund a crime counseling program.  When  Olguin  initially refused to resign his seat, lawmakers
secretly met behind closed doors to
review evidence before they opted
to publicly censure the Albuquerque politician for “improper  conduct.” A jury voted to  convict  Olguin on two felony criminal charges
after they heard the same evidence.
  Six years later, then-Sen. Manny Aragon,  a Democrat,  created a
controversy when he and former
Sen. Les Houston were hired by
Wackenhut Corrections (now GEO
Group) to lobby for them in other states at the same time Aragon
participated in legislative hearings
on building  his employers’  private
prisons in New Mexico.
Continued on 13 ➤

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Go to NewMexicoPledge.org and sign the pledge to:
 Improve disclosure in elections
 improve disclosure in lobbying activities
 Establish a state ethics commission
 Propose policy models to improve public
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Common Cause New Mexico is dedicated to restoring the core values of
American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to
make their voices heard in the political process.

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide
Continued from 12 ➤
  It’s impossible for the public to
know if an ethics complaint was
filed against Aragon  in that case,
because the Legislature’s Interim
Ethics Committee  doesn’t disclose
an investigation until probable
cause has been determined. But the
committee took no public action
against Aragon. In fact, it hasn’t
taken action against any lawmakers
caught in scandals since Olguin.
  Since 1994,  the Interim Ethics Committee  has  spent most
of its time writing 11 advisory opinions on benign subjects like the
proper use of government emails
and stationery.
Even if an independent state ethics commission is eventually set up
in New Mexico, don’t count on it
being a silver bullet. Skeptics point

to Georgia, where 216 cases have
been open for an average of three
years. Thirty have been going on for
seven years.
 For Taylor, an ethics commission
would face a daunting task developing  uniform  standards of conduct
since ethical boundary lines in New
Mexico have been predicated on individual beliefs and diverse cultural
values.
  “I don’t know how you put together a group of people to make
someone honest if they’re not already honest,” Taylor said.
With the issue of a state ethics
commission mired in legislative
wrangling, New Mexicans, it appears, will have to rely on lawmakers
swearing an oath of office,  spending a few hours in biennial ethics
training classes,  and then policing
themselves.

13

14

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

State lags in disclosing campaign finance information
By Sherry Robinson
New Mexico In Depth
The rising tide of election spending has lifted some boats and
swamped others, drowning disclosure in the process.
With billions flowing through the
nation’s political system, thanks to
court rulings and flaccid legislation,
many good-government groups,
bolstered by public opinion polls,
are eyeballing the role of money in
politics.
Federal agencies and a number of
states have increased transparency
with new reporting requirements
to try to stanch spending. But New
Mexico remains on the movement’s
sidelines despite persistent attempts
by some lawmakers.
In December, the National Institute on Money in State Politics
gave New Mexico an F – one of
four states to earn zeroes across all
categories – for not requiring independent groups to report spending
to influence elections. Armed with
this fire hose, advocacy groups that
don’t coordinate with a candidate,
campaign or political party can
flood the system with so-called
“dark” money.
New Mexico’s F follows a drubbing in 2012, when the state received a D- for its lax campaign finance laws from the State Integrity
Investigation, a collaboration of the
Center for Public Integrity, Global
Integrity, and Public Radio International.
Two years ago, New Mexico had
lots of company at the bottom.
More recently other states and even
communities have found the politi-

Mark Holm – New Mexico In Depth

New Mexico was one of four states to earn an F in December for not requiring independent groups to report spending to influence elections. New Mexico’s state lawmakers are not expected to pass legislation to better its scores on campaign finance
regulations during this 60-day legislative session.

cal will to change campaign finance
laws. New Mexico’s neighbors –
Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas – all earned an A in December’s
report, primarily for mandated reporting of electioneering communications.
Political scandals, a major motivator in other states, haven’t fueled
reform here. Even after two former
state treasurers and a former Senate president went to prison, cleanup bills had a low survival rate or
lacked teeth.
“Campaign finance reform in
New Mexico is a never-ending
struggle,” said former Sen. Dede
Feldman, D-Albuquerque.
Feldman was one of a handful of

legislators who tried year after year
to gain disclosure from state contractors and independent groups,
set spending limits, establish public funding programs, and require
cooling periods before retiring legislators can become lobbyists.
She and other reformers ran into
opposition from political parties,
elected officials and court decisions.
Objections are typically rooted in
familiarity, denial and self-preservation, as well as an ideological
aversion to new regulation.
“The system that brought legislators to power looks pretty good
once they’re in office,” Feldman
said.
Many party leaders have denied

there’s a problem and seemed insulted by any suggestion that they
could be compromised. “You can’t
legislate ethics,” both the Senate
majority and minority leaders have
said.
And yet opinion polls show the
public’s increasing concern with
corruption, the influence of money
in elections, and transparency. Early this year, a Common Cause New
Mexico poll found that 87 percent
of voters want large political contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees,
nonprofits or unions to be made
public.
Continued on 15 ➤

15

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, is
among those who have pushed to
modernize New Mexico’s campaign
finance law. His bill has died on adjournment four years in a row. Still,
Common Cause’s Viki Harrison is
optimistic. Wirth’s bill had support
but ran out of time each year, she
said.
“We’re reaching out to all the legislators and trying to get them on
board,” Harrison said. In the 2015
session, she said Rep. Jimmy Hall,
R-Albuquerque, will carry the bill.
Caging the beast
States have three basic channels
for regulating campaign finance:
disclosure, contribution limits and
public financing, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures.
All states require candidates,
committees and political parties to
disclose the amount and source of
contributions. And most limit contributions.
When New Mexico passed its
Campaign Reporting Act in 2009, it
was one of just five states that had
not limited contributions. The new
law followed “more than a decade
of intense struggle with legislative
leaders in both parties who were reluctant to change the rules of a game
they had won,” writes Feldman in
her book Inside the New Mexico
Senate: Boots, Suits and Citizens.
The act currently limits donations
to a political party or committee to
$5,400 for each primary and each
general election for statewide office,
and to $2,500 for a non-statewide
office such as a legislative seat or a
district judgeship.
It also requires individuals and
organizations to report donations;

“

campaign reports, but the sampling
and thoroughness are insufficient,
Many of the donations are not cash. This is a very
the report said. The SOS may invessleazy part of New Mexico politics. Partisanship is
tigate violations, and the attorney
general or district attorneys may
a lifestyle for many people.
enforce the act. But they’re all elect— State Integrity Investigation report
ed officials with party affiliations.
The state has been more successful with implementing public
financing. New Mexico provides
corporations and political action contributors. But 31 states do re- public funds for use in election
committees must report their do- quire such information, up from 25 campaigns of the Public Regulation
nations to political parties. But in 2013. And the Federal Elections Commission and certain state judiwhile federal rules require individ- Commission requires reporting on cial offices.
uals to list their employers, New these independent expenditures in
Recently, former state Republican
Mexico has no such rule. A contrib- races for the U.S. House, U.S. Sen- Party Chairman Harvey Yates credutor to a state or local race must list ate, and president.
ited the 2009 law with the success of
only his or her occupation, which
The State Integrity report in 2012 his party’s candidates. In his view,
shields employers and their rela- also blasted New Mexico’s monitor- the law helps incumbents, canditionships from view. Also, the law ing and enforcement of campaign dates with name recognition, and
permits an anonymous donation of finance laws, which it called lax to wealthy contenders.
less than $100 or, for a fundraising nonexistent.
That may be why Senate Major
event, multiple cash donations up
The secretary of state must ranto $1,000.
Continued on 16 ➤
domly audit at least 10 percent of
Lobbyists are forbidden to donate or solicit a donation between
Jan. 1 and the end of the legislative
session. They can provide meals,
tickets, drinks and gifts during the
session. They’re supposed to report
expenditures larger than $500 within 48 hours.
“Many of the donations are not
cash,” the State Integrity Investigation report said. “This is a very
sleazy part of New Mexico politics.
Partisanship is a lifestyle for many
people.”
New Mexico’s lax disclosure laws
EDUCATION • ADVOCACY • ENFORCEMENT
mean we can’t learn the amount of
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independent spending in state electhat is the state’s leading advocate for transparency.
tions, the identities of targeted candidates, and whether the spending
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dates.
In other words, if a group wants
to pay for an ad that blasts a candidate without urging a vote for or
against, the state requires no disclosure, nor does it ask about the

