Down to the Wire: NM Senate Kills Campaign Contribution Limits But Passes Limitation on Gifts

At the last minute, and following Majority Leader Michael Sanchez's stalling on the votes, Sen. John Grubesic's bill to limit gifts (SB 931) passed the Senate and will go to the Governor for signature, while Sen. Dede Feldman's limitations on campaign contributions (SB 800) failed by one vote. The only other major ethics bill passed this session was one sponsored by Rep. Cervantes (HB 823) that added judges to those covered by the Government Conduct Act.

I'll once again quote Steve Terrell's blog report from the Senate Floor on this (below), but you should also read Heath Haussamen's countdown post tracking last minute action leading to the Noon finish of our 60-day Legislative Session.

By a vote of  21 to 20, Senate Bill 800 went down in flames about five minutes before the close of the session. The Senate was voting on concurring with House amendments on the bill. It would have passed by one vote, but Sen. Joe Carraro changed his vote from yes to no. Democratic senators who voted no were Shannon Robinson, Tim Jennings, John Arthur Smith and Linda Lopez. Since you can’t buy state officials expensive gifts anymore, you’ll just have to give them bigger campaign contributions.

Remember when Sen. Lopez was considered a progressive? Why did she keep all the ethics bills passed by the House (along with the Senate versions) stalled in the Senate Rules Committee, which she chairs, for weeks? Why did she vote against a bill that would match federal laws on campaign contributions? We'll have to ask her.