1. A. Each lobbyist who receives compensation or lobbyist's employer who makes or incurs expenditures or makes political contributions for the benefit of or in opposition to a state legislator or candidate for the state legislature, a state public officer or candidate for state public office, a board or commission member or state employee who is involved in an official action affecting the lobbyist's employer or in support of or in opposition to a ballot issue or pending legislation or official action shall file an expenditure report with the secretary of state using an electronic reporting system approved by the secretary of state in accordance with Section 2-11-7 NMSA 1978. The expenditure report shall include a sworn statement that sets forth:

   1. (1) the cumulative total of all individual expenditures of less than one hundred dollars ($100) made or incurred by the employer or lobbyist during the covered reporting period, separated into the following categories:

      1. (a) meals and beverages;
      2. (b) other entertainment expenditures; and
      3. (c) other expenditures;

   2. (2) each individual expenditure of one hundred dollars ($100) or more made or incurred by the employer or lobbyist during the covered reporting period, indicating the amount spent and a description of the expenditure. The list shall be separated into the following categories:

      1. (a) meals and beverages;
      2. (b) other entertainment expenditures; and
      3. (c) other expenditures;
   3. (3) each political contribution made, and whether the contribution is from the lobbyist's employer or the lobbyist on the lobbyist's own behalf, identified by amount, date and name of the candidate or ballot issue supported or opposed; and
   4. (4) the names, addresses, employers and occupations of other contributors and the amounts of their separate political contributions if the lobbyist or lobbyist's employer delivers directly or indirectly separate contributions from those contributors to a candidate, a campaign committee or anyone authorized by a candidate to receive funds on the candidate's behalf.
2. B. The expenditure report shall be filed electronically and shall be electronically authenticated by the lobbyist or the lobbyist's employer using an electronic signature as prescribed by the secretary of state in conformance with the Electronic Authentication of Documents Act [14-15-1 to 14-15-6 NMSA 1978] and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act [Chapter 14, Article 16 NMSA 1978]. For the purposes of the Lobbyist Regulation Act, a report that is electronically authenticated in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to have been subscribed and sworn to by the lobbyist or the lobbyist's employer that is required to file the report.
3. C. In identifying expenditures pursuant to the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection A of this section, in the case of special events, including parties, dinners, athletic events, entertainment and other functions, to which all members of the legislature, to which all members of either house or any legislative committee or to which all members of a board or commission are invited, expenses need not be allocated to each individual who attended, but the date, location, name of the body invited and total expenses incurred shall be reported.
4. D. A lobbyist who accepts compensation for lobbying but does not incur expenditures or make political contributions during a reporting period may file a statement of no activity in lieu of a full report for that period in accordance with the reporting schedule in Subsection E of this section.

5. E. The reports required pursuant to the provisions of the Lobbyist Regulation Act shall be filed:

   1. (1) no later than January 15 for all expenditures and political contributions made or incurred during the preceding year and not previously reported;
   2. (2) within forty-eight hours for each separate expenditure made or incurred during a legislative session that was for five hundred dollars ($500) or more;
   3. (3) no later than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in May for all expenditures and political contributions made or incurred through the first Monday in May of the current year and not previously reported; and
   4. (4) no later than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in October for all expenditures and political contributions made or incurred through the first Monday in October of the current year and not previously reported.
6. F. A lobbyist's personal living expenses and the expenses incidental to establishing and maintaining an office in connection with lobbying activities or compensation paid to a lobbyist by a lobbyist's employer need not be reported.
7. G. A lobbyist or lobbyist's employer shall obtain and preserve all records, accounts, bills, receipts, books, papers and documents necessary to substantiate the financial statements required to be made under the Lobbyist Regulation Act for a period of two years from the date of filing of the report containing such items. When the lobbyist is required under the terms of the lobbyist's employment to turn over any such records to the lobbyist's employer, responsibility for the preservation of them as required by this section and the filing of reports required by this section shall rest with the employer. Such records shall be made available to the secretary of state or attorney general upon written request.
8. H. A lobbyist's employer who also engages in lobbying shall also comply with the provisions of this section. A lobbyist and the lobbyist's employer shall coordinate their reporting to ensure that the contributions and expenditures that each have reported are not duplicative.
9. I. An organization of two or more persons, including an individual who makes any representation as being an organization, that within one calendar year expends funds in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) not otherwise reported under the Lobbyist Regulation Act to conduct an advertising campaign for the purpose of lobbying shall register with the secretary of state within forty-eight hours after expending two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). Such registration shall indicate the name of the organization and the names, addresses and occupations of any of its principals, organizers or officers and shall include the name of any lobbyist or lobbyist's employer who is a member of the organization. Within fifteen days after a legislative session, the organization shall report the contributions, pledges to contribute, expenditures and commitments to expend for the advertising campaign for the purpose of lobbying, including the names, addresses, employers and occupations of the contributors, to the secretary of state on a prescribed form.