“

Continued from 14 ➤

Celebrating 25 Years
Defending Your Right to Know

16

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Continued from 15 ➤
ity Leader Michael Sanchez is still
leery of campaign reform bills.
“We haven’t been able to come up
with a bill that doesn’t have loopholes,” Sanchez said in an interview.
“The last time we did this, I warned
them, we’re opening the door to
problems.”
Court hurdles
Doc Weiler, the late and muchliked lobbyist for the Association
of Commerce and Industry, said
in 1981, “The public has a right to
know who is supporting what candidates, and we have no problem
with that.”
In recent years, groups on the left
and right have had a problem with
that. Court challenges have rendered New Mexico laws “fluid and
uncertain,” according to Common
Cause.
During the 2008 primary, three
progressive groups used mailers to
defeat Democratic legislators. Former Attorney General Gary King
wanted them to disclose their contributors, but the groups argued
that they were exempt from disclosure as educational organizations.
The court agreed. As a result, the
state can’t make an organization
register as a political committee if
its primary goal isn’t the election or

defeat of a candidate, even if it does
some work that could be considered political.
In 2010, Citizens United convinced the U.S. Supreme Court that
political spending by corporations
and unions is protected speech
under the First Amendment. The
decision spawned a host of organizations that can accept donations in
any amount without revealing donors, as long as they abide by a few
rules.
In 2012 the Republican Party
of New Mexico successfully challenged state spending limits on political committees that don’t coordinate with candidates.
Bottom line: It’s all but impossible
to track such spending by outside
groups in New Mexico’s state and
local races.
Cleaning up campaign finance
won’t be easy, Feldman said.
“But for those who think that the
way we finance and run campaigns is
the reason we can’t solve political and
economic problems at any level – it’s
worth the fight,” Feldman wrote in
her book. “And for those who yearn
for old-fashioned matanzas and retail
politics instead of endless e-blasts,
hate mail, and negative commercials
that even the candidates can’t control
— it’s our only hope.”

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Political Report
The best political coverage for New Mexico. Period.

Online at NMPoliticalReport.com

Other states lead the way in
campaign finance disclosure
By Sherry Robinson
New Mexico In Depth
The State Integrity Investigation in 2012 awarded just one
A in campaign finance, to Connecticut.
“Connecticut has the best campaign finance laws in the country,” The Hartford Courant proclaimed in June.
In 2004 Connecticut’s governor
pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. Pay-to-play deals
had earned it the nickname “Corrupticut.” A year later, the Legislature created a public campaign
finance program and banned
contributions from special interest groups. This year, Connecticut withstood an advertising war
bought by super PACs, but 84
percent of winners used the public finance program.
Maine in 1996 pioneered the
“Clean Elections” program, which
allows candidates to finance
their campaigns almost entirely
with public funds. Maine, Arizona and Connecticut have seen
more young people, women and
minorities become candidates.
Elections are more competitive.
The number of uncontested races
dropped, while voter turnout increased.
But in 2011 the Supreme Court
rejected Arizona’s matching provision, which prompted some
candidates to abandon the system. It’s unclear how the decision

will affect future races.
Massachusetts last summer
passed the Disclose Act, which
requires PACs that run television,
print or online ads to list the top
five contributors in the ad. It also
increased the number of reports
required. Common Cause Connecticut described it as “one of
the strongest disclosure laws in
the country.”
Arkansas has a new constitutional amendment that prohibits
elected officials from accepting
gifts from lobbyists, prohibits
corporate and labor contributions to candidates, and requires
a two-year time out before legislators can become lobbyists.
In Colorado, residents can learn
through a new system what issues
or bills lobbyists plan to push
during the legislative session.
Communities across the nation
stepped up.
Two-thirds of Tallahassee, Fla.,
voters, from liberal to conservative, backed a referendum to limit
donors to $250 per city candidate, create an ethics board, and
require retiring politicians to wait
two years before becoming lobbyists.
And dozens of communities in
Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Florida and Illinois passed mostly
non-binding resolutions favoring constitutional amendments
that would allow elected officials
to set campaign fundraising and
spending limits and to temper the
impact of Citizens United.

17

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

a lot

New Mexico can learn about
job creation from our neighbors.
Is New Mexico’s “Job Creation”
problem related to impediments
on economic freedom within the
state? Economic freedom is the
fundamental right of every
human to control his or her own
labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals
are free to work, produce,
consume, and invest with limited
governmental interference.
Policies like “right to work,” low
or no taxes on work and investment, and Constitutional limits
on spending preserve economic
freedom and have contributed
significantly to making our
neighbors prosperous.



CHANGE IN TOTAL NONFARM PAYROLLS SINCE THE US RECOVERY STARTED

 






 



 



 









 
  











NEW MEXICO STATE TAX AND
REGULATION COMPARISON
Right to Work Protections
Top Personal Income Tax Rate
Corporate Income Tax Rate*
Government Percent of Employment
Constitutional Tax/Spending Restraint
Tax Services/Business Inputs at
High Rates (Gross Receipts Tax)

 
  
  
  
  
  














 
 

  


­€‚ƒ­ ­
„… †

 €
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

New Mexico

Texas

Utah

Oklahoma

Arizona

Colorado

No
4.90%
7.30%
31.90%
No
Yes

Yes
0
0
19%
Yes
No

Yes
5%
5%
20.30%
Yes
No

Yes
5.25%
6%
23.40%
Yes
No

Yes
4.54%
6.50%
21.50%
Yes
No

No
4.63%
4.63%
20.80%
Yes
No

*New Mexico and Arizona are currently phasing in corporate tax rate reductions

18

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Democracy on Demand
Webcasting has brought increased access to the Legislature, but without archiving the view is limited

By Gwyneth Doland
New Mexico In Depth
When Hanna Skandera presented
the Education Department’s budget
to a legislative committee in early
December, Katie Stone missed it.
Stone, the mother of a child with
disabilities, was hoping to find out
how much money the budget would
put toward special education.
But something — the kids, her
software business, the animals on
her small farm or the fact that epilepsy has left her unable to drive
— kept her away from the Roundhouse and away from her desk,
where she might have watched a
live webcast of the Legislative Finance Committee’s meeting.
“I was really praying that one
of the members of the committee
would focus on asking about [special ed funding] because the details are totally hidden in one line
of the budget,” Stone said. “Because
I wasn’t able to watch I don’t know
if anybody asked and, no offense to
the press, but it doesn’t seem like
the issue got the remotest bit of attention from reporters.”
As of 2014, at least 39 states allowed recordings of their floor sessions to be watched on demand. Although the New Mexico Legislature
began webcasting floor and committee meetings in 2009, members
have resisted repeated calls to save
the footage, archiving it online for
people to go back and watch later.

New push for archiving
Rep. Jeff Steinborn said he plans
to reintroduce a proposal to archive
proceedings from the House floor
and committees in this year’s session. Steinborn’s 2014 resolution
passed unanimously through two
committees but never made it to
the floor for a full vote.
The House and Senate each make
their own rules on webcasting, so it
would be up to senators to start archiving their meetings. They’ve resisted calls for archiving in the past,
and the 2014 election didn’t change
the dynamics in that chamber.
Keeping video records of the
Legislature’s proceedings is a move
supported by open government
groups, a bipartisan swath of lawmakers and issue advocacy groups
across the political spectrum. But
it’s also been rejected by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the past.
“Remember, the majority of New
Mexicans have day jobs and are
unable to watch the work of their
lawmakers,” said Susan Boe, the executive director of the New Mexico
Foundation for Open Government.
“Archiving and posting the webcasts means that everyone in the
state — from Gallup to Hobbs —
can participate in our democracy.”
Paul Gessing, president of the Rio
Grande Foundation, a free-market
policy institute, agreed.
“It’s very difficult to figure out
what happened in the committees
Continued on 20 ➤

Heath Haussamen – New Mexico In Depth

The New Mexico Senate installed webcams like this one in 2010 to webcast floor
sessions.

