Former State Sen. Dede Feldman

COMMUNITY News:

The Voices of Los Alamos will meet 6:30-7:30 p.m. today at the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos. The meeting will feature former New Mexico Sen. Dede Feldman who will discuss the creation of an independent ethics commission at the state legislature.

The creation of an independent ethics commission would guarantee oversight and accountability for state officials and politicians.

In the last election, New Mexicans voted to create “a seven-member state ethics commission tasked with investigating alleged violations of ethical conduct by state officials, executive and legislative employees, candidates, lobbyists, government contractors, and others as provided by law.”

The Independent State Ethics Commission would do the following:

• Oversee the conduct of state officers, public employees, contractors and lobbyists.
• Serve as a resource for officials to get guidance on issues and provide ethics training.
• Investigate complaints alleging violations of standards of conduct, campaign finance reporting requirements or other disclosure requirements.
• Adjudicate complaints that are found to have enough evidence to proceed to a hearing.
• Have the authority to issue subpoenas and compel witnesses.
• Impose fines and sanctions where violations are found.
• Forward complaints with potential criminal implications to the appropriate agencies.
• Conduct its work in public to the extent permitted by the enabling legislation.

Two bills are being considered in the current legislature that would enact the ethics commission: HB 4 and SB 619. Feldman will discuss the issues at stake and how the two proposed bills differ. During the meeting we will also have brief updates on the Health Security Act and legislature currently followed by the League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety.

Feldman represented the North Valley of Albuquerque from 1997-2012 in the state senate where she served as chairman of both the powerful Public Affairs Committee and the interim Health and Human Services Committee. She is best known for health care legislation (including measures to control health insurance premiums and create a brain injury services fund, as well as ethics and campaign finance reform (public financing of PRC and judicial races, limits on campaign contributions). She is a former journalist, adjunct professor of Political Science at UNM and currently trains aspiring leaders, reformers and candidates, and the author of the books Inside the New Mexico Senate: Boots, Suits, and Citizens and Another Way Forward. More information on both books and ordering information can be found at www.dedefeldman.com.

Voices of Los Alamos is a non-partisan, progressive advocacy group created as a way for Los Alamos residents to voice their concerns over current political events, both at the state and federal levels. VOLA strives to build community, educate, discuss, and enact action plans, with a focus on the following issues: social justice, women’s rights, human rights, education, environment, health care, gun safety and election reform.