HOUSE BILL 250
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008
INTRODUCED BY
Justine Fox-Young
AN ACT
RELATING TO CAMPAIGN PRACTICES; REQUIRING QUARTERLY FILING OF CERTAIN EXPENDITURE AND CONTRIBUTION REPORTS PURSUANT TO THE CAMPAIGN REPORTING ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 1-19-27 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1979, Chapter 360, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-19-27. REPORTS REQUIRED--PROPER FILING OFFICER.--
A. [Except for those candidates who file a statement of exception in an election year pursuant to Section 1-19-33 NMSA 1978] All reporting individuals shall [annually] file with the proper filing officer [a report] reports of expenditures and contributions on [a] prescribed [form. The report shall be filed on the second Monday in May] forms pursuant to the provisions of [Subsection A of] Section 1-19-29 NMSA 1978.
B. The proper filing officer for filing reports of expenditures and contributions by a political committee is the secretary of state.
C. The proper filing officer for filing reports of expenditures and contributions or statements of exception is the secretary of state for all public officials.
D. The secretary of state shall develop or contract for services to develop an electronic reporting system for receiving and for public inspection of reports of expenditures and contributions and statements of exception to the Campaign Reporting Act. The electronic reporting system shall:
(1) enable a person to file reports on-line by filling out forms on the secretary of state's web site; and
(2) provide for encrypted transmissions."
Section 2. Section 1-19-29 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 46, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-19-29. TIME AND PLACE OF FILING REPORTS.--
A. [Annually] Except as otherwise provided in this section, all reporting individuals shall file with the proper filing officer by 5:00 p.m. on the [second Monday in May a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in May and not previously reported. The report shall be filed annually until the reporting individual's bank account has been closed and the other provisions specified in Subsection F of this section have been satisfied] following days the following reports:
(1) by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in April, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before March 31 and not previously reported;
(2) by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in July, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before June 30 and not previously reported;
(3) by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in October, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before September 30 and not previously reported; and
(4) by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in January, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before December 31 and not previously reported.
B. In an election year, [in addition to the May report provided for in Subsection A of this section, all reporting individuals] except for persons who file a statement of exception pursuant to Section 1-19-33 NMSA 1978, candidates who file a statement of no activity and public officials who are not candidates in an election that year, all reporting individuals shall file [reports of all expenditures made and contributions received according to the following schedule] with the proper filing officer by 5:00 p.m. on the following days the following reports in lieu of the reports required by Subsection A of this section:
(1) on the second Monday in May, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in May and not previously reported;
[(1) by 5:00 p.m.] (2) on the second Monday in October, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in October and not previously reported;
[(2) by 5:00 p.m.] (3) on the Thursday before a primary, general or statewide special election, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received by 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election. Any contribution or pledge to contribute that is received after 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election and that is for five hundred dollars ($500) or more in a legislative or non-statewide judicial election, or two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more in a statewide election, shall be reported to the proper filing officer either in a supplemental report on a prescribed form within twenty-four hours of receipt or in the report to be filed by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before a primary, general or statewide special election, except that any such contribution or pledge to contribute that is received after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election may be reported by 12:00 noon on the Monday before the election; and
[(3) by 5:00 p.m.] (4) on the thirtieth day after a primary, general or statewide special election, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the twenty-fifth day after the election and not previously reported.
C. If a candidate has not received any contributions and has not made any expenditures since the candidate's last report was filed with the proper filing officer, the candidate shall only be required to file a statement of no activity, which shall not be required to be notarized, in lieu of a full report when that report would otherwise be due and shall not be required to file a full report until the next required filing date occurring after an expenditure is made or a contribution is received.
D. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the report due on the thirtieth day after an election need be the only report filed after the [annual] May report if the candidate is not opposed in the election and if the report includes all expenditures made and contributions received for that election and not previously reported.
E. A report of expenditures and contributions filed after a deadline set forth in this section shall not be deemed to have been timely filed.
F. Except for candidates who file a statement of no activity, each reporting individual shall file [a report] reports of expenditures and contributions [annually] pursuant to the filing schedule set forth in this section, regardless of whether any expenditures were made or contributions were received during the reporting period. Reports shall be required until the reporting individual delivers a report to the proper filing officer stating that:
(1) there are no outstanding campaign debts;
(2) all money has been expended in accordance with the provisions of Section 1-19-29.1 NMSA 1978; and
(3) the bank account has been closed.
G. Each treasurer of a political committee shall file [a report] reports of expenditures and contributions [annually] pursuant to the filing schedule set forth in this section until the treasurer files a report that affirms that the committee has dissolved or no longer exists and that its bank account has been closed.
H. A reporting individual who is a candidate within the meaning of the Campaign Reporting Act because of the amount of contributions the candidate receives or expenditures the candidate makes and who does not ultimately file a declaration of candidacy or a nominating petition with the proper filing officer and does not file a statement of no activity shall nevertheless file a report, not later than the second Monday in May for a primary election or the second Monday in October for a general election, of all contributions received and expenditures made on or before the first Monday in May for a primary election or the first Monday in October for a general election and not previously reported.
I. Reports required by this section shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate or the treasurer of the political committee. A report filed electronically shall be electronically authenticated by the candidate or the treasurer of the political committee using an electronic signature in conformance with the Electronic Authentication of Documents Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. For the purposes of the Campaign Reporting Act, a report that is electronically authenticated in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to have been subscribed and sworn to by the candidate or the treasurer of the political committee who was required to file the report.
J. Reports required by this section shall be filed electronically by all reporting individuals.
K. Reporting individuals may apply to the secretary of state for exemption from electronic filing in case of hardship, which shall be defined by the secretary of state."
Section 3. Section 1-19-32.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 331, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-19-32.1. REPORTS EXAMINATION--FORWARDING OF
REPORTS.--
A. The secretary of state shall conduct a thorough examination of at least ten percent of all reports filed during a year by reporting individuals, selected at random at least forty days after the general election and ten days after the [May] July reports are filed in a nonelection year, to determine compliance with the provisions of the Campaign Reporting Act. The examination may include an investigation of any discrepancies, including a cross-reference to reports filed by any other reporting individual. A reporting individual shall be notified in writing if a discrepancy is found in the report filed and shall be permitted to file a written explanation for the discrepancy within ten working days of the date of the notice. The notice, penalty and arbitration provisions set forth in Section 1-19-34.4 NMSA 1978 shall apply to examinations conducted under this section.
B. After the date stated in the notice of final action for submission of a written explanation, the secretary of state shall prepare an annual report of any unresolved discrepancies found after examination of the random sample provided for in Subsection A of this section. A copy of this report shall be transmitted to the attorney general for enforcement pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-19-36 NMSA 1978. This report is a public record open to public inspection and subject to the retention and destruction provisions set forth in Section 1-19-32 NMSA 1978.
C. A county clerk shall deliver to the secretary of state, within forty-eight hours of the county clerk's receipt, each report of expenditures and contributions or statement of exception filed with the county clerk's office. Within forty-eight hours of receipt of a report of expenditures and contributions or statement of exception filed by a legislative candidate for a multicounty district, the secretary of state shall deliver to each county clerk in the multicounty legislative district a copy of the report or statement filed."
Section 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is January 1, 2009.
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