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

19

20

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

if you’re not there, “ Gessing said.
“I respect the idea that archiving
could drive the discussions out into
the hallways, and frankly that’s the
way a lot of politics gets done anyway, but a significant majority of
other business does get discussed in
committees. And that’s important.”
Cost of archiving has dropped
Some lawmakers’ early objections
to archiving focused on the cost
and technological challenges of archiving. Those concerns are waning
with advances in technology.
In 2011, Rep. Jim Smith, R-Sandia Park, introduced a bill that would
have required webcasting and archiving of most public meetings
of state and local bodies in New
Mexico. The proposal had a lot of

“

being used for political purposes,
for example in campaign ads. But
Nowadays with relatively inexpensive large hard
it’s unlikely the Legislature could
drives it’s not as expensive as it would have been
stop anyone from capturing footage
from the live webcasts and posting
then.
­— Rep. Jim Smith, R-Sandia Park,
it, for example, on YouTube.
on the cost of webcasting and archiving
Rep. Steinborn said he has heard
public meetings in New Mexico
concerns from colleagues who remain worried that recording will
make it easier for opponents to
Until that happens he’d be hap- comb through the footage for amsupport in the Legislature, Smith
said, but was doomed by the high py to see the Legislature lead the munition against them. “There
price tag of the equipment and staff way by archiving its own meetings. have been objections about taking
that would have been required. Al- “I would love to see that happen our quotes out of context and using
though initial investment in equip- and a lot of people would. It real- people’s words against them in a
ment and services would have cost ly wouldn’t be very hard to record political sense,” Steinborn said.
an estimated $4 million to $8 mil- them,” he said.
That’s not an issue in the U.S.
lion, continuing costs would have
Congress, where C-SPAN video of
been lower.
debates in the House and Senate
Lawmakers and political use
“Nowadays with relatively inexare in the public domain and can be
Politics are also in play. The rules used for any purpose.
pensive large hard drives it’s not
as expensive as it would have been governing the existing webcasts
prohibit the official footage from
then,” Smith said.
Continued on 21 ➤

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is proud to support
New Mexico in Depth’s 2015 Legislative Guide
“Ethics should mean what Commissioner Jason Marks
has publicly and vocally advocated for…
accountability through as much disclosure as possible.”
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Continued from 18 ➤

21

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide
Continued from 20 ➤
Although he said he shares a concern that the video could be used to
obscure or distort the truth about
lawmakers or issues, public access
should be paramount, said Rep.
Smith. “I don’t think it’s fair at all to
say the public can’t use the webcast
for whatever reason.”
Recording committee votes
Supporters say another advantage of saving footage of committee meetings would be to have
a record of how members voted
during committee meetings. Most
states archive some or all of their
legislative committee meetings (33
plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto
Rico).
“It’s amazing to me that a lot of
the committee votes (in New Mexi-

co) aren’t recorded,” said Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque. “That’s
important for people, concerned
citizens, to be able to go back and
do their research.”
According to the Senate’s rules,
voice votes aren’t recorded in the
meeting’s minutes the way roll call
votes are. Recording votes takes
more time and often voice votes
can make a committee’s work move
more quickly. But many of the votes
that effectively kill bills (called “tabling”) are the ones not written,
making it difficult or impossible to
find out why some bills never make
it out of committees.
“We say these things are open, but
some things aren’t,” Sen. Rue said.
“It’s like being a little bit pregnant.
You’re either transparent or you’re
not. You can’t parse it out.”

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22

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Short-term capital outlay projects scrutinized
By Sandra Fish

New Mexico In Depth
New blinds for an Albuquerque
library. Renovations to the dam that
supplies water to Las Vegas. Vehicles for a Farmington senior center.
A movie backlot in Las Cruces.
Those are just a few of the more
than 1,100 projects that made the
cut when New Mexico lawmakers
pared a $4 billion wishlist to more
than $398 million in capital outlay
spending in 2014.
But some question whether the
state is making the best use of money when lawmakers divvy up money for small local projects instead
of focusing on long-term building
goals.
“We’re diluting our efforts when
it comes to the long-term priorities,” said Sen. Pete Campos, a Las
Vegas Democrat who has repeatedly – and unsuccessfully – tried to
reform the process.
New Mexico appears to be the
only state that allows lawmakers to
divide a set amount of money in a
method often known as “pork-barrel politics,” said several experts
Continued on 23 ➤

Sandra Fish – New Mexico In Depth

Mora County’s new two-story courthouse sits unfinished behind a chain-link fence. Since the 2007 decision to build a new, $7.25
million courthouse, the project cost has ballooned.

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23

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

New Mexico In Depth talked with.  
Defenders say the process ensures
the needs of small cities and counties aren’t overlooked in the capital budgeting process and results
in more equitable distribution of
bond money across New Mexico’s
population.
But opponents criticize the process for failing to fully fund projects, some of which are left unfinished for years. Critics say some
projects end up in the budget that
aren’t part of local governments’
long-range plans.
“It ends up costing more in the
long run,” said Tom Clifford, cabinet secretary for the Department of
Finance and Administration (DFA).
“And it undercuts confidence in the
program.”

“

It ends up costing more in the long run. And it
undercuts confidence in the program.
–Tom Clifford, cabinet secretary for the
Department of Finance and Administration,
on the current capital outlay project system

Campos will be back with a reform bill when the Legislature
meets Jan. 20 for its 60-day session.
With Republicans – presumably
allies of Martinez – in control of the
House, his chances might be better,
though it’s difficult to say.
“We don’t anticipate any changes
to the capital outlay process, but we
certainly welcome the discussion,”
House Speaker-elect Don Tripp of
Socorro said in a statement.

“

Continued from 22 ➤

Setting standards
New Mexico’s processes for capital projects meet many of the standards set forth in a report earlier
this year from the National Association of State Budget Officers:
• Defining capital expenditures:
New Mexico defines a capital project as one that costs $5,000 and will
have a life cycle of at least 10 years,
which is the typical term of bonds
issued to pay for such projects.

• Established planning processes:
New Mexico state agencies are required to submit and update longterm plans for capital needs. The
process is optional for cities and
counties, but many participate.
• A system to prioritize projects:
The Department of Finance and
Administration and legislative staff
prioritize projects based on health
and safety concerns, urgent need
and other factors.
• Clear policies on debt financing: New Mexico is one of 19 states
that require voter approval for general obligation bond issues to fund
projects.
Yet while the state’s process meets
nationally accepted standards on
paper, the way state lawmakers divvy up money for projects is unusual.
Continued on 24 ➤

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Each year many priority projects
identified by the executive and legislative branch are funded.
But a significant amount of capital
outlay cash – $100 million in 2014
– is divided among individual lawmakers. So last spring, each House
member received a bit more than
$714,000 and each senator received
$1.25 million to allocate to projects
they wanted in a process that many
consider highly political.
“Communities come to a legislator. One wants a senior center project, another wants roads,” Campos
said, adding, “We all want to help at
all levels.”
Tim Keller, a former Albuquerque Democratic senator who is
now state auditor, sees both sides of
the capital outlay conundrum.
“It’s an antiquated procedure held

“

How others do it

Communities come to a legislator. One wants a
senior center project, another wants roads. We all
want to help at all levels.
–Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, on the
distribution of funds divided among individual lawmakers

over from a time when there was
very little central administration,”
he said.
On the other hand, Keller said, “It
is equitable. It is the most equitable
distribution of pork in the entire
country. It is a bill. It’s as transparent or as opaque as any other bill.
We vote on it.”
Such divvying up of cash by individual lawmakers isn’t standard
procedure, said Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban
Planning and Public Affairs at the
University of Illinois at Chicago,

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“

Continued from 23 ➤

who has studied state capital spending processes.
“It certainly wouldn’t be in the
textbooks about how to do capital
improvement planning,” Pagano
said. “In fact, it would be the illustration about how not to do capital
improvement planning.”
That’s because New Mexico’s state
lawmakers sometimes choose projects that aren’t part of a prioritized
list and that don’t meet guidelines
for minimum cost and lifespan.
For instance, 453 projects totaling more than $43.6 million were
included in the 2014 capital outlay
bills but weren’t in any long-range
plans filed with the state, according
to DFA records. Another 35 projects in the 2014 list fall below the
$5,000 threshold for capital projects.
Clifford said that’s a problem for
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez,
who vetoed $30 million in capital
projects from 2012 to 2014, often
citing concerns about projects that
appeared to be pork rather than essentials.
“She’s very uncomfortable signing off on projects that haven’t been
through some kind of vetting process,” Clifford said.
And often, projects aren’t ready to
build, so the money isn’t spent immediately.
“We probably have $450 million
sitting there that can’t be used,”
Campos said.

