0001| HOUSE BILL 491 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| GARY K. KING | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO ELECTIONS; PROVIDING FOR PUBLIC FINANCING OF | 0012| PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION CAMPAIGNS; ESTABLISHING THE | 0013| PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION CAMPAIGN FUND; PROVIDING POWERS | 0014| AND DUTIES; PROVIDING PENALTIES; AMENDING AND ENACTING | 0015| SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; MAKING APPROPRIATIONS; DECLARING AN | 0016| EMERGENCY. | 0017| | 0018| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0019| Section 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 | 0020| through 9 of this act may be cited as the "Public Regulation | 0021| Commission Public Financing Act". | 0022| Section 2. [NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.--The | 0023| legislature finds that: | 0024| A. the costs associated with running for public | 0025| office have risen greatly, with disturbing effects on the |
- 1 -
0001| political process. Some of those effects include: | 0002| (1) the exclusion of many qualified | 0003| candidates from the electoral process; | 0004| (2) impropriety or the appearance of | 0005| impropriety in the raising of campaign funds because of the | 0006| large amount of money required for successful competition in | 0007| the political arena; and | 0008| (3) the increase in public cynicism about the | 0009| political process and the lessening of public confidence in | 0010| elected public officials; | 0011| B. the United States supreme court has indicated | 0012| that any limitation on campaign expenditures must be entered | 0013| into voluntarily and the use of public financing of campaigns | 0014| is a constitutionally permissible way in which to encourage | 0015| candidates to adopt voluntary campaign spending limits; | 0016| C. using public funds to assist in the financing | 0017| of campaigns for certain offices, in conjunction with | 0018| voluntary campaign spending limits, may serve to alleviate | 0019| some of the disturbing effects of the high cost of political | 0020| campaigning; and | 0021| D. the adoption by the people of the | 0022| constitutional amendment creating an elected public regulation | 0023| commission provides an opportunity for the state to experiment | 0024| with public financing in a limited and cost-effective way to | 0025| see if it serves its intended purposes and might be expanded |
- 2 -
0001| to other political offices in the future. | 0002| Section 3. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the | 0003| Public Regulation Commission Public Financing Act: | 0004| A. "candidate" means a person who seeks or | 0005| considers running for the commission, who either has filed a | 0006| declaration of candidacy or nominating petition or has | 0007| received contributions or made expenditures of two thousand | 0008| five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more or has authorized | 0009| another person to receive contributions or make expenditures | 0010| of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more for the | 0011| purpose of seeking election to the commission; | 0012| B. "commission" means the public regulation | 0013| commission; | 0014| C. "fund" means the public regulation commission | 0015| campaign fund; and | 0016| D. "person" means an individual; firm, | 0017| partnership, corporation, business, joint venture or similar | 0018| business or commercial entity; or a political action | 0019| committee, campaign committee or other organization organized | 0020| to participate in electoral or party politics. | 0021| Section 4. [NEW MATERIAL] PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION | 0022| CAMPAIGN FUND.-- | 0023| A. The "public regulation commission campaign | 0024| fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of | 0025| appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and interest from |
- 3 -
0001| investment of the fund. The fund shall be administered by the | 0002| state treasurer, and money in the fund is appropriated to the | 0003| state treasurer to make distributions to qualifying candidates | 0004| pursuant to the provisions of the Public Regulation Commission | 0005| Public Financing Act. Money in the fund shall be disbursed | 0006| only on warrant drawn by the secretary of finance and | 0007| administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the state | 0008| treasurer or his authorized representative. | 0009| B. The fund shall be funded at three hundred fifty | 0010| thousand dollars ($350,000) per year segregated from proceeds | 0011| collected from: | 0012| (1) inspection and supervision fees pursuant | 0013| to Section 62-8-8 NMSA 1978; and | 0014| (2) utility and carrier inspection fees | 0015| pursuant to Section 63-7-20 NMSA 1978. | 0016| C. Money transferred to the fund shall not revert | 0017| to the general fund during an electoral cycle, but money in | 0018| the fund in excess of three hundred thousand dollars | 0019| ($300,000) on December 31 immediately following a general | 0020| election shall revert to the general fund. | 0021| Section 5. [NEW MATERIAL] FUNDING FOR QUALIFYING | 0022| CANDIDATES.-- | 0023| A. Upon qualifying for public finance in | 0024| accordance with the Public Regulation Commission Public | 0025| Financing Act, candidates for election to the commission shall |