History: 1953 Comp., § 2-13-6, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 261, § 6; 1985, ch. 16, § 3; 1993, ch. 46, § 21; 1994, ch. 84, § 2; 1995, ch. 153, § 20; 1997, ch. 112, § 6; 2005, ch. 330, § 1; 2015, ch. 56, § 2; 2016, ch. 13, § 3; 2019, ch. 35, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, changed lobbyist reporting requirements by requiring cumulative reporting of expenses incurred under $100; in Subsection A, added a new Paragraph A(1) and redesignated former Paragraphs A(1) through A(3) as Paragraphs A(2) through A(4), respectively, and in Paragraph A(2), after "each", added "individual"; in Subsection C, after "pursuant to the provisions of", deleted "Paragraph" and added "Paragraphs", and after "(1)", added "and (2)"; and in Subsection E, in Paragraphs E(1), E(3) and E(4), deleted "by 11:59 p.m. on" and added "no later than".

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, established additional reporting requirements for lobbyists; in Subsection A, in the introductory paragraph, after "Each lobbyist", added "who receives compensation", after "expenditures or", added "makes", after the first occurrence of "secretary of state", deleted "on a prescribed form or in an electronic format" and added "using an electronic reporting system", and after the second occurrence of "secretary of state", deleted "and published by the secretary of state", in Paragraph (1), after the paragraph designation, deleted "the cumulative total of the expenditures" and added "each expenditure of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more", deleted Subparagraph (c) and redesignated the succeeding subparagraph accordingly, in Paragraph (2), after "contribution made", added "and whether the contribution is from the lobbyist’s employer or the lobbyist on the lobbyist’s own behalf", in Paragraph (3), after "addresses", added "employers", and after "those contributors", deleted "in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) in the aggregate for each election"; in Subsection B, deleted "If", after "expenditure report", deleted "is" and added "shall be", and after "filed electronically", deleted "the report" and added "and"; in Subsection C, after "Subsection A of this section", deleted "any individual expenditure that is more than the threshold level established in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that must be reported separately to claim a business expense deduction, as published by the secretary of state, shall be identified by amount, date, purpose, type of expenditure and name of the person who received or was benefited by the expenditure; provided"; added new Subsection D and redesignated the succeeding subsections accordingly; in Subsection E, Paragraph (1), after "by", added "11:59 p.m. on", in Paragraph (2), after the semicolon, deleted "and", in Paragraph (3), after "by", deleted "May 1" and added "11:59 p.m. on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in May", after "incurred through", deleted "April 25" and added "the first Monday in May", and after the semicolon, added "and", and added new Paragraph (4); in Subsection H, added the second sentence; and in Subsection I, in the third sentence, after "addresses", added "employers".

