Good News: New Mexico Legislature Upgrades Its Public Financing System
On Wednesday, the New Mexico State House followed the
Senate, by a vote of 68-0, in passing legislation to update
the state's public financing system for judicial and Public
Regulation Commission elections. It now heads to Governor
Suzanna Martinez's (R) desk for a final signature.
The legislation is in response to the Supreme Court's 2011
decision in Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett, in which
the Court threw out so-called "trigger funds" that were an
integral part of "Clean Elections" systems like those in
New Mexico, Arizona, Maine, North Carolina and
Connecticut.
"If Gov. Martinez signs S.16 into law, New Mexico will be a
trailblazer in strengthening its public financing proposal
after the Supreme Court struck down trigger provisions in
Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett," said Bob Edgar with
Common Cause, the leading organization on the ground tha
The Common Cause-supported bill had broad, bipartisan
support and will allow candidates who run in competitive
campaigns to raise small dollar contributions from
individuals and get a four to one match."
The Voter Action Act replaces the trigger funds with a
constitutional small donor matching system. After
candidates for the Public Regulation Commission and
judicial races qualify for public financing and receive
their initial grant, they would, under this new bill, be
able to continue raising small donations that would be
matched on a 4-1 basis, similar to what has been proposed
in the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress.
This is an important update to the system, which ensures
participating candidates can continue to run competitive
campaigns against privately financed candidates or big
outside spenders.
New Mexico is one of several states pushing such reforms
across the country this year. A West Virginia State House
committee has passed legislation to extend the state's
judicial public financing program. the Hawaii State House
passed a bill last week to bring public financing to state
legislative races, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)
has been taking serious steps toward moving a Fair
Elections system forward there.
While the Supreme Court remains hostile to common sense
campaign finance regulations, states like New Mexico and
others are showing there are steps that can be taken to
raise the voices of everyday people in the political
process. On Wednesday, the New Mexico State House followed
the Senate, by a vote of 68-0, in passing legislation to
update the state's public financing system for judicial and
Public Regulation Commission elections. It now heads to
Governor Suzanna Martinez's (R) desk for a final
signature.
The legislation is in response to the Supreme Court's 2011
decision in Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett, in which
the Court threw out so-called "trigger funds" that were an
integral part of "Clean Elections" systems like those in
New Mexico, Arizona, Maine, North Carolina and
Connecticut.
"If Gov. Martinez signs S.16 into law, New Mexico will be a
trailblazer in strengthening its public financing proposal
after the Supreme Court struck down trigger provisions in
Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett," said Bob Edgar with
Common Cause, the leading organization on the ground tha
The Common Cause-supported bill had broad, bipartisan
support and will allow candidates who run in competitive
campaigns to raise small dollar contributions from
individuals and get a four to one match."
The Voter Action Act replaces the trigger funds with a
constitutional small donor matching system. After
candidates for the Public Regulation Commission and
judicial races qualify for public financing and receive
their initial grant, they would, under this new bill, be
able to continue raising small donations that would be
matched on a 4-1 basis, similar to what has been proposed
in the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress.
This is an important update to the system, which ensures
participating candidates can continue to run competitive
campaigns against privately financed candidates or big
outside spenders.
New Mexico is one of several states pushing such reforms
across the country this year. A West Virginia State House
committee has passed legislation to extend the state's
judicial public financing program. the Hawaii State House
passed a bill last week to bring public financing to state
legislative races, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)
has been taking serious steps toward moving a Fair
Elections system forward there.
While the Supreme Court remains hostile to common sense
campaign finance regulations, states like New Mexico and
others are showing there are steps that can be taken to
raise the voices of everyday people in the political
process.
See the article on Public Campaign website
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