One signature away from becoming law, lobbyists worry over reporting bill

SANTA FE — Some New Mexico lobbyists say a bill headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk is a targeted, logistical nightmare, but backers say more transparency from individuals who work to influence legislators is long overdue.

Sitting on the governor’s desk is legislation that would require lobbyists, or their employers, to file “lobbyist activity reports” disclosing stances on bills they’re influencing, and, if positions change, to update their stances within 48 hours.

The legislation, which has failed repeatedly to pass the Legislature in the past, surprised even the bill’s sponsors in its passage of both chambers.

Currently, lobbyists only need to publicly report who’s employing them and money spent to benefit legislators for lobbying purposes. Bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, described that as negligible, “next to nothing.”

So he’s been working for years to pass additional reporting legislation, only to have it fail time and time again. He said transparency changes are some of the most difficult measures to pass in the Roundhouse, and this year’s passage of House Bill 143 shows the uphill battle is worth it.

“It’s given me a hope that we can continue to fight for big things and fight for transparency and good government,” Steinborn said.

Who’s at the table

The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee passed the bill over the weekend. Charlie Marquez, a contract lobbyist who doesn’t support the legislation, said leadership initially said it would be rolled — at which point he left the committee — but ultimately heard it.

That was the last chance for public comment, as the bill went to the full Senate after that and then the full House again.

“Lobbyists have a lot to bring to the table, and I think they should be at the table helping craft legislation like this,” said J.D. Bullington, a big-name lobbyist of 28 years representing more than 20 clients this year. Both he and Marquez said nobody asked them for input on the bill.

Steinborn said he didn’t really confer with lobbyists when crafting the legislation, which he described as straightforward.

“They never liked it, and they never wanted it,” he said.

Co-sponsor Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, said the lobbyists she reached out to either would only support the measure off the record or didn’t respond.

Silva also expected more of a fight getting it through the House floor again for concurrence, a process of agreement when the other chamber makes changes to a bill. But in about a minute on Wednesday evening, the House floor agreed to send the bill to the governor.

It was different from the version the House sent over to the Senate, which Republicans amended to include restrictions on spending money on meals and beverages for legislators. The Senate stripped that out. Republicans voted against the bill in the House as well as the Senate.

Silva said the last time the Legislature passed a major transparency bill — updating the Lobbyist Regulation Act — was six years ago. Lujan Grisham signed that measure, which gives her hope now.

“I am just really excited that folks that can’t make it to the Roundhouse (could) now have a better, more true picture of what happens here,” she said, “because these are their bills, this is their Roundhouse, and they can’t be here full time.”

While the bill sponsors said they haven’t heard anything from the Governor’s Office, they’re relieved it’s at least through the Legislature. Lujan Grisham has until April 11 to sign or veto the legislation.

Red flags

The bill has raised red flags for some lobbyists, who are concerned HB143 would worsen existing logistical issues and be overly burdensome. The lobbying activity for specific bills would be linked on the Legislature’s website alongside the bills.

Bullington said this has the potential to create a “logistical nightmare” for the Secretary of State’s Office, where reports are filed, and the Legislative Council Service, which would have to update the Legislature website to post the filings alongside bills.

The secretary of state’s filing system is also incredibly difficult to navigate, according to Marquez, who said it took two months for him to get through the registration process this year because of a glitch in the system.

Both lobbyists said they might support less burdensome filing requirements. Marquez said reporting should only be required once every 30 days in a session, and Bullington suggested filing one report at the end of the session.

Steinborn said the filing will become second nature, and the bill doesn’t go into effect, if signed, until 2027 so the Secretary of State’s Office can work out all the technical kinks.

“So no, it’s not overly burdensome, or maybe even burdensome,” he said.

A legislative analysis of the bill describes it as a modernization effort that follows nationwide trends.

Dick Mason, an unpaid lobbyist for the League of Women Voters, echoed the sentiment and said even still, many other states will have better transparency measures than New Mexico.

“It’s not a question of trust (for lobbyists). It’s a question of putting the information out there,” Mason said.

Still, the measure could act as an impetus for now-disconcerted contracted lobbyists to form an organization of their own to lobby on their positions.

“I think there’s going to be more conversations about the professional lobbyists organizing a little more formally to better represent our profession,” Bullington said.