Campaign-law study again flunks N.M.

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

10/16/2007 -

New Mexico once again received a grade of "F" in a national study of campaign financial disclosure laws and programs.

The study — performed by a coalition of the California Voter Foundation, the Center for Governmental Studies and the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law — rates the state of New Mexico as extremely weak with regard to information required on campaign finance reports and the ways such information is made available to the public.

"Access to campaign finance data enables voters to make informed election choices and hold politicians accountable," Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, said in a news release about the study, scheduled for release today.

The New Mexico Legislature has resisted proposals to require greater disclosure. Last month legislative leaders from both political parties denied that there is need for more disclosure and questioned the motives of those pushing for reform.

"What's driving this desire for disclosure?" Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said during a state Capitol meeting on ethics reform in September. Sanchez asked whether the move for more disclosure about campaign contributions comes from New Mexico residents or "so-called citizens groups and the media that says we want this disclosure."

Said Sanchez: "I don't think anyone except people belonging to these organizations would say, 'We want this (campaign finance) information.' "

The coalition began evaluating states in 2003. New Mexico, which has received failing grades in the previous three studies by the coalition, was one of 14 states to get a flunking grade in the latest study.

Legislators this year tried to gut a state law requiring electronic filing of campaign finance reports. The electronic filing law is the only area in which New Mexico received a grade of "A" in the study. The Legislature passed a bill this year that would have made electronic filing optional, but Gov. Bill Richardson vetoed it.

The study noted some improvement this year in the Secretary of State's Web site — but not enough to give it a passing grade.

"Though plans for a searchable database of campaign data were reported in Grading State Disclosure 2005, New Mexico's disclosure site still does not offer this valuable tool," the report says. "Despite the move to electronic filing in 2006, more timely access to disclosure records online has not followed," the report says. For months after the 2006 general election, the final campaign finance reports of many candidates were not available.

A spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office has said several times that budget restraints have hampered that Web site.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.

ON THE WEB

• www.campaigndisclosure.org/gradingstate