Pagano pointed to Utah as one
state with a textbook system for
funding capital projects.
There, a board appointed by the
governor holds hearings and prioritizes projects, sending a list to the
governor. The governor’s office uses
that list to create its own priorities
and both lists are sent to the legislature.
“They debate it out from there,”
said Marilee Richins, a spokeswoman for Utah’s Department of
Administrative Services, which
oversees the process.
And Campos likes Oklahoma’s
process. That state has a planning
commission with citizens appointed
by the governor, the state House and
the state Senate that prioritizes capital projects. The commission submits the list to the legislature, which
has 45 days to remove projects from
the list. But none can be added.
“The legislature still has some
oversight over what happens, but
they are not directly choosing the
projects,” said John Estus, spokesman for the Oklahoma Office of
Management and Enterprise Services.
Estus said that state’s system is
“the complete opposite of New
Mexico’s.”
“The system we have is designed
to keep politics out of it as much as
possible.”
Efforts at reform
For years, Campos has tried to get
politics out of New Mexico’s system.
He writes frequent op-eds advocating reform. He even wrote his
2004 University of New Mexico
dissertation on the state’s capital
outlay process.
Continued on 25 ➤

25

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide
Continued from 24 ➤
Campos’ proposals sometimes
pass one house or another. And
while other lawmakers rarely speak
out against the reforms, they have
yet to see the governor’s desk.
“It’s a very touchy subject,” he
said. “They won’t speak against it.
They quietly, sometimes collectively, work to make sure it’s not heard
or that it’s killed in the other house.”

NM
In

Depth
.com

Search a list of 2014 capital outlay projects
by going to NMInDepth.com.

Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa,
also has sponsored capital outlay
reform bills that met similar failure.
Martinez supports such reform
efforts, Clifford said.
“We were generally supportive of
both bills, Sen. Campos’ and Sen.

Cisneros’ bills, from the last couple
of sessions,” he said.
But almost two years ago, Martinez took matters into her own
hands. She issued an executive order requiring local governments
to have up-to-date general audits

before capital outlay money is released and giving the DFA greater
regulatory authority over distributing capital outlay money.
At the time, 61 local governments
didn’t meet the audit requirement.
Today, only 16 haven’t completed
audits, Clifford said.
“The system truly needs reform,
and we’re making it administratively,” Campos said.

Examples of faulty spending process dot the state
By Sandra Fish
New Mexico In Depth
MORA — The Mora County
Courthouse may be the ultimate
monument to problems with New
Mexico’s often-piecemeal approach
to capital projects.
The shell of an elegant two-story
building sits empty, surrounded by
chain-link fence, while county offices operate from a cluster of temporary trailers nearby.
Voters in the county of about
4,700 people approved a $2.65 million bond issue to remodel the existing courthouse in 2004.
But asbestos and other problems
halted the remodel in 2005, leading to a 2007 decision to tear down
the old courthouse and construct
a new, $7.25 million building with
the local bond proceeds and state
money.
The state appropriated $1 million
in capital outlay to the project in
2006, another $1 million in 2007
and $200,000 in 2008.
But by 2009, the cost had ballooned to $12.1 million, leaving the
building an empty shell. In 2010,

$500,000 in federal stimulus money was used to put doors and windows on the building.
Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed
$1.5 million for the courthouse in
2012, as part of a larger $23 million
in vetoed capital projects. While
not mentioning the courthouse
specifically, Martinez issued a blistering veto message chastising lawmakers for divvying up money for
projects that often weren’t requested or were funded at only a fraction
of the cost.
A state audit later that year criticized the awarding of a contract
to the architectural firm that also
drew up the request for proposal
for that contract, a conflict of interest under New Mexico law. Ultimately, 21 percent of the money
spent on the courthouse went to
that architectural firm.
That conflict of interest was
among the dozen findings Mora
County agreed to resolve after the
audit.
The following year, the state
awarded $1,845,000 in capital outlay cash, followed by $245,000 in
2014.

But the shell still isn’t finished.
“We will probably need an additional $7 million this session,” said
Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas,
who represents the area. “It may be
more when all is said and done.”
About 60 miles southwest of
Mora is the Bradner Dam, also in
Campos’ district. The reservoir is
one of two primary water storage
areas for the historic city of Las Vegas, one of many in New Mexico
severely affected by drought.
That dam is in a state of disrepair,
leaking water, and needs to be expanded, city officials said. So Martinez included it in her push for water
projects as a capital outlay priority
in 2014. The project received $10
million in state money. The city
plans to issue $12 million in its own
bonds, but will still need another $6
million to complete the work. It’s
likely lawmakers will be asked for
that money in future sessions.
While the dam project is one
many cite as an example of how
capital outlay money can help
communities, there are others that
weren’t on any long-range list of
capital desires.

One example: The $550,000 included in the 2014 bill for “cinematic infrastructure” in Las Cruces.
Eleven Las Cruces area legislators
included the project in their individual capital outlay requests.
But the project wasn’t requested
by the city, wasn’t in the state’s longterm project plan, and “it’s still in
the conceptual stage,” said Gary
Camarano, economic development
coordinator for Las Cruces.
The idea is to build a sound stage
on city property, along with facades
and sets that could be used in a variety of nearby locales. An August
Board of Finance document lists
“anti-donation issues” with the
project. State law prohibits capital
outlay money being used for projects that primarily benefit private
interests.
But Camarano said lawmakers
might be asked to revise language
on the project next session.
“Las Cruces offers a different environment than Santa Fe or Albuquerque,” Camarano said. “We’re
looking to participate in what people are calling the ‘Hollywood in
the desert.’ ”

26

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

How legislation passes — or doesn’t pass — the Legislature
By Matt Reichbach
New Mexico In Depth
Each year dozens of bills pass the
Legislature to become law.
The process itself can seem simple. The legislation merely has to
pass the House and Senate with
a majority of votes and then be
signed into law by the governor.
Simple?
Well, there is more to it – and
there are a lot of hurdles to clear.
Some bad news on legislation can
come when it is first introduced
and is assigned to committees that
will consider it before it gets a floor
vote.
If the bill gets three committee assignments in the House or Senate,
it is generally considered bad news.
It is difficult enough to get legislation through two committees in either chamber before a session ends;
a third committee assignment can
doom legislation.
Which committees the bill is assigned to also matters. Some have
reputations for sitting on legislation
that the chair doesn’t like; the committee chair may just have a bad
personal relationship with the bill’s
sponsor.
If the legislation does pass
through committees, then it has
to navigate the House and Senate
floor and the potential challenges it
can face there. Again, amendments
that are added during debate on the
House or Senate floor can neuter
legislation. Or the House or Senate
can reject it.
Once a bill passes a chamber, it
starts the process all over again for
the second chamber — but with

Mark Holm – New Mexico In Depth

Two new House members, Rodney Montoya, left, R-Farmington; and Rick Little, R-Chaparral, prepare for this year’s 60-day legislative session during a day of training for lawmakers in late 2014.

more potential pitfalls.
Legislation that is otherwise innocuous could get caught up in a
larger fight between the two chambers. If the Senate feels the House is
not hearing enough legislation that
passed the Senate, the Senate could
refuse to hear House bills until that
changes, and vice versa.
This year, there is an added tension between the two chambers, as

Republicans will control the House
and the Democrats control the Senate. The dynamic between the two
chambers isn’t clear yet.
A late amendment can also doom
legislation. Legislation must pass
both the Senate and House with
identical language from each chamber to be sent to the governor. So
a late change, for example, by the
House of a Senate bill may leave the

legislation without enough time to
get concurrence – the process by
which the House and Senate designate lawmakers from each chamber
to try to come up with compromise
language so the bill can pass the
Legislature.
Time is important. A filibuster –
where a lawmaker gives an extend
Continued on 28 ➤

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

27

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
 First Amendment to the US Constitution

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New Mexico citizens about issues facing the State and the upcoming legislative session.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Continued from 27 ➤
ed speech on the chamber floor
often with the intention of blocking
the passage of a bill – near the end
of the session could doom the targeted legislation as well as numerous bills scheduled for a hearing
after it.

