Good Government
Campaign Finance Open Data Bill Advances
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The public could have a much clearer picture of money in politics if a bill adding open data features to the state’s electronic campaign finance system is successful.
Good Government
NM SOS Could Check Candidates’ Bank Accounts
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The Senate on Monday advanced a bill that would give the Secretary of State’s office the ability to access political candidates’ bank accounts in order to verify the accuracy of their campaign finance reports.
Good Government
More Cost-Benefit Analysis Could Help NM Budget Better
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The state Senate has passed a proposal that would expand program analysis that began with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative.
Transparency
State House Votes For More Lobbying Disclosure
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The bill would ask people who are paid to influence state government to list exactly how much they spent on dinners, drinks or campaign contributions for each separate lawmaker.
Good Government
Poll: Business Leaders Support Campaign Finance Reform
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Nearly 90 percent of business leaders think all political spending should be made public, according to a poll of 250 business leaders.
Good Government
Tabled: Plan to limit double-dipping by lawmakers
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A proposal that would have prevented state lawmakers with government jobs from getting paid while serving in the Legislature was put on hold Monday by the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee. Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Bernalillo, said his goal with the bill (HB 39)was to keep the state government from paying people twice. Many of New Mexico’s part-time civilian legislators have days jobs in local government, and although state lawmakers are unpaid for their service, they do receive mileage reimbursement and a per-diem to cover travel expenses. Rehm said allowing public employees to take a salary while serving in Santa Fe would violate the state constitution. Members of the committee took issue with forcing state employees to take time off of work.
Money in politics
Report: “Crony Capitalism” Hurts NM Economy
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The state’s economy depends heavily on how the state government decides to spend money, meaning that businesses that want to succeed have to convince lawmakers to invest in their industry.
Politics
Redistricting Could Be Done By Citizen Panel
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“Seeing incumbents win time and again because districts are rigged stifles competition and creates a sense of incumbent inevitability. This combination of disenfranchisement and current low voter participation is toxic to our democracy,” said Viki Harrison of Common Cause.
Ethics Commission Clears First Hurdle
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A proposal to establish a statewide independent ethics commission (HJR 5) passed its first committee Friday with a unanimous vote, the measure’s future is far from clear.
NM AG Promises more FOI enforcement
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Attorney General Hector Balderas has created an Open Government Division in his office to beef up enforcement of New Mexico’s freedom-of-information laws, and though the process has had a few hiccoughs, transparency advocates are optimistic that the office will be more aggressive.