Constitutional Amendment #2 on the November ballot will provide New Mexico with an independent Ethics Commission. A change in Senate leadership in 2017 allowed the bill creating the commission to come up for vote. It passed both houses of the legislature and now comes before the citizens of New Mexico.
The amendment provides for a 7-member commission: 1 appointed by the governor, 1 appointed by each of the house and senate majority and minority leaders and 2 appointed by the first five, with no more than three members from any one party. This composition will ensure its independence.
Perhaps most important, the commission will have jurisdiction over all elected and appointed state officials, employees, lobbyists and contractors in both the executive and legislative branches of state government.
The commission will have subpoena power, giving it the power to require public records and citizens to come forward.
The American Association of University Women of New Mexico has worked tirelessly for more than twenty years for this ethics commission. New Mexico needs both the transparency and trust it will bring to our government.
Vote “yes” for Constitutional Amendment #2.