This isn’t to say that all legislation
is automatically doomed.
The phrase, “You’d be surprised
how fast things can happen,” is bandied about a lot at the end of the
legislative session.
In 2013, legislation related to tax
breaks reached a late agreement between leadership in the House and

Senate. The legislation passed at the
buzzer — some say after the buzzer — after being greased by both
chambers at the last minute.
And, of course, a bill that seems
dead isn’t necessarily dead. A member of the political party that controls a chamber can bring back a
bill that is tabled.

Late in the session, so-called
“dummy bills,” or blank pieces of
legislation introduced just before
the mid-legislative session deadline (Feb. 19 is the bill introduction deadline for the 2015 session),
come into play. The legislation can
be used to substitute substantive
legislation at the last minute.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

29

Commentary

Hallway minutes and grocery lines don’t cut it

I

get something more
t’s December 2012.
like “hallway minutes.”
We are coming off
Allies suggested we learn
a great campaign to
where legislators like to
engage unlikely voteat lunch and stake them
ers as my organizer and
out.
I run through logistics
Really? This is how we
of taking people to Santa
Sarah
Nolan
do democracy in New
Fe during the upcoming
Mexico?
legislative session to lobby
for drivers licenses and
Power resides in relationship
foreclosure prevention legislation.
The cost? $8,000.
Most Americans, like New Mex“OK, do we think people can
icans, believe we should be able
pack one meal?” I ask. “Make sure to change our political system if
the church announcements let
we know the rules. Tell us how to
people know that they should get
influence decisions and have the
there no later than 4:45 a.m. We
power to dictate what happens in
can train people on the bus. We’ve the lives of our families and I reckgot time.”
on we’d do it.
Getting people from Southern
But following the rules doesn’t
New Mexico to the legislative
get many New Mexicans there.
session is not easy or cheap. Since
Full-time jobs don’t meet ends, a
2011, NM Comunidades en Acción college education doesn’t guarantee
y de Fé, the organization I run, has a ticket to the middle class and,
trained and transported hundreds
despite 60 years of a single political
of people of faith to lobby for poli- party in charge of the Legislature,
cy changes, and to exert our power we still have the hungriest kids in
and values for our families and
this country. The real power in this
communities.
state is shrouded from view.
Our leaders and clergy have
In organizing we say power
worked with legislators on ending
resides in relationship. If you are at
predatory foreclosure practices,
the Roundhouse for any number of
preserving drivers licenses for all
days you see the same people passNew Mexicans, advocating fair
ing you in the stairwell and circling
and open elections, and raising the the top floors.
minimum wage.
Currently, power resides with
At first, navigating how the
people who can afford time and
Roundhouse operates was a chalmoney to spend 30-60 days in Sanlenge. It was apparent that the
ta Fe each year, people who speak
informal channels of power and
English and can express a public
relationship ran deeper than the
policy analysis in the dominant
formal, less-utilized channels.
language, people who can travel
We attempted to meet with
around the state to interim comlegislators during “office hours.”
mittee hearings, have cell phone
There were none. Instead, we could numbers and know which restau-

rants and bars legislators frequent.
If you can’t sustain that kind of
schedule, you have to get your point
across while in line at the grocery
store – if you’re lucky enough to
run into your legislator there.
This is a problem. Increased
civic engagement is key to attaining racial and economic dignity.
Structures channel power. Informal structures lessen the power of
the many, muddle political transparency, and increase the power
of those who created and sustain
the informal power structures that
often don’t serve the real needs of
New Mexicans.
Ideas for improvement
Here are some changes I believe
would keep our Legislature in right
relationships with real New Mexicans and ensure the democratic
process we deserve.
•Mental model shift – Legislators
must see people as citizens, not
consumers, of government. Many
legislators want to know “What do
you want? What can I do for you?”
Instead, they should ask citizens
for their perspectives: “What do
you see happening? How should
we do this differently? Who should
we be engaging?” They should be
looking to understand.
•Create localized and formal
structures for feedback – Let’s have
office hours around the state with
staffs and schedule. Allow people
to know they matter enough to
take up formal time in the life of a
legislator in addition to grabbing a
few minutes in line at the grocery
store.
•Make the work of governing

a full-time job – We call ours a
“citizen legislature” but it’s not a
citizen-represented Legislature.
Because legislators aren’t paid
and work erratic schedules, New
Mexico is run by lawyers, businesspeople, and well-resourced or
retired individuals. This creates in
the Legislature an implicit bias and
narrow perspective of what works
for our families and, therefore, uneven outcomes and power centers.
CAFé’s leaders feel power and
influence at city hall and in Washington D.C. We can make appointments. We are engaged in analysis.
People are paid to listen and act on
our behalf as constituents.
Not so when we step into the halls
of the Roundhouse. Someone is
compensating our legislators, it just
isn’t us taxpayers. Let that sink in.
Regardless of who is in charge,
ordinary, low- and moderate-income New Mexicans will always
be subject to poor pathways and
access to power structures. Formal
channels help give the most marginalized a voice.
I am fully aware that may be
against the interests of some on
both sides of the political aisle. But
democracy can’t survive in private
corners of restaurants, interrupting
dimly lit steak dinners.
Nolan is the executive director for
NM Comunidades en Acción y de
Fé (NM CAFé). She was born and
raised in Vado and currently lives in
Las Cruces with her daughter Eva.
The views in this column are the
author’s alone and do not reflect the
views or opinions of New Mexico In
Depth.

30

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Commentary

Free-market ideas for opening up the Legislature

C

hange comes
and independents. If a
ballot-qualified party has
slowly in New
shown that it has a modiMexico’s Legislacum of voter support, then
ture. Nonetheless,
logically the candidates
there are several basic
nominated by such a party
things legislators can do to
have a modicum of voter
improve citizen participaPaul
Gessing
support. New Mexico is
tion and open government
the only state that forces
in the Roundhouse.
the nominee of a qualified
New Mexico’s Constituparty
to
submit
a petition.
tion contains no requirements for
One other state, Maryland, had
individuals running for the Legislasuch
a requirement, but that state’s
ture to collect a particular number
highest
court struck it down in 2003. 
of signatures to get on the ballot.
New Mexico has had fewer minor
Nonetheless, such requirements have
party
and independent candidates on
been in place for decades.
the
ballot
for the last 13 years than
Every year it seems some legislator
any
other
state. Yet more New Mexiis kicked off the ballot for insufficient
cans than ever are calling themselves
attention to detail or signatures.
During the 2014 election, incumbent “independent.” The registration of
“decline to state” comprises a larger
Democratic Rep. Sandra Jeff was
voting bloc than either Democrats or
thrown off the ballot for insufficient
valid signatures. Jeff ran as a write-in Republicans.
It is time to open up New Mexico’s
candidate and was handily defeated.
legislative
races.
Clearly, these signature requirements have a significant impact on
Using technology
both Democrats and Republicans.
More importantly, they often deprive
In addition to opening up legislavoters of choices on Election Day.
tive elections to third parties, New
Mexico’s legislators should strongly
But this pales in comparison to
consider allowing remote testimony
the law’s impact on third parties
“Over 30 years experience. Timely and accurate public policy polling.”

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before legislative committees as a
means of opening the political process to new voices outside of close
geographical proximity to Santa Fe.
New Mexico is, after all, the
fifth-largest U.S. state in land area,
making it difficult for interested
parties to make their way to Santa
Fe for committee hearings during
legislative sessions.
Washington State’s Legislature
recently allowed its first remote testimony. Nevada has been doing it for
years. In Washington, those wishing
to testify remotely before the Legislature in Olympia can make their way
to a local community college that
is set up with the basic technology
to testify. Needless to say, this saves
tremendous travel time, opens up the
process, and is good for the environment.
The technology has been around
for years. Allowing for remote testimony would enable those who want
to participate in the process, but can’t
afford a lobbyist or can’t get away
from their business or family, to have
their voices heard in Santa Fe. It is
time for New Mexico’s Legislature to
step into the 21st Century by making
remote testimony a readily available
option at community colleges across
the state.
To further open up the Legislature
to oversight from average citizens, all
legislative hearings and floor sessions
should be filmed and made available
in real-time and archived online.
Filming floor sessions was a nice
starting point, but if New Mexico
is ever to become a model of open
government, these public meetings
should be made truly available to the
public whether they reside in Santa

Fe or Hobbs.
Lastly, it is time for the Legislature
to make transparency a reality on
New Mexico’s Sunshine Portal, sunshineportalnm.com.
The first thing to do is to make
sure all state employee salaries are
available on the portal. This is, after
all, public information already.
And New Mexico’s government
employee pensions should be added
to the Sunshine Portal. California
has done this at that state’s equivalent
of our Sunshine Portal, known as
Transparent California.
According to a recent “meta-study”
by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, New Mexico’s public pensions
are arguably the most under-funded
among the 50 states. Our pension
system is certainly among the most
troubled in the nation. Yet, voters
and taxpayers are given little information about which government
workers are receiving the most generous pension payouts and what, if
any, abuses might be taking place.
New Mexico’s taxpayers are paying
the bills. It is time to give them the
information they need to understand
how their money is being spent.
Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation, an
independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and educational
organization dedicated to promoting
prosperity for New Mexico based on
principles of limited government,
economic freedom and individual responsibility. The views in this column
are the author’s alone and do not
reflect the views or opinions of New
Mexico In Depth. 

