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SENATE BILL 248
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Harold Pope
AN ACT
RELATING TO LOBBYISTS; AMENDING THE LOBBYIST REGULATION ACT;
PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; EXPANDING EXPENDITURE REPORT
REQUIREMENTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 2-11-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977,
Chapter 261, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"2-11-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Lobbyist Regulation
Act:
A. "beneficial client" means the specific
individual or organization on whose behalf or at whose request
or behest lobbying is conducted;
B. "beneficiary" means the individual or
individuals who directly benefited or otherwise gained from an
expenditure;
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[A.] C. "compensation" means any money, per diem,
salary, fee or portion thereof or the equivalent in services
rendered or in-kind contributions received or to be received in
return for lobbying services performed or to be performed;
D. "contractual client" means the individual or
organization that retains the services of a lobbyist for the
benefit of itself or another;
[B.] E. "expenditure" means a payment, transfer or
distribution or obligation or promise to pay, transfer or
distribute any money or other thing of value, but does not
include a lobbyist's own personal living expenses and the
expenses incidental to establishing and maintaining an office
in connection with lobbying activities or compensation paid to
a lobbyist by a lobbyist's employer;
F. "legislation" means a bill, resolution,
amendment, nomination or other matter pending in either house
of the legislature; any matter that is or may be the subject of
action by either house or by a legislative committee, including
the introduction, consideration, passage, defeat, approval or
veto of the matter; or any matter pending in a constitutional
convention or that may be the subject of action by a
constitutional convention;
[C.] G. "legislative committee" means a committee
created by the legislature, including interim and standing
committees of the legislature;
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[D.] H. "lobbying" means attempting to influence:
(1) a decision related to any matter to be
considered or being considered by the legislative branch of
state government or any legislative committee or any
legislative matter requiring action by the governor or awaiting
action by the governor; or
(2) an official action;
[E.] I. "lobbyist" means any individual who is
compensated for the specific purpose of lobbying; is designated
by an interest group or organization to represent it on a
substantial or regular basis for the purpose of lobbying; or in
the course of [his] employment, is engaged in lobbying on a
substantial or regular basis. "Lobbyist" does not include:
(1) an individual who appears on [his ] the
individual's own behalf in connection with legislation or an
official action;
(2) [any] an elected or appointed officer of
the state or its political subdivisions or an Indian tribe or
pueblo acting in [his ] the officer's official capacity;
(3) an employee of the state or its political
subdivisions, specifically designated by an elected or
appointed officer of the state or its political subdivision,
who appears before a legislative committee or in a rulemaking
proceeding only to explain the effect of legislation or a rule
on [his] the designated employee's agency or political
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subdivision, provided the elected or appointed officer of the
state or its political subdivision keeps for public inspection
and files with the secretary of state such designation;
(4) [any] a designated member of the staff of
an elected state official, provided the elected state official
keeps for public inspection and files with the secretary of
state such designation;
(5) a member of the legislature, the staff of
[any] a member of the legislature or the staff of [any ] a
legislative committee when addressing legislation;
(6) [any] a witness called by a legislative
committee or administrative agency to appear before that
legislative committee or agency in connection with legislation
or an official action;
(7) an individual who provides only oral or
written public testimony in connection with a legislative
committee or in a rulemaking proceeding and whose name and the
interest on behalf of which [he ] the individual testifies have
been clearly and publicly identified; or
(8) a publisher, owner or employee of the
print media, radio or television, while gathering or
disseminating news or editorial comment to the general public
in the ordinary course of business;
[F.] J. "lobbyist's employer" means the person
whose interests are being represented and by whom a lobbyist is
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directly or indirectly retained, compensated or employed;
[G.] K. "official action" means the action or
nonaction of a state official or state agency, board or
commission acting in a rulemaking proceeding;
L. "payee" means the vendor, service provider or
entity to whom payment was made for an expenditure;
[H.] M. "person" means an individual, partnership,
association, committee, federal, state or local governmental
entity or agency, however constituted, public or private
corporation or any other organization or group of persons who
are voluntarily acting in concert;
[I.] N. "political contribution" means a gift,
subscription, loan, advance or deposit of [any ] money or other
thing of value, including the estimated value of an in-kind
contribution, that is made or received for the purpose of
influencing a primary, general or statewide election, including
a constitutional or other question submitted to the voters, or
for the purpose of paying a debt incurred in any such election;
[J.] O. "prescribed form" means a form prepared and
prescribed by the secretary of state;
[K.] P. "rulemaking proceeding" means a formal
process conducted by a state agency, board or commission for
the purpose of adopting a rule, regulation, standard, policy or
other requirement of general applicability and does not include
adjudicatory proceedings; and
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[L.] Q. "state public officer" means a person
holding a statewide office provided for in the constitution of
New Mexico."