- 4 -
0001| be eligible to receive regular and periodic payments from the | 0002| fund to defray expenditures of the campaign for office | 0003| pursuant to the following schedule: | 0004| (1) for the primary election: | 0005| (a) twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) | 0006| within fifteen days of qualifying; | 0007| (b) ten thousand dollars ($10,000) | 0008| fifteen days after the first payment; and | 0009| (c) ten thousand dollars ($10,000) | 0010| thirty days after the second payment; and | 0011| (2) for the general election: | 0012| (a) twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) | 0013| by July 1; | 0014| (b) twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) | 0015| by August 15; and | 0016| (c) twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) | 0017| by October 1. | 0018| B. Candidates who qualify shall be eligible to | 0019| receive: | 0020| (1) forty thousand dollars ($40,000) for the | 0021| primary election campaign; and | 0022| (2) sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) for the | 0023| general election campaign. | 0024| C. Money received pursuant to the Public | 0025| Regulation Commission Public Financing Act is subject to the |
- 5 -
0001| reporting requirements of the Campaign Reporting Act. | 0002| Section 6. [NEW MATERIAL] QUALIFYING PRIMARY ELECTION | 0003| CANDIDATES.-- | 0004| A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this | 0005| section, a primary election candidate for the commission | 0006| qualifies for funding pursuant to the Public Regulation | 0007| Commission Public Financing Act by: | 0008| (1) qualifying for placement on the primary | 0009| election ballot as certified by the secretary of state; | 0010| (2) having raised at least seven thousand | 0011| five hundred dollars ($7,500) but not more than ten thousand | 0012| dollars ($10,000); | 0013| (3) not having accepted more than two hundred | 0014| fifty dollars ($250) from a person other than himself; and | 0015| (4) agreeing in writing to the following | 0016| terms and conditions: | 0017| (a) to limit campaign expenditures to | 0018| qualifying expenditures as provided in the Public Regulation | 0019| Commission Public Financing Act; | 0020| (b) to limit the amount of primary | 0021| election campaign expenditures to no more than the amount | 0022| raised in Paragraph (2) of this subsection plus money received | 0023| from the fund; | 0024| (c) to limit private primary election | 0025| campaign fundraising to that amount received prior to |
- 6 -
0001| qualifying to receive money from the fund; and | 0002| (d) to return to the state treasurer | 0003| any unexpended money from the fund within twenty days after | 0004| the candidate ceases to be a candidate, becomes unopposed or | 0005| after the election is over with respect to those candidates | 0006| who remain qualified throughout the election. | 0007| B. No candidate shall be qualified to receive | 0008| money from the fund unless the candidate and at least one | 0009| other candidate for the same seat have qualified to have their | 0010| names on the ballot in the same election. | 0011| C. Qualification shall cease and unexpended money | 0012| received from the fund shall be returned to the state | 0013| treasurer in the event a candidate either ceases to be a | 0014| candidate or becomes unopposed during the election. | 0015| Section 7. [NEW MATERIAL] QUALIFYING GENERAL ELECTION | 0016| CANDIDATES.-- | 0017| A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this | 0018| section, a general election candidate for the commission | 0019| qualifies for funding pursuant to the Public Regulation | 0020| Commission Public Financing Act by: | 0021| (1) qualifying for placement on the general | 0022| election ballot after having received funds pursuant to that | 0023| act during the primary campaign or having met the | 0024| qualifications for funding during the primary campaign except | 0025| for the requirement that candidates be opposed by another |
- 7 -
