SENATE BILL 535
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Bernadette M. Sanchez
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS; BROADENING THE DEFINITION OF POLITICAL COMMITTEE AND POLITICAL PURPOSE TO INCLUDE ENTITIES THAT HAVE A POLITICAL PURPOSE AND DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE AN ELECTION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. 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 non-statewide 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;
M. "political purpose" means directly or indirectly 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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