2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 1 - Elections › Article 19 - Campaign Practices › Section 1-19-27 - Reports required; electronic reporting system; campaign reporting system fund.

A. All reporting individuals shall file with the secretary of state reports of expenditures and contributions and statements of no activity when required by the Campaign Reporting Act [1-19-25 to 1-19-36 NMSA 1978] in an electronic format prescribed by the secretary of state.
B. The secretary of state shall develop or contract for services to develop an electronic reporting system for reporting individuals to register with the secretary of state and file all reports of expenditures and contributions and statements of no activity as required by the Campaign Reporting Act. The electronic reporting system shall:
(1) enable a person to register and file reports online by electronically submitting the relevant data to the secretary of state's website;
(2) for the submission of data, use unique identifiers and master drop-down lists of candidates, political committees, lobbyists and, to the extent reasonably possible, master lists of contributors, occupations, expenditure types and contribution types;
(3) provide the data in open, structured formats for easy search and download to allow for public inspection of all report data from the secretary of state's website;
(4) provide for cross-checking and compliance features;
(5) provide for online registration and fee payment for political committees and lobbyists;
(6) integrate, to the extent possible, with the reporting required by the Lobbyist Regulation Act [Chapter 2, Article 11 NMSA 1978];
(7) to the extent possible, provide for a mechanism to directly upload the required data from other third-party tools; and
(8) provide for encrypted transmissions.
C. Registration fees collected by the secretary of state from lobbyists and political committees shall be deposited in the "campaign reporting system fund", which is hereby created in the state treasury. Money in the fund is appropriated to the secretary of state for the purposes of paying for upgrades, maintenance and operation of the electronic reporting system. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
History:
1978 Comp., § 1-19-27, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 360, § 3; 1981, ch. 331, § 2; 1993, ch. 46, § 3; 1995, ch. 153, § 3; 2003, ch. 66, § 2; 2009, ch. 67, § 2; 2016, ch. 13, § 1.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For reports required of general purpose political committees,
see
1-19-27 NMSA 1978.
For examination of reports and forwarding of reports,
see
1-19-32.1 NMSA 1978.
The 2016 amendment,
effective December 15, 2017, established requirements for the electronic reporting of political contributions and expenditures, provided for public inspection of all report data, and created the campaign reporting system fund; in the catchline, deleted "proper filing officer" and added "electronic reporting system; campaign reporting system fund"; deleted former Subsections A, B and C, added a new Subsection A, and redesignated former Subsection D as Subsection B; in Subsection B, in the introductory paragraph, after "electronic reporting system for", deleted "receiving and for public inspection of" and added "reporting individuals to register with the secretary of state and file all", after "no activity", deleted "to" and added "as required by", in Paragraph (1), after "a person to", added "register and", after "online by", deleted "filling out forms on" and added "electronically submitting the relevant data to", and added new Paragraphs (2) through (8); and added a new Subsection C.
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, after "candidates", added "and public officials"; after "file a statement of", deleted "exception in an election year pursuant to Section 1-19-33 NMSA 1978" and added "no activity"; deleted "annually" after "individuals shall"; deleted the last sentence which provided the deadline for filing the report; in Subsection C, added "candidates and" before "public officials"; and in Subsections C and D, changed "exception" to "no activity".
The 2003 amendment,
effective January 1, 2006, deleted former Subsections B and C; redesignated former Subsection D as present Subsection B; and added present Subsections C and D.
The 1995 amendment,
effective June 16, 1995, added "proper filing officer" in the section heading, and rewrote the section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.
The costs of educational programs related to a legislator's official duties need not be reported as in-kind donations.
— The costs of certain educational programs offered by an energy company to members of the New Mexico legislature that pertain to the energy company's proposed nuclear waste storage facility in southeastern New Mexico need not be characterized or included as in-kind donations on a legislator's campaign finance report if the educational programs are for the purpose of informing members of the New Mexico legislature about the storage facility and not offered for a political purpose.
Educational Program Exception under the New Mexico Gift Act
(4/22/20), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2020-04.
A political committee may make a coordinated expenditure on an advertisement that advocates both the election of clearly identified candidates and the passage of a clearly identified ballot question.
— The Campaign Reporting Act, generally, does not purport to regulate the contents of a political committee's advertisements, and therefore, where a political committee intends to make a coordinated expenditure on an advertisement that advocates both the election of clearly identified candidates and the passage of a clearly identified ballot question, there is no violation of the Campaign Reporting Act. Whether an advertisement refers to a ballot question is immaterial to its classification as a coordinated or independent expenditure. For the coordinated expenditure, however, the political committee would be subject to contribution limits and disclosure requirements. 2022 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2022-08.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.
— 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 381 et seq.
29 C.J.S. Elections § 216.