0001| candidate for the same position; and | 0002| (2) agreeing in writing to the following | 0003| terms and conditions: | 0004| (a) to limit campaign expenditures to | 0005| qualifying expenditures as provided in the Public Regulation | 0006| Commission Public Financing Act; | 0007| (b) to limit the amount of general | 0008| election campaign expenditures to the amount received from the | 0009| fund; | 0010| (c) to not solicit or accept any | 0011| general election campaign money except that provided from the | 0012| fund; and | 0013| (d) to return to the state treasurer | 0014| any unexpended money from the fund within twenty days after | 0015| the candidate ceases to be a candidate, becomes unopposed or | 0016| after the election is over with respect to those candidates | 0017| who remain qualified throughout the election. | 0018| B. No candidate shall be qualified to receive | 0019| money from the fund unless the candidate and at least one | 0020| other candidate for the same seat have qualified to have their | 0021| names on the ballot in the same election. | 0022| C. Qualification shall cease and unexpended money | 0023| received from the fund shall be returned to the state | 0024| treasurer in the event a candidate either ceases to be a | 0025| candidate or becomes unopposed during the election. |
- 8 -
0001| Section 8. [NEW MATERIAL] QUALIFYING EXPENDITURES.-- | 0002| A. Money received from the fund may only be | 0003| expended on the following expenses attributable to campaign | 0004| activities: | 0005| (1) services for communication media, | 0006| including production costs; | 0007| (2) printing, photography, graphic arts or | 0008| advertising services; | 0009| (3) campaign office supplies; | 0010| (4) postage and other commercial delivery | 0011| services; | 0012| (5) meals, lodging and travel expenses for | 0013| the candidate and staff; and | 0014| (6) staff salaries. | 0015| B. Expenditures of money received from the fund | 0016| are subject to the reporting requirements of the Campaign | 0017| Reporting Act. | 0018| Section 9. [NEW MATERIAL] CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION | 0019| LIMITS--RESTRICTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS--PROVIDING PENALTIES.-- | 0020| A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a | 0021| candidate shall not accept contributions in excess of two | 0022| hundred fifty dollars ($250) from a person other than himself. | 0023| B. A candidate may make contributions of any | 0024| amount of his personal funds to his campaign committee. | 0025| However, if a candidate contributes more than two thousand |
- 9 -
0001| five hundred dollars ($2,500) of his personal money to his | 0002| campaign, his opponent, or opponents on a prorated basis if | 0003| more than one in that specific election, shall receive the | 0004| amount from the fund that the candidate would have received. | 0005| In addition, if a candidate contributes his personal money in | 0006| excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), the | 0007| restrictions in Subsection A of this section no longer apply | 0008| to his opponent. | 0009| C. To qualify for money from the fund, a candidate | 0010| shall file a declaration of voluntary compliance with the | 0011| provisions of the Public Regulation Commission Public | 0012| Financing Act with the secretary of state at the time the | 0013| candidate files his declaration of candidacy or nominating | 0014| petition. The declaration shall state whether the candidate | 0015| agrees to be bound by the provisions of that act to be | 0016| entitled to qualify for money from the fund. Once filed, the | 0017| declaration of voluntary compliance cannot be withdrawn, | 0018| rescinded or changed. | 0019| D. If a candidate files a declaration of voluntary | 0020| compliance, he shall not exceed the expenditure limits set | 0021| forth in the Public Regulation Commission Public Financing | 0022| Act. If a candidate in a primary election violates his | 0023| declaration of voluntary compliance, then his name shall not | 0024| be printed on the general election ballot unless he pays, | 0025| within forty-five days after the primary election, a fine of |
- 10 -