31

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Commentary

Let the sunshine in during 2015 legislative session

T

his year the New
ing, citizens can view the
Mexico Founaction from the comfort
of their home offices.
dation for Open
The real work, though,
Government
happens in the committee
(FOG) celebrates
rooms that line the hallits 25th year educating,
advocating and litigatways radiating out from
Susan
Boe
the rotunda on the third
ing for transparency in
floor. Until 2009, some
government. We hope
of these committees were
that our anniversary year
will also mark the most transparent closed to the public. These were
conference committees that meet
legislative session in New Mexico
every session to reconcile differenchistory.
What would such a session look
es between House and Senate bills.
like?
With the help of many advocates
Philosophically, the session
these important committees, which
would reflect the attitude and
are regularly used to hammer out
belief — from the lawmakers to the final details of the state budget,
security guards — that the people
were finally opened to the public.
have a right to know. We already
Much remains to be done,
are doing a good job of welcoming
though.
the people into the Roundhouse.
The Legislature needs to webcast
Most mornings school buses line
all committee meetings, including
up outside the west entrance, dethose during the interim period.
We also need to archive all commitlivering hundreds of New Mexico
students to watch democracy at
tee and legislative sessions.
work. Daily, the Capitol rotunda
City councils and county comhas advocates promoting their
missions need to schedule and post
causes, while tens of tables in both
all meetings under the Open Meetlobbies offer brochures and services ings Act and provide agendas 72
from blood pressure screenings to
hours prior to their meetings. That
makeshift massages. The galleries of same discipline should be followed
both houses quickly fill with citiat the Legislature. Geographicalzens wanting glimpses of their local ly, New Mexico is the fifth-larglegislators. And with live webcastest state, with citizens scattered

throughout the region. Some New
Mexicans travel five or six hours to
testify at a committee hearing only
to find the hearing has been canceled or moved to another date.
Better yet, let’s allow remote
testimony at committee hearings
so citizens in Las Cruces, Farmington or Hobbs can go to central
locations to deliver remarks. Such
a system has worked well in other
large states like Alaska, Nevada and
Washington.
Speaking of advance notice,
wouldn’t citizen participation in the
legislative process improve dramatically if we had 72 hours of notice of
votes on bills? Even 24 hours of notice would be a vast improvement.
Though FOG was instrumental
in opening up conference committees, many deals are still being cut
behind closed doors, whether at the
Roundhouse or the Bullring. Those
secret deals may be good for special
interest groups, but they do not ultimately benefit the state in general.
Secrecy undermines trust in our
elected officials and the democratic
process.
As a related issue, the Legislature needs to hear the voice of the
people, not just lobbyists. Lobbyists can serve an important role,
explaining technical issues to our

lawmakers. However, increasingly,
their voices drown out the voices
of the people. Perhaps we need to
follow Rep. Jeff Steinborn’s (D-Las
Cruces) suggestion that lobbyists
need to wear special badges or red
hats while walking the halls of the
Roundhouse.
Finally, emails of legislators need
to be produced pursuant to Inspection of Public Records Act requests.
Other public officials have to turn
over their emails. Why not the men
and women who make our laws? A
couple of years ago a last-minute
rule passed both houses by wide
majorities that shielded legislators’
emails from public view. This is
unfortunate. The public’s business
needs to be conducted in public.
We know sunshine helps our
gardens grow and attracts tourists
to our state. Sunshine also is good
government! Let’s make 2015 the
sunshine session.
Boe is executive director of the
New Mexico Foundation for Open
Government, the state’s leading
advocate for transparency in public
records and public meetings. The
views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the
views or opinions of New Mexico In
Depth. 

NMID will be covering the 2015 legislative session
Find our complete
coverage online at

32

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Commentary

Disclosure: the way to learn the price we pay for money in politics

L

ast year Common
tisements and the conCause New Mexitributors who finance
co commissioned
them are disclosed.
a poll to find out
These contributions
how voters felt about
now threaten to dwarf
money in politics. One
ordinary donors and
thing that became abuneven the candidates’
Viki
Harrison
dantly clear from the
own efforts.
results was that disclosure
We also need to
of campaign contribudefine when expentions and expenditures is hugely
ditures are coordinated between
important to our citizens: 86 per- independent groups and candicent of the respondents – across
dates, and if they are coordinated,
the political spectrum – wanted
require them to be counted as
to know who is funding candiin-kind contributions, which are
dates.
limited under New Mexico law.
And that was before this year’s
These changes – incorporated
election, where tracing the mon- into a House bill sponsored by
ey through a myriad political
Rep. Jim Smith – would make
action committees (PACs), candi- state law consistent with recent
dates, political parties, and noncourt decisions and allow New
profits became even more daunt- Mexicans to see who is funding
ing to ordinary citizens who just
our elected officials. Then, if they
wanted to know who paid for the are more responsive to the big
barrage of ads, calls and direct
contributors, voters can hold
mail that was trying to influence
them accountable.
them. This year “dark money”
But ordinary citizens can’t
accounted for $216 million in
do that if the information is not
campaign expenditures nationreadily available online, displayed
wide, and super PACs accounted in a coherent, searchable and
for another $51 million according sortable fashion. To accomplish
to preliminary reports from the
this, we are supporting an approCenter for Responsive Politics.
priation to upgrade the Secretary
Much of this money comes from
of State’s website and to create a
afar and is spent independently
better enforcement mechanism to
of local campaigns. Inquiring
identify violations and omissions.
minds want to know who these
Speaking of technology, we
people are and what they expect
are longtime supporters of the
from politicians in return for the Sunshine Portal, which is a great
money they spent!
first step in making information
We desperately need to adapt
about state operations available
our Campaign Reporting Act
to citizens. Now we need to build
to these new, opaque methods
on this foundation to reveal more
of campaigning by independent
information about state contracts
groups. Specifically we must reand taxes so we as taxpayers can
quire that the sponsors of adversee whether we are paying a fair

or exorbitant price for the goods
and services the state buys. We
need to know whether businesses
both inside and outside of the
state are competing on a level
playing field, or one that has been
tilted toward big contributors.
Again, for this information to
be meaningful, it must be in a
searchable database.
One area where New Mexico
lags behind other states is in the
disclosure of lobbyist activities.
In recent sessions there have been
more than six lobbyists for every
legislator, often with access that
ordinary citizens can only imagine. In many states, lobbyists – or
their employers – must reveal
how much lobbyists are paid,
who they are lobbying and what
issues they are working on. They
cannot be legislators who recently
retired (either willingly or unwillingly) or relatives of current
legislators.
In New Mexico lobbyists
register, file expenditure and
contribution reports – but often these are indecipherable or
non-existent, purged after only a
few years. To update the Lobbyist
Regulation Act, the secretary of
state should upgrade the lobbyist
site, publish reports more quickly
and in a more searchable fashion.
These reforms are included in a
bill by Rep. Jeff Steinborn which
also increases lobbyist registration fees and requires lobbyists
to report on which legislators
they are meeting with and which
issues are discussed. The public
deserves to know.
In addition, lobbyists should
wear a badge identifying them

as a lobbyist while in the roundhouse – standard practice in
other states.
The Legislature has come a
long way in the past seven years
to open up its proceedings to
ordinary New Mexicans who may
not be able to travel to Santa Fe.
Citizens can now watch House
and Senate floor sessions online
and most (but not all) committee hearings are webcast as well.
After debating a decade, legislators agreed to open conference
committees to the public. Now
the Legislature should finish the
job – webcast all committees,
archive all proceedings and make
sure that all committee votes, including those to table measures,
are recorded and accessible. Only
then can citizens feel that their
elected officials are truly accountable.
These are bipartisan, commonsense reforms that will go a long
way in reducing the negative
impact money has over our political system. Most importantly,
they will return the power to the
people, and ensure our interests
are heard in the Roundhouse. As
a result, our elected leaders can
focus on policies to move our
state forward, including bringing
jobs to New Mexico, something
we desperately need.
Harrison is executive director of
Common Cause New Mexico. The
views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the
views or opinions of New Mexico
In Depth. 

