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Saturday, May 03, 2008
Attorney General Says He Complied With Gift Law
By Barry Massey
Associated Press
SANTA FE — A company building a uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico paid for part of Attorney General Gary King's expenses when he traveled to the Netherlands in March to tour a similar uranium plant.
Louisiana Energy Services is building a $1.5 billion plant near Eunice to make fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
King inspected an enrichment plant in Almelo, Netherlands, that is operated by Urenco. The European company is part of LES, the consortium building the facility in southeastern New Mexico.
LES paid $470 for King's hotel in Alemlo in mid-March, according to a spending report filed by the company's lobbyist.
The expenditure was among about $394,000 spent by lobbyists from January through April 25. Nearly $180,000 of the spending, including King's tour of the uranium plant, was disclosed in reports filed this week with the secretary of state's office.
King accepted a longstanding offer by the company to tour the plant because he had been invited to Amsterdam to speak as a panelist at an international financial conference organized by Institutional Investor magazine.
King paid his own airfare and the attorney general's office incurred no expenses, according to Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for King.
"There is no conflict of interest in having the company pay for the AG's hotel accommodations since his inspection and tour were of an educational nature that directly affects the future health of our citizens and environment,'' Sisneros said Friday in an e-mail responding to questions by The Associated Press.
A law enacted last year limits the value of gifts from lobbyists or their clients to state officials and legislators.
However, the law allows government officials and state employees to accept an expense-paid trip if it was for a "bona fide educational program'' directly related to their official duties.
Last year, King's office issued an advisory letter that said the law's educational program provision allowed legislators to accept a trip to the Netherlands to tour the uranium enrichment plant that's a model for the one being built in New Mexico.
Sisneros said the attorney general's office "is a major watchdog for protecting New Mexico's environment so it makes sense that Dr. King's expertise as a scientist and his position as AG could be used to the benefit of the state.''
King has a doctorate degree in organic chemistry and has worked on nuclear waste issues.
LES has organized and paid for trips to the Netherlands plant for several years, inviting legislators and other government officials such as members of Gov. Bill Richardson's staff.
Under the law, there's a $250 limit on the value of individual gifts that can be accepted by a state official, employee or candidate for state office.
There's a yearly cap of $1,000 on the combined value of gifts that can be given to any one state government official or employee by a lobbyist, their employer or government contractor. The gift restriction cover items including food, lodging, transportation and tickets to sporting events or entertainment.
When the Legislature is in session, lobbyists must disclose expenditures of $500 or more within 48 hours of incurring the expense. Those reports showed spending of about $214,000 during this year's 30-day session.
Reports filed this week were for expenditures of less than $500 during the session and any spending since then. According to those latest reports:
_A beer distributor, Premier Distributing, provided tickets to a professional bull riding show to a legislator, Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Española. The tickets were valued at $208.
_BNSF Railway paid $2,656 for a dinner and reception for legislators and company employees in late February after the legislative session. Those attending were members of a House committee that handles transportation legislation and senators who serve on a transportation panel of the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Richardson administration negotiated a $76 million deal with the railroad in 2005 to buy about 300 miles of track for the state to operate a commuter rail service.
_A House subcommittee that doles out money for capital improvements was treated during the session to a dinner costing at least $2,900 by a group of lobbyists, including those representing universities and municipalities. The Legislature approved spending more than a half billion dollars for capital projects this year.
Groups of lobbyists often jointly pay for many dinners and receptions. However, it's usually not possible to determine the full cost of those events based on the expenditure reports filed with the state. There's no requirement for lobbyists to disclose what percentage of an event's cost they paid or to identify all the people who shared the expenses.
Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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