0001| three times the amount by which he exceeded the limit. If a | 0002| candidate in a general election violates his declaration of | 0003| voluntary compliance, then he shall not receive his | 0004| certificate of election unless he pays a fine of five times | 0005| the amount by which he exceeded the limit. Money paid | 0006| pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the general | 0007| fund. | 0008| Section 10. Section 1-8-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, | 0009| Chapter 240, Section 170, as amended) is amended to read: | 0010| "1-8-25. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF | 0011| CANDIDACY--PROPER FILING OFFICER.--The proper filing officer | 0012| for filing declarations of candidacy is: | 0013| A. the secretary of state for the offices of: | 0014| (1) United States senator; | 0015| (2) United States representative; | 0016| (3) all state elective offices; | 0017| (4) public regulation commissioners elected | 0018| from districts; | 0019| [(4)] (5) legislative offices elected | 0020| from multicounty districts; | 0021| [(5)] (6) all elective judicial offices | 0022| in the judicial department, except magistrates; and | 0023| [(6)] (7) all offices representing a | 0024| district composed of more than one county; and | 0025| B. the county clerk for the offices of: |
- 11 -
0001| (1) all elective county offices; | 0002| (2) magistrates; and | 0003| (3) legislative offices elected from a | 0004| district located wholly within one county or which is composed | 0005| of only one county." | 0006| Section 11. Section 1-8-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, | 0007| Chapter 295, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read: | 0008| "1-8-26. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--TIME OF FILING--DOCUMENTS | 0009| NECESSARY TO QUALIFY FOR BALLOT--CHALLENGE.-- | 0010| A. Declarations of candidacy by preprimary | 0011| convention designation for any statewide office, [or for the | 0012| office of] United States representative or public regulation | 0013| commission and declarations of candidacy for retention of a | 0014| justice of the supreme court or judge of the court of appeals | 0015| shall be filed with the proper filing officer on the second | 0016| Tuesday in February of each even-numbered year between the | 0017| hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. | 0018| B. Declarations of candidacy for any other office | 0019| and declarations of candidacy for retention for all affected | 0020| district judicial offices shall be filed with the proper | 0021| filing officer on the third Tuesday of March of each even- | 0022| numbered year between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. | 0023| C. Certificates of designation shall be submitted | 0024| to the secretary of state on the first Tuesday following the | 0025| preprimary convention at which the candidate's designation |
- 12 -
0001| took place between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. | 0002| D. No candidate's name shall be placed on the | 0003| ballot until the candidate has been notified in writing by the | 0004| proper filing officer that the declaration of candidacy, the | 0005| petition and the certificate of registration of the candidate | 0006| on file are in proper order and that the candidate, based on | 0007| those documents, is qualified to have his name placed on the | 0008| ballot. The proper filing officer shall mail the notice no | 0009| later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday following the filing date. | 0010| E. If a candidate is notified by the proper filing | 0011| officer that he is not qualified to have his name appear on | 0012| the ballot, the candidate may challenge that decision by | 0013| filing a petition with the district court within ten days of | 0014| the notification. The district court shall hear and render a | 0015| decision on the matter within ten days after the petition is | 0016| filed." | 0017| Section 12. Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, | 0018| Chapter 228, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read: | 0019| "1-8-33. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--NOMINATING PETITION-- | 0020| NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED.-- | 0021| A. As used in this section, "total vote" means the | 0022| sum of all votes cast for all of the party's candidates for | 0023| governor at the last preceding primary election at which the | 0024| party's candidate for governor was nominated. | 0025| B. Candidates who seek preprimary convention |
- 13 -
0001| designation shall file nominating petitions at the time of | 0002| filing declarations of candidacy. Nominating petitions for | 0003| those candidates shall be signed by a number of voters equal | 0004| to at least two percent of the total vote of the candidate's | 0005| party in the state or congressional district, or the following | 0006| number of voters, whichever is greater: for statewide | 0007| offices, two hundred thirty voters; [and] for congressional | 0008| candidates, seventy-seven voters; and for public regulation | 0009| commission, fifty voters. | 0010| C. Nominating petitions for candidates for any | 0011| other office to be voted on at the primary election for which | 0012| nominating petitions are required shall be signed by a number | 0013| of voters equal to at