New Mexico rates “C” for financial disclosure laws

New Mexico rates just average when it comes to financial disclosure laws for state lawmakers, according to a new study by the Center for Public Integrity. The center ranked the state 15th, and scored it low for some things it said the state doesn't require filers to report, including some investments under $10,000, an investment's value range and the names of all investments. It also criticized a part of the law that requires filers to list their spouses' investment information, but doesn't require the spouse to be clearly indicated. The center also scored the state low because it doesn't publish a list of delinquent filers. Some state lawmakers say New Mexico can and should do better. “A 'C' is fine, but we still have a ways to go,” said Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque.

Some of the required disclosure forms, for example, don't “ask questions in a specific way that's easy for the public or the media to understand the answer,” he said.

And, Rue said, the state can have as many laws as it wants, but if the information isn't easily available, the laws aren't much help.

“It's one thing to have the disclosure requirements. It's another thing to have timely info available on1ine,” he said. “That's where we have a disconnect in New Mexico”

Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, said scoring 15th “is encouraging” but there are many places the state needs to improve. “The relations between business and government is where we have the least disclosure,” he said. “To me that's one glaring ho1e we could take on.” Keller pointed to the state not having a requirement that a lawmaker report the names of officers and directors of boards that he or she may be affiliated with, for example. “The level of specificity just isn't there,” he said. While New Mexico scored average, 20 states failed the center's study.

The C ranking is better than others the state has been given on disclosure laws. A 2008 report by the Campaign Disclosure Project, a collaboration of the UCLA School of Law, the Center for Governmental Studies and the California Voter Foundation, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, gave New Mexico an F for its “efforts to bring sunlight to political money.” Specifically, the state got an F for its “online contextual and technical usability,” another F for the accessibility to disclosure content, and a D for its campaign disclosure law. It got an A for its electronic filing law.