Attorney General outlines legislative priorities

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, a former legislator himself, said he plans to propose a number of measures to lawmakers meeting in Santa Fe for the state’s 50th Legislative Session.

His wish list includes ethics and campaign finance reforms, and Forfeiture and Drug law revisions to apply to real property seizures, along with several others.

Ethics reform was a focus of King's first term as AG and this year he plans to urge the Legislature to enact a law that prohibits government contractors from donating funds to the government officials with whom they contract, and to require full disclosure of all funds either given to them in the past or directed to other organizations, including nonprofits, at the request of the elected officials.”

King said that he wants all local government employees to be subject to the Governmental Conduct Act, the same law that state officers and workers are bound by.

King, who served 12 years in the New Mexico House of Representatives before losing his 2004 congressional bid to Rep. Steve Pearce, said his measures are “designed to improve the lives and protect the well being of all New Mexicans.”

King’s 2011 priorities (from a news release):

• Ethics and Campaign Finance Reforms, focusing on enhanced campaign practice and government contractor disclosures. I am particularly interested in helping New Mexico enact a good, strong public disclosure law so that at a minimum all funds used for political campaign purposes, and all of the sources for those funds, are fully disclosed. Additionally, I will again urge the Legislature to enact a law that prohibits government contractors from donating funds to the government officials with whom they contract, and to require full disclosure of all funds either given to them in the past or directed to other organizations, including nonprofits, at the request of the elected officials. I intend to renew my request to have all local governments subject to the same main Ethics law that governs state officers and employees, the Governmental Conduct Act. This will incorporate a patchwork of Ethics laws into one Code, and be applicable statewide.
• DWI and Underage Drinking Prevention...McKinley County has successfully used its ability to raise additional revenues to address serious alcohol and drug abuse problems; that option should be expanded statewide so that the voters in every state county can decide whether they want to tax sales of alcohol to provide additional funds to address alcohol and drug abuse problems.
• Domestic Violence law improvements, especially to protect victims using Uniform Orders of Protection.
• Criminal Law Enforcement initiatives, including Securities Laws enhancements, Child Pornography law amendments and Animal Cruelty law revisions.
• Border Violence and Drug Enforcement issues such as Money Laundering Act revisions to update property crime violations and Administrative subpoenas for computer and bank records to investigate and prosecute sexual exploitation; ID theft and computer crimes; Forfeiture and Drug law revisions to apply to real property seizures and authorize community service improvements.
• Consumer Protection proposals, such as a Usury cap on small loans and mortgage foreclosure practice reforms to protect innocent homeowners.
• General Fund increased revenues for the State, including strengthening the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act and Tobacco law amendments to maximize the State’s access to full recoveries.