HOUSE BILL 83
50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012
INTRODUCED BY
Danice Picraux
AN ACT
RELATING TO THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION; REQUIRING MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSIONER TO BE NOMINATED THROUGH THE PREPRIMARY CONVENTION DESIGNATION PROCESS; RECONCILING MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAW IN LAWS 1993.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 1-8-21 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter 20, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-8-21. PRIMARY ELECTION--METHODS OF PLACING NAMES ON PRIMARY BALLOT.--
A. All candidates seeking primary election nomination to a statewide office, the office of public regulation commissioner or the office of United States representative shall file declarations of candidacy with the proper filing officer. Candidates shall file nominating petitions at the time of filing their declarations of candidacy. Candidates who seek, but do not obtain, preprimary convention designation by a major political party may file new declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions pursuant to Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978.
B. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, candidates for any other office listed in Subsection C of Section 1-8-13[C] NMSA 1978 shall have their names placed on the primary election ballot by filing declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions with the proper filing officer.
C. Candidates for county office shall have their names placed on the primary election ballot by filing declarations of candidacy and paying filing fees or filing the proper paupers' statements at the time of filing declarations of candidacy with the proper filing officer."
SECTION 2. Section 1-8-21.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 55, Section 11) is amended to read:
"1-8-21.1. DESIGNATION OF CANDIDATES BY CONVENTION.--
A. State conventions of major political parties may designate candidates for nomination to statewide office, the office of public regulation commissioner or the office of United States representative.
B. No state convention for designating candidates shall be held later than the third Sunday in March preceding the primary election, and delegates to the convention shall be elected according to state party rules filed in the office of the secretary of state.
C. The state convention shall take only one ballot upon candidates for each office to be filled. Every candidate receiving twenty percent or more of the votes of the duly elected delegates to the convention for the office to be voted upon at the ensuing primary election shall be certified to the secretary of state as a convention-designated nominee for that office by the political party. Certification shall take place no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday succeeding the state convention.
D. The certificate of designation submitted to the secretary of state shall state the name of the office for which each person is a candidate, [his] each candidate's name and address and the name of the political party that [the] each candidate represents and [shall certify] certification that the candidate has been a member of that political party for the period of time required by the Election Code."
SECTION 3. Section 1-8-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 295, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-8-26. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--TIME OF FILING--DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO QUALIFY FOR BALLOT--CHALLENGE.--
A. Declarations of candidacy by preprimary convention designation for any statewide office, for the office of public regulation commissioner or for the office of United States representative shall be filed with the proper filing officer on the second Tuesday in February of each even-numbered year between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
B. Declarations of candidacy for any other office to be nominated in the primary election shall be filed with the proper filing officer on the third Tuesday of March of each even-numbered year between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
C. Certificates of designation shall be submitted to the secretary of state on the first Tuesday following the preprimary convention at which the candidate's designation took place between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
D. Declarations of candidacy for retention for all affected judicial offices shall be filed with the proper filing officer between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-first day after the primary election.
E. No candidate's name shall be placed on the ballot until the candidate has been notified in writing by the proper filing officer that the declaration of candidacy, the petition, if required, and the certificate of registration of the candidate on file are in proper order and that the candidate, based on those documents, is qualified to have the candidate's name placed on the ballot. The proper filing officer shall mail the notice no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday following the filing date.
F. If a candidate is notified by the proper filing officer that the candidate is not qualified to have the candidate's name appear on the ballot, the candidate may challenge that decision by filing a petition with the district court within ten days of the notification. The district court shall hear and render a decision on the matter within ten days after the petition is filed. The decision of the district court may be appealed to the supreme court within five days after the decision is rendered. The supreme court shall hear and render a decision on the appeal forthwith."
SECTION 4. Section 1-8-29 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 3, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 55, Section 5 and by Laws 1993, Chapter 314, Section 46 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 46) is amended to read:
"1-8-29. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--FORM.--In making a declaration of candidacy by nominating petition or by preprimary convention designation, the candidate shall submit substantially the following form:
"DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY
BY PREPRIMARY CONVENTION DESIGNATION
(OR BY NOMINATING PETITION)
I, ____________________, (candidate's name on certificate of registration) being first duly sworn, say that I reside at ___________________, as shown by my certificate of registration as a voter of Precinct No. __________ of the county of _______________, State of New Mexico;
I am a member of the ____________________ party as shown by my certificate of registration and I have not changed such party affiliation subsequent to the governor's proclamation calling the primary in which I seek to be a candidate;
I desire to become a candidate for the office of ______________________ at the primary election to be held on the date set by law for this year, and if the office be that of a member of the legislature or that of a member of the [state board of] public regulation commission or public education commission, that I actually reside at the address designated on my certificate of voter registration;
I will be eligible and legally qualified to hold this office at the beginning of its term;
If a candidate for any office for which a nominating petition is required, I am submitting with this statement a nominating petition in the form and manner as prescribed by the Primary Election Law; and
I make the foregoing affidavit under oath, knowing that any false statement herein constitutes a felony punishable under the criminal laws of New Mexico.
_______________________________
(Declarant) _______________________________
(Mailing Address)
_______________________________
(Residence Address)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of
_______________, [19] 20 _____.
_________________________
(Notary Public)
My commission expires:
_________________________"."
SECTION 5. Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-8-33. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--NOMINATING PETITION-- NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED.--
A. As used in this section, "total vote" means the sum of all votes cast for all of the party's candidates for governor at the last preceding primary election at which the party's candidate for governor was nominated.
B. Candidates who seek preprimary convention designation shall file nominating petitions at the time of filing declarations of candidacy. Nominating petitions for those candidates shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least two percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state, public regulation commission district or congressional district, or the following number of voters, whichever is greater: for statewide offices, two hundred thirty voters; for public regulation commission, fifty voters; and for congressional candidates, seventy-seven voters.
C. Nominating petitions for candidates for any other office to be voted on at the primary election for which nominating petitions are required shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the district or division, or the following number of voters, whichever is greater: for metropolitan court and magistrate courts, ten voters; [for the public regulation commission, fifty voters] for the public education commission, twenty-five voters; for state representative, ten voters; for state senator, seventeen voters; and for district attorney and district judge, fifteen voters.
D. A candidate who fails to receive the preprimary convention designation that the candidate sought may collect additional signatures to total at least four percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state, public regulation commission district or congressional district, whichever applies to the office the candidate seeks, and file a new declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions for the office for which the candidate failed to receive a preprimary designation. The declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state either ten days following the date of the preprimary convention at which the candidate failed to receive the designation or on the date all declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions are due pursuant to the provisions of the Primary Election Law, whichever is later."
SECTION 6. Section 1-8-39.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 55, Section 10) is amended to read:
"1-8-39.1. DECLARATION OF PREPRIMARY DESIGNATION--CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY OF STATE.--
A. Not later than six days after the dates for filing declarations of candidacy by preprimary convention designation, the secretary of state shall certify to the [chairman] chair of each state political party the names of that party's candidates for office of United States representative, public regulation commissioner or for other statewide office who have filed their declarations of candidacy by convention designation and have otherwise complied with the requirements of the Primary Election Law.
B. No person shall be placed in nomination at the convention unless [he] the person has been certified by the secretary of state."
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2012.