33

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

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New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Commentary

Technology can build citizen-friendly legislative process

S

ing, receiving a heads
ince 2009, major
up that the schedule
strides have
The Legislature has a unique culture. Timeliness
has changed is rebeen made in
spectful.
building a more
is not necessarily the primary function. We now
In 2009, many
accessible legislative
have the tools to enable the most important inmembers struggled
process. Floor sessions
put to that process.
with the webcasting
and committees are
changes
enabled
by
webcast as a matter
Janice Arnoldtechnology. Today’s
policy. Interim comLordsburg, they would have the
schedule change. Do not argue
Jones
technology is even
mittees that meet
that not everyone will get the
option of turning around.
more agile and, with
around the state
notice. Someone in a group will
By being respectful of our
compliments to the Legislative
between sessions are also webhave a phone that has text or
citizen’s time, more citizens will
cast. It is time for archiving the Council staff, the systems and
email notification capability.
have the opportunity to partictools available to the Legislapublic record.
Keep in mind, there are many ipate. In my book, more citizen
ture are robust. That means
It is also time to be actively
reasons for schedule changes
participation creates better
resistance to change, which is
respectful of our citizens’ time.
– from the bill sponsor being
representative government.
We need a schedule-change no- commonplace in other sectors,
stuck in another committee, to
This type of communication
tification system. If the airlines, is, well, futile.
negotiation between legislators will require the commitment of
As the new leaders in the
transit systems, plumbers and
to create a better bill, to the
the staff at the capitol. Personcable services can let customers House of Representatives
sponsor
pulling
the
bill
from
ally, I would appreciate notices
know, with reasonable accuracy, make their mark, they have the the schedule, or to the staff
saying something like: “House
opportunity to truly involve
the estimated time of arrival,
recognizing
that
the
committee
or Senate is still on the floor.
departure or completion, surely the citizens of New Mexico in
simply cannot hear all 50 bills
Current estimated start time for
the process. It is time to add
this is possible at the Legislascheduled
on
a
specific
day.
afternoon committees is 3 p.m.”
a real-time schedule-change
ture.
Now,
I
have
been
waiting
The Legislature has a unique
notification tool to “My RoundOne of my greatest frustrain an airport and received the
culture.
Timeliness is not neceshouse”
at
nmlegis.gov/lcs/
tions during my service in the
dreaded
electronic
notification:
sarily
the
primary function. We
House was seeing citizens from roundhouse.
“Flight
cancelled.
See
ticket
now have the tools to enable the
Being respectful of our
around the state waiting for a
agent!” At least I knew, and be- most important input to that
citizens’
time
is
good
manners
bill to be heard, but the hearing
cause I knew I had options. I as- process, that of John and Jane
and just commonsense. If a
never happened. No explanasure you that a group traveling
committee chair knows that
Citizen. A real-time notification
tion. No notice. Nothing was
from
Lordsburg
would
like
the
a
scheduled
hearing
will
be
system would improve citizen
more disheartening than to enoption
of
knowing
of
a
scheddelayed,
notification
to
the
My
participation (and satisfaction)
counter citizens who had driven
ule
change
at
the
Legislature.
If
Roundhouse
system
could
enand ensure improved effectiveor waited hours to attend a
they
are
only
50
miles
out
from
able
mobile
notification
of
the
ness of the process of represenhearing, when the staff knew
tative government.
the schedule had changed.
The people who didn’t know
were the ones taking off work,
Read Janice Arnold-Jones on the
Arnold-Jones, a Republican,
counting on babysitters, and
is a former New Mexico House
importance of answering your door
traveling to and waiting in
In
member from Albuquerque. The
when a political candidate knocks at
the capitol to give their input.
views in this column are the
Doesn’t matter where you live –
author’s alone and do not reflect
NMInDepth.com.
.com
if you take the time to go to the
the views or opinions of New
Mexico In Depth. 
capitol in Santa Fe for a hear-

NM

Depth

35

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Commentary

Making state’s health care more transparent

H

heavy burden on state
ealth care
taxpayers, with over
pricing has
27% of New Mexico’s
been likened
annual budget going to
by Princehealth care. As health
ton economist Uwe
care spending outpacReinhardt to shopes the growth of the
ping blindfolded in a
department store, and
Fred Nathan rest of the economy, it
threatens to crowd out
then months later respending on priorities
ceiving an indecipherlike public schools and higher
able statement with a framed
box at the bottom that says: pay education.
How did we get to this point?
this amount.
A
century ago, patients paid
Indeed, here in New Mexico
directly for their health care
it is easier to find the price and
and knew exactly what it cost.
quality of a toaster than it is of
Over the ensuing decades, the
a common medical procedure.
rise of private health insurance,
Because information about
Medicare, and Medicaid disconprice and quality is essential to
nected patients from the cost of
almost every market transactheir care.
tion, this lack of transparency
That situation is predicted to
means that health care is more
change with the recent trend
expensive than it would othertoward higher deductibles and
wise be.
growing out-of-pocket costs.
The high cost of health care
For example, Bronze health
has devastating consequences.
insurance plans under the AfOver 62% of personal bankfordable Care Act have average
ruptcies in the U.S. are attribdeductibles of more than $5,000
utable to illness and health
for an individual and $10,000
care debt, up from 8% in 1981.
for a family.
Many of these medical debtors
Economists believe that these
are middle-class homeowners,
and more than three-quarters of higher out-of-pocket costs will
cause patients to be more senthem had health insurance.
sitive to prices, which will help
Health insurance costs are
contain overall costs. However,
also a major driver of the nathis ignores one crucial detail:
tional trend toward part-time
employment, as they make em- the lack of transparency makes
it impossible for patients to
ployers less willing and able to
hire full-time workers with ben- comparison shop for the highest
efits at a time when we urgently quality, most affordable care.
That is why Think New Mexineed to create good private
co has proposed the creation of
sector jobs for New Mexicans.
Finally, health care costs are a a user-friendly website where

New Mexicans can find the
price and quality of the 100
most common medical procedures. This is not a new idea:
a total of 14 states, including
Arizona, Colorado, and Utah,
have already established similar
websites, and another five states
are actively working to create
them.
These websites are already
making a difference. A 2013
study by researchers at the University of Chicago found that
the price of common elective
procedures dropped by an average of 7% in states with transparency websites. For example,
hip transplants averaged $2,800
less in states that had the websites.
Making quality data, such as
rates of avoidable errors and
readmissions, transparent is just
as important as price. If quality
information is not provided,
many patients will assume that
higher-priced care is higher
quality. After all, in most markets, “you get what you pay for.”
However, numerous studies
have found that, when it comes
to health care, cost and quality
are not correlated. In fact, if
anything there is a slight negative correlation because avoidable errors, infections, and readmissions make the health care
costs spike. (It is important that
quality metrics be “risk-adjusted,” taking patient populations
into account so that they do not
disincentivize hospitals from
treating the sickest patients.)

Making risk-adjusted quality
data transparent incentivizes
health care providers to compete
to improve it. As the old saying goes, “what gets measured
gets done.” For example, when
Pennsylvania began publishing
hospital-acquired infection rates
in 2006, the statewide infection rate fell by 7.8% within a
year. This not only improved
the quality of care and saved
many lives, but it also lowered
costs since the average cost of
hospitalization in that state
was $53,915 when an infection
occurred, and only $8,311 when
it did not.
A health care price and quality
transparency website in New
Mexico will similarly save both
lives and dollars by making
health care more patient-centered and more of a free market.
That is why leading doctors like
Dr. Barry Ramo have endorsed
our proposal, along with statewide and national organizations
like the League of Women Voters
New Mexico and Costs of Care.
Nathan is Executive Director
of Think New Mexico, a results-oriented think tank whose
mission is to improve the quality of life for all New Mexicans,
especially those who lack a strong
voice in the political process. The
views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the
views or opinions of New Mexico
In Depth.