The 2015 amendment, effective June 19, 2015, amended the reporting requirements for each lobbyist and lobbyist’s employer; in the introductory paragraph of Subsection A, after the second occurrence of "secretary of state", added "and published by the secretary of state in accordance with Section 2-11-7 NMSA 1978"; in Subsection A, Paragraph (1), after "incurred", deleted "separated into categories that identify the total separate amounts spent on" and added "by the employer or lobbyist during the covered reporting period indicating the amount spent and a description of the expenditure. The list shall be separated into the following categories"; in Subsection G, deleted "Any" and added "A", after "provisions of", deleted "the Lobbyist Regulation Act" and added "this section"; and in Subsection H, after "individual who", deleted "holds himself out" and added "makes any representation", and after "as" added "being".

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, deleted the former provision in Subsection B, which provided that the report shall be subscribed and sworn to in an independent affidavit that shall be delivered to the secretary of state within forty-eight hours after the expenditure report is electronically filed, and also provided that the report shall be electronically authenticated using an electronic signature and that a report that is electronically authenticated shall be deemed to have been subscribed and sworn to by the lobbyist or lobbyist's employer.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, substituted "forty-eight hours" for "ten days after a legislative session ends" and made a minor stylistic change in Paragraph D(2) and substituted "through April 25 of the current year and not previously reported" for "since the January filing" in Paragraph D(3).

The 1995 amendment, effective June 16, 1995, substituted "report" for "statement" in the section heading; in Subsection A, inserted "an expenditure report" and the language beginning "or in an" and ending "shall include" in the introductory language, deleted a provision relating to dating contributions made by mail in Paragraph (2), and inserted "and the amounts of their separate political contributions" following "contributors" in Paragraph (3); added Subsection B and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; in Subsection D, deleted "semiannually" following "filed" and rewrote Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3); in Subsection F, added "records" following "preserve all" and substituted "report" for "statement" near the end of the first sentence; and in Subsection H, deleted "and expenditures" following "contributors" and made a minor stylistic change.

The 1994 amendment, effective May 18,1994, in Subsection A, deleted "a ballot issue or" following "public office," and inserted "or in support of or in opposition to a ballot issue or pending legislation or official action" near the end of the introductory paragraph; and added Paragraph A(3) and Subsection G.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, rewrote this section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.

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.

Energy company's payment of legislators' expenses incidental to an educational tour must be reported as a lobbyist expenditure. — Payments for expenses related to a series of educational programs for members of the New Mexico legislature, from an energy company that is proposing to build a nuclear waste storage facility in southeastern New Mexico, are required to be reported by the energy company in a filing with the secretary of state, because 2-11-6(A) NMSA 1978 requires each lobbyist's employer who makes or incurs expenditures for the benefit of a state legislator that is involved in an official action affecting the lobbyist's employer, or in support of or in opposition to pending legislation or official action, to file an expenditure report with the secretary of state. 2020 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2020-03.

The Lobbyist Regulation Act does not limit communications between a legislator and a lobbyist. — The Lobbyist Regulation Act, 2-11-1 to 2-11-10 NMSA 1978, requires lobbyists to make certain financial disclosures as well as disclosures regarding the matters in reference to which they are lobbying, but the Lobbyist Regulation Act does not constrain any communications between a legislator and a lobbyist employed by an entity that contracts with or employs the legislator, nor does it constrain communications between a legislator and the board members or employees of an entity that employs or contracts with the legislator. 2022 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2022-06.

An organization's reception for legislators that includes incidental mention of legislation by speakers does not violate the New Mexico lobbying regulations. — A reception hosted by an organization for legislators that is designed to provide informational speakers is more akin to a social event, but if the expenditures of the reception are in support of or in opposition to pending legislation or official action consistent with the organization's legislative platform, the organization may be required to file an expenditure report to that effect. If individual members of the organization independently speak with legislators regarding specific legislation, they may also have registration or reporting requirements if they meet the definition of lobbyists. However, if the members approach the legislators on their own behalf, rather than acting to advance the organization's official legislative agenda, they would fall under an exception to the definition of "lobbyists". 2025 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2025-06.