SECTION 2. Section 2-11-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977,
Chapter 261, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"2-11-6. EXPENDITURE REPORT TO BE FILED--CONTENTS--
REPORTING PERIODS.--
A. Each lobbyist who receives compensation or
lobbyist's employer who makes or incurs expenditures or makes
political contributions for the benefit of or in opposition to
a state legislator or candidate for the state legislature, a
state public officer or candidate for state public office, a
board or commission member or state employee who is involved in
an official action affecting the lobbyist's employer or in
support of or in opposition to a ballot issue or pending
legislation or official action shall file an expenditure report
with the secretary of state using an electronic reporting
system approved by the secretary of state in accordance with
Section 2-11-7 NMSA 1978. The expenditure report shall include
a sworn statement that sets forth:
(1) [the cumulative total of all individual
expenditures of less than one hundred dollars ($100) made or
incurred by the employer or lobbyist during the covered
reporting period, separated into the following categories:
(a) meals and beverages;
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(b) other entertainment expenditures;
and
(c) other expenditures;
(2)] for each individual expenditure of [one
hundred dollars ($100) ] fifty dollars ($50.00) or more made or
incurred by the [employer or ] lobbyist during the covered
reporting period: [indicating the amount spent and a
description of the expenditure. The list shall be separated
into the following categories:
(a) meals and beverages;
(b) other entertainment expenditures;
and
(c) other expenditures ]
(a) the date on which the expenditure
was made;
(b) the payee of the expenditure;
(c) the beneficiary of the expenditure;
(d) the contractual client;
(e) the beneficial client;
(f) the purpose of the expenditure,
including: 1) identification of the legislation, including
specific bill numbers where applicable, connected to the
expenditure; 2) identification of the stance taken in
connection with the specific lobbying effort tied to the
expenditure, including supporting, opposing, amending or
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monitoring; and 3) if the lobbying expenditure is not related
to specific legislation, a statement to that effect and a
description of the reason for the lobbying activity; and
(g) the amount spent and a description
of the expenditure;
[(3)] (2) each political contribution made and
whether the contribution is from the [lobbyist's employer ]
beneficial client or the lobbyist on the lobbyist's own behalf,
identified by amount, date and name of the candidate or ballot
issue supported or opposed; and
[(4)] (3) the names, addresses, employers and
occupations of other contributors and the amounts of their
separate political contributions if the lobbyist or lobbyist's
employer delivers directly or indirectly separate contributions
from those contributors to a candidate, a campaign committee or
anyone authorized by a candidate to receive funds on the
candidate's behalf.
B. The expenditure report shall be filed
electronically and shall be electronically authenticated by the
lobbyist or the lobbyist's employer using an electronic
signature as prescribed by the secretary of state in
conformance with the Electronic Authentication of Documents Act
and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. For the purposes
of the Lobbyist Regulation Act, a report that is electronically
authenticated in accordance with the provisions of this
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subsection shall be deemed to have been subscribed and sworn to
by the lobbyist or the lobbyist's employer that is required to
file the report.
C. In identifying expenditures pursuant to the
provisions of [Paragraphs ] Paragraph (1) [and (2)] of
Subsection A of this section, in the case of special events,
including parties, dinners, athletic events, entertainment and
other functions, to which all members of the legislature, to
which all members of either house or any legislative committee
or to which all members of a board or commission are invited,
expenses need not be allocated to each individual who attended,
but the date, location, name of the body invited and total
expenses incurred shall be reported.
D. A lobbyist who accepts compensation for lobbying
but does not incur expenditures or make political contributions
during a reporting period may file a statement of no activity
in lieu of a full report for that period in accordance with the
reporting schedule in Subsection E of this section.
E. The reports required pursuant to the provisions
of the Lobbyist Regulation Act shall be filed:
(1) no later than January 15 for all
expenditures and political contributions made or incurred
during the preceding year and not previously reported;
(2) within forty-eight hours for each separate
expenditure made or incurred during a legislative session that
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was for five hundred dollars ($500) or more;
(3) no later than the first Wednesday after
the first Monday in May for all expenditures and political
contributions made or incurred through the first Monday in May
of the current year and not previously reported; and
(4) no later than the first Wednesday after
the first Monday in October for all expenditures and political
contributions made or incurred through the first Monday in
October of the current year and not previously reported.
F. A lobbyist's personal living expenses and the
expenses incidental to establishing and maintaining an office
in connection with lobbying activities or compensation paid to
a lobbyist by a lobbyist's employer need not be reported.
G. A lobbyist or lobbyist's employer shall obtain
and preserve all records, accounts, bills, receipts, books,
papers and documents necessary to substantiate the financial
statements required to be made under the Lobbyist Regulation
Act for a period of two years from the date of filing of the
report containing such items. When the lobbyist is required
under the terms of the lobbyist's employment to turn over any
such records to the lobbyist's employer, responsibility for the
preservation of them as required by this section and the filing
of reports required by this section shall rest with the
employer. Such records shall be made available to the
secretary of state or attorney general upon written request.
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H. A lobbyist's employer who also engages in
lobbying shall also comply with the provisions of this section.
A lobbyist and the lobbyist's employer shall coordinate their
reporting to ensure that the contributions and expenditures
that each have reported are not duplicative.
I. An organization of two or more persons,
including an individual who makes any representation as being
an organization, that within one calendar year expends funds in
excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) not
otherwise reported under the Lobbyist Regulation Act to conduct
an advertising campaign for the purpose of lobbying shall
register with the secretary of state within forty-eight hours
after expending two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).
Such registration shall indicate the name of the organization
and the names, addresses and occupations of any of its
principals, organizers or officers and shall include the name
of any lobbyist or lobbyist's employer who is a member of the
organization. Within fifteen days after a legislative session,
the organization shall report the contributions, pledges to
contribute, expenditures and commitments to expend for the
advertising campaign for the purpose of lobbying, including the
names, addresses, employers and occupations of the
contributors, to the secretary of state on a prescribed form."
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