least three percent of the total vote of | 0014| the candidate's party in the district or division, or the | 0015| following number of voters, whichever is greater: for | 0016| metropolitan court and magistrate courts, ten voters; for the | 0017| state board of education, twenty-five voters; for state | 0018| representative, ten voters; for state senator, seventeen | 0019| voters; and for district attorney and district judge, fifteen | 0020| voters. | 0021| D. A candidate who fails to receive the preprimary | 0022| convention designation that he sought may collect additional | 0023| signatures to total at least four percent of the total vote of | 0024| the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, | 0025| whichever applies to the office he seeks, and file a new |
- 14 -
0001| declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions for the | 0002| office for which he failed to receive a preprimary | 0003| designation. The declaration of candidacy and nominating | 0004| petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state either | 0005| ten days following the date of the preprimary convention at | 0006| which he failed to receive the designation or on the date all | 0007| declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions are due | 0008| pursuant to the provisions of the Primary Election Law, | 0009| whichever is later." | 0010| Section 13. Section 1-8-36.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, | 0011| Chapter 156, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read: | 0012| "1-8-36.1. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--WRITE-IN CANDIDATES.-- | 0013| A. Write-in candidates are permitted in the | 0014| primary election only for the offices of United States | 0015| representative, public regulation commission, members of the | 0016| legislature, district judges, district attorneys, state board | 0017| of education, magistrates and any office voted upon by all | 0018| voters of the state. | 0019| B. A person may be a write-in candidate only for | 0020| nomination by the major political party with which he is | 0021| affiliated as shown by his certificate of registration, and | 0022| such person shall have the qualifications to be a candidate in | 0023| the primary election for the political party for which he is a | 0024| write-in candidate. | 0025| C. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate |
- 15 -
0001| for one of the offices listed in Subsection A of this section | 0002| in the primary election shall file with the proper filing | 0003| officer a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. | 0004| Such declaration of intent shall be filed before 5:00 p.m. on | 0005| the second Tuesday in March. | 0006| D. A write-in vote shall be counted and canvassed | 0007| only if: | 0008| (1) the name written in is the name of a | 0009| declared write-in candidate and shows two initials and last | 0010| name; first name, middle initial or name and last name; first | 0011| and last name; or the full name as it appears on the | 0012| declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate and | 0013| misspellings of the above combinations that can be reasonably | 0014| determined by a majority of the members of the precinct board | 0015| to identify a declared write-in candidate; and | 0016| (2) the name is written in the proper slot on | 0017| the voting machine or on the proper line provided on an | 0018| absentee ballot or emergency paper ballot for write-in votes | 0019| for the office for which the candidate has filed a declaration | 0020| of intent. | 0021| E. At the time of filing the declaration of intent | 0022| to be a write-in candidate, the write-in candidate shall be | 0023| considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions | 0024| relating to candidates in the Election Code, including the | 0025| obligations to report under the Campaign Reporting Act, except |
- 16 -
0001| that he shall not be entitled to have his name printed on the | 0002| ballot. | 0003| F. No unopposed write-in candidate shall have his | 0004| nomination certified unless he receives at least the number of | 0005| write-in votes in the primary election as he would need | 0006| signatures on a nominating petition pursuant to the | 0007| requirements set out in Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978. | 0008| G. A write-in vote shall be cast by writing in the | 0009| name. As used in this section, "write-in" does not include | 0010| the imprinting of any name by rubber stamp or similar device | 0011| or the use of preprinted stickers or labels." | 0012| Section 14. Section 1-8-39.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, | 0013| Chapter 55, Section 10) is amended to read: | 0014| "1-8-39.1. DECLARATION OF PREPRIMARY DESIGNATION-- | 0015| CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY OF STATE.