2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 10 - Public Officers and Employees
Article 16G - State Ethics Commission
Section 10-16G-9 - Commission jurisdiction; compliance provisions.

A. The commission has jurisdiction to enforce the applicable civil compliance provisions for public officials, public employees, candidates, persons subject to the Campaign Reporting Act [1-19-25 to 1-19-36 NMSA 1978], government contractors, lobbyists and lobbyists' employers of:

(1) the Campaign Reporting Act;

(2) the Financial Disclosure Act [Chapter 10, Article 16A NMSA 1978];

(3) the Gift Act [10-16B-1 to 10-16B-4 NMSA 1978];

(4) the Lobbyist Regulation Act [Chapter 2, Article 11 NMSA 1978];

(5) the Voter Action Act [1-19A-1 to 1-19A-17 NMSA 1978];

(6) the Governmental Conduct Act [Chapter 10, Article 16 NMSA 1978];

(7) the Procurement Code [13-1-28 to 13-1-199 NMSA 1978];

(8) the State Ethics Commission Act; and

(9) Article 9, Section 14 of the constitution of New Mexico.

B. All complaints filed with a public agency regarding the statutes listed in Subsection A of this section shall be forwarded to the commission.

C. The commission may choose to act on some or all aspects of a complaint and forward other aspects of a complaint to another state or federal agency with jurisdiction over the matter in accordance with Subsection E of this section.

D. If the commission decides not to act on a complaint, whether the complaint was filed with the commission or forwarded from another public agency, or decides only to act on part of a complaint, the commission shall promptly forward the complaint, or any part of a complaint on which it does not wish to act, to the public agency that has appropriate jurisdiction within ten days of the decision. The complainant and respondent shall be notified in writing when the complainant's request has been forwarded to another agency unless otherwise provided pursuant to Subsection H of Section 10 [10-16G-10 NMSA 1978] of the State Ethics Commission Act.

E. The commission may share jurisdiction with other public agencies having authority to act on a complaint or any aspect of a complaint. Such shared jurisdiction shall be formalized through an agreement entered into by all participating agencies involved with the complaint and the director. The commission may also investigate a complaint referred to the commission by the legislature, or a legislative committee, in accordance with an agreement entered into pursuant to policies of the New Mexico legislative council or rules of the house of representatives or senate.

F. The commission may file a court action to enforce the civil compliance provisions of an act listed in Subsection A of this section. The court action shall be filed in the district court in the county where the respondent resides.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 9.

Effective dates. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 41 made Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 9 effective January 1, 2020.

Applicability. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 40 provided that the provisions of the State Ethics Commission Act apply only to conduct occurring on or after July 1, 2019.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 37 provided that:

A. By October 1, 2021, the state ethics commission shall submit a report to the legislature and the office of the governor regarding whether to extend commission jurisdiction.

B. If the report recommends extension of the state ethics commission's jurisdiction, the report shall address:

(1) a detailed plan for implementation of an extension of the commission's jurisdiction and a proposed timeline for the implementation;

(2) the estimated number of additional employees and other resources needed by the commission to perform its expanded duties;

(3) estimated budget increases needed for the commission to perform its expanded duties; and

(4) recommended changes to existing law.