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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Chasey
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
3/20/07
3/22/07 HB 7/aHJC
SHORT TITLE Campaign Reporting Requirements
SB
ANALYST Earnest
REVENUE (dollars in thousands)
Estimated Revenue
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
FY09
Minimal
Minimal Recurring General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$0.1
$0.1
$0.1 Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From*
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
*Responses received from requests for analysis of an identical bill, House Bill 821, of the First
Session of the Forty-Eighth Legislature.
SUMMARY
Synopsis of HJC Amendment
The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amendment changes Section 12 of the bill to give
subpoena power to the Attorney General (AG) instead of the Secretary of State (SOS) to compel
the production of books, records and papers pertinent to an investigation conducted pursuant to
the Act. Under the Act, if a person neglects or refuses to comply with a subpoena, the AG may
apply to the district court where the custodian of the documents is located for an order
pg_0002
House Bill 7/aHJC – Page
2
compelling compliance. A person who fails to comply with the district court’s order is subject to
penalty for contempt of court. The amendment provides that failure to cooperate with an
investigation conducted by the SOS is a violation of the Act.
Under the amendment, the SOS may refer to the AG a request for subpoena upon a finding that,
based on identifiable facts, probable cause exists to believe that the Campaign Reporting Act has
been violated.
Under the amendment, the SOS retains the authority to initiate investigations and seek voluntary
compliance with the act, through arbitration if necessary. Notwithstanding the provisions of
voluntary compliance, SOS may still refer a matter to the AG or a District Attorney for a civil
injunctive or other appropriate order of for criminal enforcement.
Synopsis of Original Bill
House Bill 7 amends and enacts portions of the Campaign Reporting Act, Section 1-19-25
through Section 1-19-36 NMSA 1978.
Section 2: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-26 NMSA 1978 to exclude from the definition of
“expenditure," “independent expenditures," defined as a payment, transfer or distribution or
obligation or promise to pay, transfer or distribute any money or thing of value:
for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified
candidate or in support of or opposition to a constitutional amendment or other question
submitted to the voters; and
without the cooperation, consultation, request or suggestion of, or being in concert with, a
candidate, a candidate's authorized committee or its agents or a political party or its
agents.
HB 7 also includes in the definition of “political committee" a person or organization of two or
more making independent expenditures in this state of more than $500 in a calendar year.
Section 3: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-26.1 NMSA 1978 to require political committees required
to register with the Secretary of State (SOS) to file all reports required by the Campaign
Reporting Act. The bill removes the exception to filing for political committees located in
another state that file with the federal election and meet other specific requirements, when a
committee makes independent expenditures in this state of more than $500 in a calendar year.
Section 4: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-27 NMSA 1978 to list the reports that must be filed with
the SOS by a reporting individual of a political committee.
Sections 4 and 5: HB 7 amends Sections 1-19-27 and 1-19-28 NMSA 1978 to require the SOS to
develop or contract for services to develop a reporting system for receiving and for public
inspection of reports of independent expenditures, and to furnish prescribed forms to reporting
individuals for the reporting of independent expenditures.
Section 6: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-29 NMSA 1978 to lower the contribution or pledge
amount from $2,500 to $1,000 in a statewide election that will trigger the need for additional
reporting when the contribution or pledge is received after 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the
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House Bill 7/aHJC – Page
3
election. The bill also provides that required reports must be subscribed and sworn to or
electronically authenticated by the candidate or the treasurer of the political committee.
Section 7: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-31 NMSA 1978 to require in each required report of
expenditures and contributions the inclusion of every occupation and every employer, and the
name of the businesses or business of a person or entity making contributions of $100 or more in
the aggregate per election. The amendment also requires the inclusion of the cumulative total of
all contributions received from the person or entity making a contribution.
Section 8: HB 7 sets out what is required to be included in each report of independent
expenditures. Each report must include the full name of candidates supported or opposed by the
independent expenditure or a description of the constitutional amendment or other question
supported or opposed, and the total amount of independent expenditures made in support of or in
opposition to each candidate, amendment or other question.
Section 9: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-32 NMSA 1978 to include a report of independent
expenditures within the list of documents that are public records open to public inspection. The
amendment also requires the SOS to provide electronic access to reports no more than 10 days
after the filing deadlines imposed by the Act, and to provide electronic access to a list of all
reporting individuals who fail to file reports by the deadlines imposed by the Act.
Section 10: HB 7 places a cap of $2,300 on both contributions and pledges by a person or
political committee, and the acceptance or solicitation of the same by a candidate, campaign
committee or committee treasurer, for each primary election period and each general election
period. A yearly increase in contribution and pledge cap amount is to be governed by the
consumer price index, and is required to be published by October 1 by the SOS.
Section 11: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-34 NMSA 1978 to provide that a cash contribution of
more than $100 from a single source given in a 24-hour period may not be accepted.
Section 12: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-34.4 NMSA 1978 to provide for the issuance of a
narrowly-tailored subpoena by the SOS to compel the production of books, records and papers
pertinent to an investigation conducted pursuant to the Act. Under the Act, if a person neglects
or refuses to comply with a subpoena, the SOS may apply to the district court where the
custodian of the documents is located for an order compelling compliance. A person who fails to
comply with the district court’s order is subject to penalty for contempt of court. The
amendment provides that failure to cooperate with an investigation conducted by the SOS is a
violation of the Act.
Section 13: HB 7 amends Section 1-19-35 NMSA 1978 to add independent expenditure reports
to the reports and statements subject to penalties for late filing, and to require the SOS to publish
a list of reporting individuals who fail to file a report by the deadline imposed by the Act. The
reporting individual’s name shall only be removed from the electronically accessible list when
reporting requirements are satisfied.
Section 14: The effective date of the act is January 1, 2008.
pg_0004
House Bill 7/aHJC – Page
4
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is one of the primary enforcers of the Campaign
Reporting Act. This bill may create more enforcement actions and may require more AGO
resources.
This bill may change the Electronic Campaign Reporting software. The S0S was trying in 2006
to get a price quote from the vendor on the cost of this new software and how long it will take to
write and install this new software. There may be an added burden on the agency to track, train
and provide support for the committees that must now file reports of expenditures
There will be a minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and documentation
of statutory changes. Any additional fiscal impact on the judiciary will be proportional to the
enforcement of this law, applications for orders and commenced prosecutions. New laws,
amendments to existing laws and new hearings have the potential to increase caseloads in the
courts, thus requiring additional resources to handle the increase.
This bill increases reporting requirements and may lead to more fines being paid into the general
fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Currently, New Mexico is one of five states that place no limitation on contributions to political
candidates. They are: Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, Utah and New Mexico.
This bill is part of a package of ethics reform measures introduced in the first session of the
forty-eighth legislature that included campaign reporting reforms, the creation of a State Ethics
Commission, limitations on gifts to public officials, and the strengthening of the Governmental
Conduct Act.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
HB 7 relates to HB 6 and HB 8.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1.
How will this affect local governments.
2.
Can the SOS handle the requirements of this bill with current resources.
BE/mt:csd