1. A. The commission has jurisdiction to enforce the applicable civil compliance provisions for public officials, public employees, candidates, persons subject to the Campaign Reporting Act [1-19-25 to 1-19-36 NMSA 1978], government contractors, lobbyists and lobbyists' employers of:

   1. (1) the Campaign Reporting Act;
   2. (2) the Financial Disclosure Act [Chapter 10, Article 16A NMSA 1978];
   3. (3) the Gift Act [10-16B-1 to 10-16B-4 NMSA 1978];
   4. (4) the Lobbyist Regulation Act [Chapter 2, Article 11 NMSA 1978];
   5. (5) the Voter Action Act [1-19A-1 to 1-19A-17 NMSA 1978];
   6. (6) the Governmental Conduct Act [Chapter 10, Article 16 NMSA 1978];
   7. (7) the Procurement Code [13-1-28 to 13-1-199 NMSA 1978];
   8. (8) the State Ethics Commission Act;
   9. (9) the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts [Chapter 14, Article 14A NMSA 1978]; and
   10. (10) Article 9, Section 14 of the constitution of New Mexico.
2. B. All complaints filed with a public agency regarding the statutes listed in Subsection A of this section shall be forwarded to the commission.
3. C. The commission may choose to act on some or all aspects of a complaint and forward other aspects of a complaint to another state or federal agency with jurisdiction over the matter in accordance with Subsection E of this section.
4. D. If the commission decides not to act on a complaint, whether the complaint was filed with the commission or forwarded from another public agency, or decides only to act on part of a complaint, the commission shall promptly forward the complaint, or any part of a complaint on which it does not wish to act, to the public agency that has appropriate jurisdiction within ten days of the decision. The complainant and respondent shall be notified in writing when the complainant's request has been forwarded to another agency unless otherwise provided pursuant to Subsection H of Section 10-16G-10 NMSA 1978.
5. E. The commission may share jurisdiction with other public agencies having authority to act on a complaint or any aspect of a complaint. Such shared jurisdiction shall be formalized through an agreement entered into by all participating agencies involved with the complaint and the director. The commission may also investigate a complaint referred to the commission by the legislature, or a legislative committee, in accordance with an agreement entered into pursuant to policies of the New Mexico legislative council or rules of the house of representatives or senate.
6. F. The commission may file a court action to enforce the civil compliance provisions of an act listed in Subsection A of this section. The court action shall be filed in the district court in the county where the defendant resides.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 9; 2021, ch. 21, § 33; 2021, ch. 109, § 16.

ANNOTATIONS

2021 Multiple Amendments. — Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 33, effective January 1, 2022, and Laws 2021, ch. 109, § 16, effective July 1, 2021, enacted different amendments to this section that can be reconciled. Pursuant to 12-1-8 NMSA 1978, Laws 2021, ch. 109, § 16, as the last act signed by the governor, is set out above and incorporates both amendments. The amendments enacted by Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 33 and Laws 2021, ch. 109, § 16 are described below. To view the session laws in their entirety, see the 2021 session laws on NMOneSource.com.

The nature of the difference between the amendments is that Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 33, included the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts in the list of acts over which the state ethics commission has jurisdiction to enforce, and Laws 2021, ch. 109, § 16, required that court actions filed pursuant to this section be filed in the district court in the county where the defendant resides.

Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 33, effective January 1, 2022, included the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts in the list of acts over which the state ethics commission has jurisdiction to enforce, and made a technical amendment; in Subsection A, added a new Paragraph A(9) and redesignated former Paragraph A(9) as Paragraph A(10); and in Subsection D, after "Subsection H of Section", deleted "10 of the State Ethics Commission Act" and added "10-16G-10 NMSA 1978".

Laws 2021, ch. 109, § 16, effective July 1, 2021, required that court actions filed pursuant to this section be filed in the district court in the county where the defendant resides; and in Subsection F, after "in the county where the", deleted "respondent" and added "defendant".

Applicability. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 40 provided that the provisions of the State Ethics Commission Act apply only to conduct occurring on or after July 1, 2019.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 37 provided that:

A. By October 1, 2021, the state ethics commission shall submit a report to the legislature and the office of the governor regarding whether to extend commission jurisdiction.

B. If the report recommends extension of the state ethics commission's jurisdiction, the report shall address:

(1) a detailed plan for implementation of an extension of the commission's jurisdiction and a proposed timeline for the implementation;

(2) the estimated number of additional employees and other resources needed by the commission to perform its expanded duties;

(3) estimated budget increases needed for the commission to perform its expanded duties; and

(4) recommended changes to existing law.

The state ethics commission has jurisdiction to enforce the registration and reporting requirements of the Lobbyist Regulation Act against all "persons," both individuals and organizations. — Where petitioner conducted a digital lobbying advertising campaign, spending $36,000 on that campaign and then registering with the secretary of state, as required by the Lobbyist Regulation Act (LRA), 2-11-6(I) NMSA 1978, and filing the required expenditure report, but failing to list the identity of the contributors to its advertising campaign, the amounts contributed by each, and each contributor's address and employment, and where, in response to a complaint filed with the state ethics commission (commission) alleging that petitioner violated 2-11-6(I) NMSA 1978, petitioner filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that the commission did not have jurisdiction to enforce 2-11-6(I) NMSA 1978, and where, following a hearing officer's denial of petitioner's motion to dismiss, petitioner filed a verified petition for writ of mandamus with the district court, asking the district court to issue its writ ordering the commission to cease all proceedings against petitioner and to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction, claiming that 10-16G-9(A) NMSA 1978 of the State Ethics Commission Act limited the commission's jurisdiction to an individual who is a "lobbyist" or to that "lobbyist's employer," as defined by 2-11-2(E) NMSA 1978 and 2-11-2(F) NMSA 1978, respectively, the district court erred in concluding that the commission lacked jurisdiction to proceed, because the sole issue before the commission was whether an organization which engages in a lobbying advertising campaign is a "person" within the commission's enforcement jurisdiction, and by using the word "person" in the State Ethics Commission Act (ECA) to define the term "lobbyist," the legislature intended to include organizations, associations, and other legal or commercial entities within the definition of "lobbyists." Individuals and organizations that are required by any provision of the LRA to register with the secretary of state, are "lobbyists," as the ECA defines the term, and therefore the legislature granted the commission jurisdiction to enforce the registration and reporting requirements of the LRA against all "persons," both individuals and organizations, that are required by the terms of the LRA to register with the secretary of state. N.M. Fams. Forward v. N.M. State Ethics Comm'n, 2025-NMCA-016, cert. denied.