House Bill 309 will fix ballot crowding issue

The 2016 legislative session is a short 30-day one, and thus by definition budget-centric.

On its face, House Bill 309 may seem like election law but, at its core, reserving Election Day ballots for real questions that could be put into law is nothing if not a preservation of public budgets.

Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell, introduced HB 309 last week and got a green light for the bill from Gov. Susana Martinez, who must authorize introduction of bills that go beyond tax and revenue issues during a 30-day session.

Yet not allowing politicians to spend public money on nonbinding resolutions — what one California Supreme Court associate justice deemed a Gallup Poll — is all about responsibly spending taxes. Your taxes.

It certainly was about Bernalillo County taxes in 2014 when county commissioners kept real issues like police reform off the ballot so they could make room for nonbinding poll questions on decriminalizing marijuana and helping the mentally ill. The Secretary of State’s Office refused to allow the advisory questions on the ballot, but was overruled by the New Mexico Supreme Court.

So Espinoza, who is running for secretary of state, is proposing HB 309 to allow only questions that have the force of law to be put on a ballot.

Could she be accused of political expediency to help her campaign? Yes. But, on the merits, elections are expensive and should be used to accomplish the public’s business — not to pose questions for partisan political effect like ginning up liberal voters who support decriminalization and social programs, or conservative voters who support right-to-work issues.

The concern here is that the current system is manipulative and adds to already crowded ballots.

Look no further than Bernalillo County, where non-questions so crowded the 2014 ballot that real questions with the force of law fell off, where local officials got political cover with a tiny voter turnout to do what they wanted.

This is not a partisan issue — it is a responsible spending of tax monies issue, a protection of the system of representative democracy issue. The current system is a bad one that can be gamed by whichever party is in power.

HB 309 would fix that. It deserves a fair hearing in the House and Senate.

— Albuquerque Journal