Ethics reforms New Mexico needs

Posted 6/14/2009 11:35:00 PM

Here are five proposals I believe would fundamentally change the way business is done in the Land of Enchantment

Manny Aragon. Michael Montoya. Robert Vigil. Roberta Vigil. Eric Serna. Bill Richardson.

Those are the names of scandal-plagued public officials the Albuquerque Journal mentions in a weekend editorial in arguing that New Mexico’s “shoddy record is out of proportion with the state’s progress toward ethics reform.”

“Yes, lawmakers have approved a flawed gift ban, opened conference committees and capped campaign contributions. But as the governor’s private jet trip to Mexico showed, there isn’t much interest by the attorney general and others in doing things like asking for receipts to make sure public officials are paying market value,” the editorial states.

The Journal also points out loopholes in ethics laws and calls for additional reform, including an independent ethics commission and a real-time, searchable campaign reporting Web site.

All good. The number of scandals plaguing government in New Mexico is overwhelming. There’s simply no way to keep track of it all. Most people I know who are paying attention are simply waiting for the next shoe to drop.

I’ve written much on this site about ethics reform, and I’ve come to believe there are at least five critical reforms New Mexico needs:

• Creation of an independent ethics commission: A commission without subpoena power is like a watchdog without teeth. An ethics commission must be bipartisan in its membership and have members appointed by representatives of all three branches of government so it’s independent, but it must also have the ability to investigate, with subpoena power, what it needs to investigate. In addition, it must be tasked with developing a state code of ethics and educating public officials about how to follow that code.

• Beefing up the state auditor’s office: In some states, the auditor is arguably the second-most powerful state official behind the governor. Not so in New Mexico, even though Auditor Hector Balderas has taken some steps to increase his office’s ability to combat fraud. The auditor has broad authority, including subpoena power, but the office is hampered because it is grossly understaffed. White-collar crimes including public corruption are increasingly complex and difficult for the state’s district attorneys and attorney general to tackle. Having enough staffers in the auditor’s office to adequately aid in such investigations and do their own, independent probes when necessary would create a new level of accountability in New Mexico.

•Paying legislators: This one is simple: There’s a culture of entitlement in the Legislature. Some, but not all, believe they deserve certain things, including gifts, because they aren’t paid. So pay them. Take away the excuse to blur ethical lines.

• Creation of a comprehensive, online database of money in New Mexico politics: We need a quick, simple, accessible way to find out how money is being spent on campaigning and lobbying. The secretary of state’s office has promised but failed to deliver this for years, through two administrations. For it to truly happen, some disclosure laws need to be updated and adequate funding needs to be appropriated. If that happens and the secretary of state still can’t get such a site built, the Legislature and governor need to take the project out of that office’s hands and find someone who can do it.

• Expanding webcasting: New Mexico took a quantum leap forward this year with the approval of audio webcasting from the House floor and limited video webcasting from the Senate floor. But we can do much better. We should have live audio and video from both chambers and committee meetings, and it should be archived. We should also have the equipment set up to webcast major events held in the rotunda at the Roundhouse, such as news conferences. And what about meetings of other public bodies such as the Public Regulation Commission and the investment boards that have come under so much scrutiny lately? And news conferences held in the governor’s office? Webcasting is cheap and easy. There’s no good reason to not do it.

Transparency, education and real accountability. That would help fundamentally change New Mexico. Will it happen? Not if we rely on lawmakers to get it done, apparently. Perhaps what we really need is a constitutional convention like the one being proposed by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces.

I believe New Mexicans want reform. Take reform proposals directly to the voters and I suspect good things will happen.