36

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

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37

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Commentary

Why do many lawmakers fear transparency?

W

list their occupation,
hen I was a
not employers.
reporter in
 The state CapConnecticut, it was exhilarating
itol in Hartand exhausting to
ford also aired legislareport on scandals
tive hearings and floor
that climaxed with
debates on its legislaTrip Jennings tive TV channel. That
that state’s governor
pleading guilty to
made it easy for the
corruption and going
public – and reporters
to federal prison.
– to follow crucial votes and
 I had dug through piles of
debates when not attending.
government documents, talk And then there was the
ed to sources, all in the hopes
“nametag” mandate for lobof trying to nail down how a
byists trying to influence
government official had crossed Connecticut state lawmakers.
the sometimes-blurry line beThe idea was to make it eastween right and wrong.
ier for members of the pub Fortunately for the public –
lic to identify who the lobbyand reporters like me – Conists were.
 Politics, like much of life, is
necticut provided some help
relational and it’s especially true
along the way.
in a legislative body, wheth An independent state ethics
commission had analyzed some er the U.S. Congress, the Conof the Connecticut governor’s
necticut Legislature or in Santa
actions and found them quesFe.
 So, imagine my disorientationable.
 There were small things too.
tion in 2005 when I moved to
In Connecticut, thanks to its
New Mexico to work for the Alcampaign finance disclosure
buquerque Journal covering
laws, the public – and reporters Gov. Bill Richardson and our
– could begin to chart the restate’s Legislature.
 New Mexico’s campaign
lationships between the people
finance laws weren’t – and still
who gave money and the political candidates who took it. For aren’t — as strong as Connectiexample, Connecticut required
cut’s were in 2002. And only
– and still does – campaign
recently have New Mexico state
contributors to list who they
lawmakers begun webcasting
work for, not just their occupa- legislative hearings and floor
tion. In 2015, 10 years after I left debates. But don’t expect to be
able to watch them after the
Connecticut, all New Mexico
fact. The Legislature doesn’t
requires is for contributors to

archive them.
 And lobbyists in Santa Fe still
don’t wear nametags.
 It took me years to put
names with faces of many of the
lobbyists in Santa Fe — and it’s
my full-time job to know these
kinds of things. Can you imagine how disorienting the Capitol
is for a member of the public
who attends a hearing for the
first time and doesn’t know who
anyone is.
 A short disclaimer: Sometimes lobbyists get a bad rap. In
my experience, most are friendly and helpful. A long time ago,
I learned what many journalists
discover – you can’t do your
job well in a state Capitol without getting to know the “wall
leaners,” the lobbyists and other
denizens milling around the
Capitol’s hallways during a legislative session who know how
the place works.
 But my friendliness with
lawmakers and lobbyists doesn’t negate the fact that a
state capitol functions as a sort
of insiders club, which can be
a problem when it’s the public’s
business lawmakers are charged
with doing.
 Take, for example, what New
Mexico tells the public about
how lobbyists do their jobs.
 We know, based on information from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office, that from
May 2013 through April 2014
individual lobbyists reported

spending $443,058 on gifts and
meals to lawmakers and elected officials leading up to and
during the 2014 session.
 Of that spending, 10 lobbyists spent between $10,232
and $27,750 each, for a total of
$156,116, or 35 percent of the
total spending by lobbyists.
 But we don’t know what issues or bills lobbyists were paid
to try to influence. New Mexico,
unlike states such as Colorado
and Wisconsin, doesn’t require
lobbyists to list what issues
or bills they are lobbying on.
 Add it all up — the weak
campaign finance laws, the lack
of archived legislative hearings
and floor debates, the absence
of lobbyist nametags and information about what bills they’re
seeking to influence – and I
wonder sometimes what New
Mexico’s state lawmakers are
afraid of? Why don’t many of
them support making it easier
for the public to understand
how business is conducted at
the Roundhouse? What do they
fear if New Mexicans were able
to better understand how their
government works?
 These are questions worth
asking in 2015.
 Jennings is New Mexico In
Depth’s executive director. The
views in this column are the
author’s alone and do not reflect
the views or opinions of New
Mexico In Depth. 

38

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

CHAMPIONS
This guide would not be possible without dedicated Transparency Champions who believe that open and accountable
government is the foundation of a strong democracy. NM In Depth thanks them for their commitment and support!

T ransparency

CHAMPIONS

Janice E. Arnold-Jones and John Jones
Barry Bitzer
Chris Cervini
William Daumueller
Diane Denish
Valerie Espinoza
Susan Fitzgerald
Mark Fleischer
Collin Hunter
Tom Johnson-Institute for Analytic Journalism
Tim Keller
Trish Lopez
Daniel Macke
Felicia McCracken
Michelle and Donald Meaders
Debbie O'Malley
Alan Packman
Kyla Thompson
Alan Webber
League of Women Voters
Rio Grande Foundation

67

GUIDE SPONSORS:
Agenda, LLC
Bregman & Loman, P.C.
Buzzsaw Strategies
BWD Global
Common Cause New Mexico
Conservation Voters New Mexico
Doña Ana County
Drug Policy Alliance
Farmington Daily Times
The Garrity Group Public Relations
Hobbs Chamber of Commerce
IATSE Local 480
Jason Marks Law, LLC
Joe Monahan
KOB-TV Channel 4
Las Cruces Sun News
Laguna Development Corp.
Minerva Canna Group, Inc.
Natural Rx
New MexicCann Natural Medicine
New Mexico Comunidades en Accion y de Fe
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
New Mexico Political Report
New Mexico Railrunner
New Mexico Turn Around
Organtica, Inc.
Positive Energy Solar
Research & Polling, Inc.
Rio Grande Foundation
Santa Fe New Mexican
SouthWest Organizing Project
Strategies 360
Sunspot Solar Energy
UNM Hospital Neurological Sciences

In addition to the sponsors of this legislative guide, New Mexico In Depth thanks the following for their generous support of our mission in 2014.
Susannah Abbey • Mary Ellen Capek • Marjorie Childress • Beck and Cooper law firm • William J. Corbett • David Craig • Mickey Curtis • Brian Egolf • Susan Fitzgerald • Shannon Freedle • Nate Gentry • Sarah Gustavus •
Elizabeth Gutierrez • Frances Haussamen • Wally and Carol Haussamen • Roberta Henry • Terri Holland • Trip Jennings • Don Kurtz • John Landrum • Wendy Lewis • Trish Lopez • Alfredo Lujan • M FIVE Martini Grill •
Daniel Macke • Patricia Martinez-Lopez • Bill McCamley • Felicia McCracken • Elizabeth McGrath • Rorie Jan Measure • David Morgan • Erin Muffoletto • Maggie Toulouse Oliver • Alan Packman • Lucas Peerman •
Suzanne Prescott • Lawrence Rael • Hilda Raz • Pamela Roy • Angelica Rubio • Allen Stenger • Floyd Vasquez • John Wertheim • Aletta T. Wilson • Peter Wirth • Vennie E. White • Patrick Woolsey • Tashia Wyaco
Special thanks to: KUNM Public Radio • The McCune Charitable Foundation • W.K. Kellogg Foundation • Thornburg Foundation

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

39

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40

New Mexico In Depth • 2015 Legislative Guide

Republicans, Democrats and Independents

H
O
The Garrity Perception Survey Insight on Political Perceptions of Favorability and Trust

Favorability of Oil and Gas Industry
Republican
Democrat
Independent
New Mexico

62%

Democrat
Independent
New Mexico

13% Republican
14% Democrat
12% Independent
14% New Mexico

39%
32%
44%

Access Television as a News Source
Republican

Trust in State Government Officials

74%
78%
75%
75%

Access Newspaper as a News Source
Republican
Democrat
Independent
New Mexico

60%
67%
53%
58%

!
Y
M

Trust of Teachers
Republican
Democrat
Independent
New Mexico

65%
67%
53%
66%

Favorability of Public Schools

38%
52%

Republican
Democrat
Independent
New Mexico

24%
44%

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