I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a bill 64-0 this morning that will create an ethics commission to investigate complaints against public officials.
The legislation is one of several pieces of ethics reform that supporters are pushing for this year.
But the legislation begs the question: Is it veto-ready because of how it treats executive and legislative branch officials who are found to have committed ethics violations?
Yes, the bill creates a seven-member commission that can investigate complaints through the use of subpoena power.
But if something is found amiss by the commission, the legislation lays out different processes for executive branch and legislative branch officials under investigation.
The executive branch refers to Gov. Bill Richardson and all state agencies that fall under the governor’s office. The legislative branch involves state lawmakers and legislative staff.
In the case of the executive branch, which includes the governor, lieutenant governor, appointed officials and state workers, the commission is required to issue a public report that can include “public reprimands or censures or recommend disciplinary actions” if the commission finds “clear and convincing evidence” that the official’s behavior constitutes an ethics violation.
The commission process treats legislators a little differently. In the case of a legislator for whom the commission finds clear and convincing evidence of an “alleged conduct” that constitutes an ethics violation, the commission shall issue a “confidential report to the appropriate legislative ethics committee.”
Once it goes to the committee, the ethics committee is obligated to report back to the ethics commission within 90 days on the progress it is making and once every 12 months after that. The status report shall be confidential, according to the legislation.
So it protects legislators by making reports on them confidential while exposing reports on executive branch officials to public disclosure.
So back to the question of whether this is veto-ready. I’ve asked the governor’s office if Gov. Bill Richardson has a sense of what he will do with this bill. There may be an update to this post.
