SENATE BILL 247
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
John C. Ryan
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS; REQUIRING ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOYING REGISTRATION AGENTS OR USING VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION AGENTS FOR REGISTERING VOTERS TO REGISTER WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE; REQUIRING REGISTRATION UNDER THE CAMPAIGN REPORTING ACT FOR A REGISTRATION AGENT AND AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS UNLIMITED ABILITY TO LOBBY FOR LEGISLATION AND PARTICIPATE IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 1-4-49 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 270, Section 17, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-49. THIRD-PARTY REGISTRATION AGENTS--REGISTRATION
REQUIRED--PROCEDURES--REPORTS--PENALTY.--
A. Registration agents who either register or assist persons to register to vote on behalf of an organization that is not a state or federal agency shall register with the secretary of state, and the organization shall register and provide the secretary of state with:
(1) the names of the officers of the organization and the name and permanent address of the organization;
(2) the names, permanent addresses, temporary addresses, if any, and dates of birth of each person registering persons to vote in the state on behalf of the organization; and
(3) a sworn statement from each registration agent employed by or volunteering for the organization stating that the agent will obey all state laws and rules regarding the registration of voters on a form that gives notice of the criminal penalties for false registration.
B. Organizations employing registration agents or using volunteer registration agents shall deliver or mail a certificate of registration to the secretary of state or county clerk within forty-eight hours of its completion by the person registering to vote or deliver it the next business day if the appropriate office is closed for that forty-eight-hour period.
C. Organizations employing registration agents or using volunteer registration agents are required to register pursuant to the Campaign Reporting Act.
[C.] D. The secretary of state may issue rules to ensure the integrity of the registration process, including rules requiring that organizations account for all state and federal registration forms used by their registration agents.
[D.] E. A person who intentionally violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and the person's third-party registration agent status shall be revoked. If the person who violates a provision of this section is an employee of an organization and has decision-making authority involving the organization's voter registration activities or is an officer of the organization, that organization shall be subject to civil penalties as described in Subsection [E] F of this section.
[E.] F. If the secretary of state reasonably believes that a person committed a violation of the provisions of this section, the secretary of state shall refer the matter to the attorney general or a district attorney for enforcement. The attorney general or district attorney may institute a civil action in district court for a violation of the provisions of this section or to prevent a violation of the provisions of this section. An action for relief may include a permanent or temporary injunction, a restraining order or any other appropriate order, including a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each violation, not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000)."
Section 2. Section 1-19-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1979, Chapter 360, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-19-26. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Campaign Reporting Act:
A. "advertising campaign" means an advertisement or series of advertisements used for a political purpose and disseminated to the public either in print, by radio or television broadcast or by any other electronic means, including telephonic communications, and may include direct or bulk mailings of printed materials;
B. "anonymous contribution" means a contribution the contributor of which is unknown to the candidate or [his] the candidate's agent or the political committee or its agent who accepts the contribution;
C. "bank account" means an account in a financial institution located in New Mexico;
D. "campaign committee" means two or more persons authorized by a candidate to raise, collect or expend contributions on the candidate's behalf for the purpose of electing [him] the candidate to office;
E. "candidate" means an individual who seeks or considers an office in an election covered by the Campaign Reporting Act, including a public official, who either has filed a declaration of candidacy or nominating petition or:
(1) for a nonstatewide office, has received contributions or made expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more or authorized another person or campaign committee to receive contributions or make expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more for the purpose of seeking election to the office; or
(2) for a statewide office, has received contributions or made expenditures of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more or authorized another person or campaign committee to receive contributions or make expenditures of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more for the purpose of seeking election to the office or for candidacy exploration purposes in the years prior to the year of the election;
F. "contribution" means a gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or other thing of value, including the estimated value of an in-kind contribution, that is made or received for a political purpose, including payment of a debt incurred in an election campaign, but does not include the value of services provided without compensation or unreimbursed travel or other personal expenses of individuals who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or political committee, nor does it include the administrative or solicitation expenses of a political committee that are paid by an organization that sponsors the committee;
G. "deliver" or "delivery" means to deliver by certified or registered mail, telecopier, electronic transmission or facsimile or by personal service;
H. "election" means any primary, general or statewide special election in New Mexico and includes county and judicial retention elections but excludes municipal, school board and special district elections;
I. "election year" means an even-numbered year in which an election covered by the Campaign Reporting Act is held;
J. "expenditure" means a payment, transfer or distribution or obligation or promise to pay, transfer or distribute any money or other thing of value for a political purpose, including payment of a debt incurred in an election campaign or pre-primary convention, but does not include the administrative or solicitation expenses of a political committee that are paid by an organization that sponsors the committee;
K. "person" means an individual or entity;
L. "political committee" means two or more persons, other than members of a candidate's immediate family or campaign committee or a husband and wife who make a contribution out of a joint account, who are selected, appointed, chosen, associated, organized or operated primarily for a political purpose; and "political committee" includes:
(1) political action committees or similar organizations composed of employees or members of any corporation, labor organization, trade or professional association or any other similar group that raises, collects, expends or contributes money or any other thing of value for a political purpose;
(2) a single individual [who by his] whose actions [represents] represent that [he] the individual is a political committee; [and]
(3) a person or an organization of two or more persons that within one calendar year expends funds in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) to conduct an advertising campaign for a political purpose;
(4) an organization defined by the internal revenue service as a 501(c)(4) organization or another organization that has unlimited ability to lobby for legislation and participate in political campaigns, whose net earnings are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational or recreational purposes and that also promotes social welfare;
and
(5) an organization employing registration agents or using volunteer registration agents to register voters pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA 1978.
M. "political purpose" means influencing or attempting to influence an election or pre-primary convention, including a constitutional amendment or other question submitted to the voters;
N. "prescribed form" means a form or electronic format prepared and prescribed by the secretary of state;
O. "proper filing officer" means either the secretary of state or the county clerk as provided in Section 1-19-27 NMSA 1978;
P. "public official" means a person elected to an office in an election covered by the Campaign Reporting Act or a person appointed to an office that is subject to an election covered by that act;
Q. "reporting individual" means every public official, candidate or treasurer of a campaign committee and every treasurer of a political committee; and
R. "statement of exception" or "statement" means the prescribed form subscribed and sworn to by a candidate to indicate that the candidate does not intend to raise or expend the minimum amount required for the filing of a report of expenditures and contributions as provided in Section 1-19-33 NMSA 1978."
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