New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver

From the Office of the Secretary of State:

SANTA FE – New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver will provide two lobbyist trainings for the 2019 New Mexico legislative session covering lobbyist registration, reporting requirements and sexual harassment.

The trainings are 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Jan. 10 and 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17 in room 238 of the Bataan Memorial Building in Santa Fe.

“These sexual harassment trainings are part of my ongoing commitment to ensure that the Roundhouse is a safe space for everyone who works or visits there,” Secretary Toulouse Oliver said. “We all have a role to play in preventing sexual harassment and in speaking up for victims. Trainings like these are essential for understanding what constitutes sexual harassment, how to recognize it, and how to put a stop to it.”

Beginning in 2018, Secretary Toulouse Oliver required all registered lobbyists to indicate whether they have existing sexual harassment policies in place and whether they have received any sexual harassment training since the last legislative session.

The responses provided by the lobbyists are available to the public in a searchable format on the Secretary of State’s website. As the Secretary of State’s Office still does not have legal authority to mandate sexual harassment training for lobbyists, the 2019 trainings are voluntary.

During the 2018 legislative session, Secretary Toulouse Oliver helped craft legislation with Rep. Liz Thomson, Rep. Jim Dines and Rep. Angelica Rubio to require all New Mexico lobbyists to participate in annual training to prevent sexual harassment before being allowed to work during a legislative session. The bill also provided a process for any person to file complaints with the Secretary of State’s Office if they are sexually harassed by a lobbyist.

Secretary Toulouse Oliver is again working with Rep. Thomson in the upcoming 2019 legislative session to pass a bill that would require mandatory harassment training for lobbyists.

Secretary Toulouse Oliver also provides all lobbyists with draft sexual harassment policies and background information on how to recognize and prevent harassment. The draft policies are available to help lobbyists establish sexual harassment policies in their own offices or to improve upon existing policies.