-- | 0016| A. Not later than six days after the dates for | 0017| filing declarations of candidacy by preprimary convention | 0018| designation, the secretary of state shall certify to the | 0019| chairman of each state political party the names of that | 0020| party's candidates for office of United States representative, | 0021| public regulation commission or for other statewide office | 0022| who have filed their declarations of candidacy by convention | 0023| designation and have otherwise complied with the requirements | 0024| of the Primary Election Law. | 0025| B. No person shall be placed in nomination at the |
- 17 -
0001| convention unless he has been certified by the secretary of | 0002| state." | 0003| Section 15. Section 1-8-43 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, | 0004| Chapter 240, Section 180, as amended) is amended to read: | 0005| "1-8-43. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--ORDER OF CANDIDATES ON | 0006| BALLOT.-- | 0007| A. Candidates designated and certified by state | 0008| convention for a statewide office, [or] the office of United | 0009| States representative or public regulation commission shall | 0010| be placed on the primary election ballot in the order of the | 0011| vote received at the state convention. The candidate | 0012| receiving the highest vote shall be placed first in order on | 0013| the ballot, followed by the candidate receiving the next | 0014| highest vote, and so on until all the candidates designated | 0015| for that office have been placed on the ballot, provided that | 0016| the names of two or more candidates receiving an equal number | 0017| of votes for designation by convention for the same office | 0018| shall be placed on the primary ballot in the order determined | 0019| by lot. Names of candidates for statewide office, [or] the | 0020| office of United States representative or public regulation | 0021| commission who do not receive preprimary convention | 0022| designation but who are qualified candidates by declaration of | 0023| candidacy shall be placed on the ballot as determined by lot | 0024| following convention designated candidates. | 0025| B. The names of candidates for any other office in |
- 18 -
0001| the primary election who are candidates by declaration of | 0002| candidacy shall be arranged on the ballot as determined by | 0003| lot. | 0004| C. The determination by lot shall be made | 0005| immediately following the closing time for filing declarations | 0006| of candidacy and all candidates or their agents shall be | 0007| entitled to be present at such time. | 0008| D. The order of preference for position on the | 0009| ballot shall be first, the top name position on the left-hand | 0010| column for each office, and thereafter, consecutively down | 0011| each name position in that column to the last name position. | 0012| If the number of candidates filing for the office so requires, | 0013| the order of preference shall continue consecutively from the | 0014| top name position on the left-hand column to the top name | 0015| position on the right-hand column, thence to the second name | 0016| position on the left-hand column, then to the second name | 0017| position on the right-hand column and thereafter continuing in | 0018| the same manner until all the candidates are positioned on the | 0019| ballot." | 0020| Section 16. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF FUND.--When | 0021| the Public Regulation Commission Public Financing Act is | 0022| repealed, unexpended or unencumbered balances remaining in the | 0023| public regulation commission campaign fund shall be | 0024| transferred to the general fund. | 0025| Section 17. APPROPRIATION--LOAN.--Three hundred thousand |
- 19 -
0001| dollars ($300,000) is appropriated from the general fund to | 0002| the public regulation commission campaign fund to provide | 0003| initial funding for the public financing of candidates for the | 0004| public regulation commission. This appropriation shall be | 0005| considered a loan from the general fund, and the state | 0006| treasurer shall repay the general fund as soon as practicable | 0007| from money deposited in the public regulation commission | 0008| campaign fund. | 0009| Section 18. DELAYED REPEAL.--The Public Regulation | 0010| Commission Public Financing Act is repealed on January 1, | 0011| 2005. | 0012| Section 19. APPLICABILITY.--This act applies to primary | 0013| and general elections in and after 1998. | 0014| Section 20. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public | 0015| peace, health and safety that this act take effect | 0016| immediately. | 0017|  |