Senate panel OKs two ethics bills

The Associated Press

SANTA FE — If the wads of cash that former state Treasurer Robert Vigil was caught on videotape taking from an investment adviser were indeed campaign contributions, they would no longer be legal under a bill approved by a Senate committee.

The legislation prohibits candidates from taking more than $100 in cash from a single contributor in a 24-hour period.

It’s part of a package of reform bills prompted by the scandal in the treasurer’s office and backed by Gov. Bill Richardson.

“I think it’s important that the public trust its elected officials, and that trust has been broken right now,” said Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, sponsor of two bills that passed the Rules Committee on Saturday.

Federal prosecutors allege that the payments to Vigil — $10,000 in one instance and $1,900 in another — were kickbacks in exchange for steering state business to the adviser. Vigil’s lawyer contends the payments were campaign contributions.

Some committee members were skeptical that the $100 limit would be effective or enforceable.

Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, suggested that “crooks will always find a way to get around the laws that we pass.”

“That’s why most cash contributions are made — so they don’t have to be reported and can’t be tracked,” the lawmaker said.

The bill also requires political committees that independently spend more than $500 for or against candidates or ballot questions — and not in consultation with candidates or political parties — to file campaign finance reports with the secretary of state.

That could mean a union, for example, or a group such as the National Rifle Association, the panel was told.

The same bill also tightens campaign finance reporting requirements, adding a report in November in nonelection years, or in an election year in which the public official isn’t running.

“People can raise and spend a lot of money in the off years,” Feldman said.

A second bill endorsed by the committee would require contractors seeking business with the state or with local governments to disclose whether they have contributed more than $250 to the relevant public officials over the previous two years.

It also would prohibit prospective contractors from giving campaign contributions or anything else of value to those public officials during the procurement process — between the issuance of a request for proposals and the awarding of a contract.

The campaign finance bill passed the committee 5-2 and went to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The contractors bill was endorsed unanimously; its next stop is the Public Affairs Committee.

Panel passes term limit change

SANTA FE — Voters would be able to decide whether their county officials are subject to term limits under a proposed constitutional change approved Friday by the Senate Rules Committee.

Currently, county officials are limited by the state constitution to serving two consecutive four-year terms; then they must sit out for two years before running again.

Under the proposed change — which would have to be adopted by voters statewide — voters in a county could decide to either eliminate the term limits or increase the number of terms officials could serve.

Gus Cordova, executive director of the New Mexico Association of Counties, said the change is needed because counties lose “very valuable talent and experience every election.”

Assessors and clerks, for example, get specialized training and then “just walk out the door,” Cordova told the committee.

He said in the 2004 and 2006 elections alone, there were 123 county officials who could not stand for re-election.

County officials who spoke in favor of the bill said it’s a particular problem in sparsely populated counties where it’s difficult to recruit candidates for office.

But Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, who opposed the measure, said it has been a tradition for some officials to “hand off” the jobs to their chief deputies until they can make a comeback, and that system has worked.

He also argued that county commissioners — like legislators — don’t require specialized training and aren’t as problematic to replace.

The measure, which passed on a vote of 7-2, goes to the Judiciary Committee.

N.M. arts school raises questions

SANTA FE — A Senate Education Committee has endorsed a statewide arts school, but some committee members still have a lot of questions.

Where would the school be built? How will it be funded? Would teachers be licensed to teach their particular area of art?

The school would be highly competitive and operate much like “magnet” schools in other parts of the state that draw a particular type of student. Sen. Cynthia Nava, a Las Cruces Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, said the school would give the state’s youngest and most talented artists a chance to develop their skills.

“It’s one of the very best concepts I’ve heard in a long time,” said Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Dona Ana.

If approved, the school would receive funding from the state’s general fund like other state agencies, said John Kennedy, a Santa Fe attorney. Talks also are ongoing with the Santa Fe Indian School to house the arts students there, he said.

At voting time Friday, Sen. Vernon Asbill, R-Carlsbad, had the lone nay vote. He said an unintended consequence of the school could be the gutting of local arts programs.

Others also expressed reservations.

“I support the spirit of the bill. I don’t think you’ll go anywhere,” said Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington.

The bill’s next move is to the Senate Finance Committee, where Sharer said it likely would get bogged down.

State Education Secretary Veronica Garcia had urged the committee first to consider another bill Nava introduced that calls for a feasibility study of the school.

If the bill to create the school fails, Nava said she is hopeful the bill allowing the study will pass. If not, there’s always next year, she said.