The First Session of the 58th Legislature

January 4-15, 2027: Legislation may be prefiled
January 19: Opening day (noon)
February 18: Deadline for introduction
March 20: Session ends (noon)
April 9: Legislation not acted upon by governor is pocket vetoed*
June 18: Effective date of legislation not a general appropriation bill or a bill carrying an emergency clause or other specified date
*Dependent on 2026 Constitutional Amendment outcome

BlueSky Profile

Keller Proposes Putting Long Awaited Ethics Commission to a Public Vote

Senate News & Op-Eds

Contact: Erika Martinez

(505)986-4263

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 30, 2014

Keller Proposes Putting Long Awaited Ethics Commission to a Public Vote

 

Santa Fe, NM – After years of debate between the Governor’s office and the legislature, Senate Majority Whip Tim Keller (D-17-Bernalillo) has introduced Senate Joint Resolution 9 to  create an ethics committee through constitutional amendment.

“We have tried this for over ten years,” said Sen. Keller. “It’s something that the public has always demanded, but the legislature and Governor have never been able to agree, so it’s time the voters make this happen themselves.”

A poll done by the Albuquerque Journal in 2007 found 90 percent of voters supported more stringent ethics laws, which included restrictions on lobbyists and creation of an ethics commission. A recent 2013 poll by Common Cause New Mexico also revealed that high percentages of voters (79 percent) believe corruption is a problem in New Mexico government.

The bipartisan committee would perform the duties of handling ethics violation complaints and investigate conduct complaints of state officers, employees, state contractors and lobbyists.

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