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Saturday, March 5, 2005

Dinner Tabs Top $10K As Lobbyists Party Hearty

By Thomas J. Cole
Journal Investigative Reporter
    The energy industry is tops in putting on the Ritz and picking up the tab for state lawmakers in Santa Fe.
    The industry has spent at least $41,721 on dinners and other events since the Legislature convened Jan. 18, according to reports filed with the state.
    The health-care industry is No. 2 in cocktail lobbying, having doled out at least $21,734.
    Social events are as much a part of life for lawmakers as committee meetings and floor votes, and special interests are the sugar daddies. The Senate even has a social calendar.
    Some of Santa Fe's swankest hotels and restaurants are the stages for many events, and a single tab can run into thousands of dollars.
    One of the best attended events of the session— sponsored by a group of 10 lobbyists representing a wide variety of interests— is simply known as "The Party."
    In addition to lawmakers, their staff and guests, other officials in government, including Gov. Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid, attend some events.
    A lobbyist who makes a single expenditure of $500 or more during a legislative session is required to report it within 48 hours to the Secretary of State's Office.
    Nearly all the reports are for entertainment expenses, which totaled nearly $145,000 for reports filed as of Monday. The session ends March 19.
    The reports show PNM, the state's largest electric and natural-gas utility, leads the energy industry in wining and dining lawmakers and their guests.
    PNM lobbyist Ernest C'deBaca reported spending $10,303 on a dinner Feb. 9 to honor House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, and $4,493 on a dinner Feb. 23 to honor Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City.
    C'deBaca also reported spending $1,000 on a reception Jan. 25 to mark "Energy and Environmental Sustainable Day" at the Capitol.
    Amy Miller, a PNM spokeswoman, says the goal of the entertaining is to educate lawmakers on the industry and its interests.
    "That's an ongoing effort for us," Miller says. "Every session we certainly have a strong presence."
    PNM traditionally has one of the largest lobbying forces in Santa Fe; this year it has nine registered lobbyists. Miller says shareholders, not ratepayers, finance the lobbying effort.
    In other energy industry spending, Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, reported a $9,141 bill for a dinner Feb. 8 for legislative leaders.
    A lobbyist for Southwestern Public Service, an Xcel Energy utility that provides electricity in east and southeast New Mexico, reported kicking in $3,434 for the Lujan dinner and $1,498 for the Altamirano event.
    Among lobbyists for the health-care industry, Thomas Horan reported spending $19,879 on behalf of Presbyterian Health Plan for a dinner Jan. 20 for lawmakers and guests. It was the single largest expenditure reported by a lobbyist.
    Horan also is one of the hosts for "The Party," an invitation-only event that was Thursday at the upscale Eldorado Hotel near Santa Fe's historic Plaza.
    In addition to Presbyterian Health Plan, Horan represents several other clients, including the New Mexico Press Association, the city of Albuquerque and Albuquerque Publishing, which prints and distributes the Journal and The Albuquerque Tribune.
    Entertainment is important in Santa Fe because it gives lobbyists, their clients and lawmakers opportunities to develop personal relationships, Horan says. And lawmakers are more likely to listen to people they know, he says.
    Horan says he has a rule against discussing legislation at dinners but, "Clients always want to go lobby."
    In their reports with the Secretary of State's Office, lobbyists for higher-education institutions reported spending a total of $14,686.
    A lobbyist for the New Mexico Association of Community Colleges reported spending $7,005 on a reception Feb. 21 and a lobbyist for Eastern New Mexico University reported a tab of $6,104 for an event Jan. 19.
    A lobbyist for New Mexico State University reported spending $1,577 on Jan. 31 to entertain House members who make decisions on how the state spends money on construction and other capital improvements.
    Other reported expenditures:
   

$12,344 by a lobbyist for the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association for a dinner Jan. 26;
   

$11,753 by a lobbyist who represents the New Mexico Mining Association and two police groups for an event Feb. 1;
   

$8,751 by a lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico for an event Jan. 27 for lawmakers and members of the Public Regulation Commission, which oversees the insurance industry;
   

$6,590 by a lobbyist for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees for three receptions;
   

$4,133 by a lobbyist for the Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico for a dinner Feb. 23 for the staff of the House Democratic majority.
    Lobbyists will make full reports in May on all their spending, including political contributions to legislators and other public officials.