susanamartinezethicsplan

8/9/2019 susanamartinezethicsplan

1/5

FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE:July 28, 2010

CONTACT:[email protected] Number: (505) 872-2070

SUSANA MARTINEZS PLAN TOCRACK DOWN ON CORRUPTION

A Bold Agenda For Fighting CorruptionPublic corruption is a deep and unacceptable scourge that has befallenNew Mexico and threatens every aspect of life in our state. Thiscorruption has resulted in inflated budgets and costs that are passed ontoevery one of us in the form of higher taxes and lost jobs. In a time ofhistoric budget deficits, the consequences are catastrophic. There hasbeen a massive failure on the part of the Richardson/Denish Administrationin this area resulting in one of the most corrupt state governments in NewMexico history where pay-to-play has become a household term. Some

in state government feel they are above the law. They have abused theirpositions and the public trust and left our state weakened and vulnerablein pursuit of personal gain. To rectify this, I have established aframework that allows us to reform how state government functions so wecan eliminate corruption and deliver bold change for New Mexico Wemust restore integrity and trust in our government. That starts on day oneof a Martinez Administration as real leadership with a record of fightingmalfeasance and holding people to account will arrive in Santa Fe. Theacceptance of a culture of corruption will finally come to an end, and anew culture of zero tolerance and responsibility will be instilled in the

Roundhouse as we once again serve the people we represent.

MEANINGFUL ENFORCEMENT

Public corruption is a serious crime and must be treated as such. We muststrengthen our enforcement mechanisms and provide real consequencesfor corruption. There will be zero tolerance for violating the public trust in


2/5

a Martinez Administration.

Failure To Report Elected officials have a responsibility to the publicto report crimes of violating the public trust. Failure to report theseacts should be a

crime.

Loss Of Contract Status/Lobbyist Registration Lifetime ban forany contractor of the state or lobbyist convicted of violating thepublic trust.

Public Corruption Division A new Public Corruption Division shouldbe created within the New Mexico State Police. The division will becharged with collecting tips from the public on governmentcorruption through a new public corruption hotline, investigatingacts that violate the public trust and referring any cases forprosecution to the properauthority.

Harsh Sentences For Public Corruption For public officials orpublic employees convicted of violating the public trust, the

sentence should be severe. For each of these individuals theyshould face harsh felony consequences along with minimummandatory imprisonment.

Increased Penalties For any elected official or public employeeconvicted of violating the public trust for personal gain, they mustsurrender their accrued pensions as well as face a fine not greaterthan their salary.

Elected Official Removal From Office Those convicted of a crimefor any felony or crime of moral turpitude, while serving in office

should be immediately removed from office upon conviction andbarred from elective office for life.

ELIMINATING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Disclosing & Avoiding Conflicts All appointed members of theMartinez administration will file personal financial disclosureinformation to ensure their work for the public does not benefit


3/5

themselves, their family or their business associates. All financialdisclosure statements will be posted online for easy access by thepublic.

Capital Outlay Reform We must eliminate conflicts from the capitaloutlay process. Legislators should be prohibited from appropriatingfunds that benefit any private company or organization with whomthey have financial interests or government entity controlled byrelatives. Each capital outlay request must have an affidavit by thesponsoring legislator stating that they, their family or businessassociates will not benefit from the capital outlay funds. Thosefound in violation of the policy will face penalties.

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN REFORM

Campaign Report Examinations Currently, the Secretary of Statemust examine 10% of all campaign reports at random. Theseexaminations should be posted online with a report of how manywere conducted, what discrepancies were discovered and what isbeing done to remedy the problems that wereuncovered.

Increased Campaign Reporting Campaign contributions too oftenfly under the radar in New Mexico, with too much time betweenreporting cycles, especially in non-election years. To help increase

transparency we need to move to a year-round, real-time campaignreporting system. This will help to identify who is giving tocampaigns and who is receiving, helping to root-out pay-to-playissues.

LOBBYING REFORM

Implement Cooling Off Period Legislators and members of aMartinez Administration will be prohibited from lobbying for two-years after leaving the legislature or leaving the administration. Byimplementing a two-year waiting period before legislators and

members of the executive can become lobbyists, it will ensure thatwe close any revolving doors and ensure there have been noinappropriate relationships between those in decision-makingpositions and those seeking to do business with the state. Currentlylegislators are excluded from this provision in the GovernmentalConductAct.


4/5

Limit Government Lobbying Currently, state agencies are allowed

to utilize the services of paid lobbyists to advocate for or against billsduring a legislative session. No department or agency should beallowed to use taxpayer funds to lobby the legislature. Cabinetofficials and departments of government have many talentedindividuals who are experts in their field. As a savings to stategovernment these secretaries, deputy secretaries or departmentheads should be the advocates for their agencies in front of thelegislature, not paid contract lobbyists.

OPEN GOVERNMENT

Web Casting Of Meetings All meetings of the legislature that areWeb cast should be archived online, bringing people closer to theworkings of state government regardless of where they live.Recentlythe legislature opened their doors for the first time to live broadcastsof their meetings online to help people watch and listen to thelegislature in action. The governor and executive branch ofgovernment should follow their lead and open up meetings ofexecutive boards and commissions to the public by streaming themonline.

Create An Online Real-Time Checkbook If New Mexico is tobecome truly transparent, our online checkbook must have real-timeinformation, similar to the award winning operation created by

Missouri.Transparency at all levels of state government is necessary,but especially so in our budgeting and spendingprocess.

Contracts Online Allgovernment contracts should be available onlinein an easy-to-search database. Currently only state contracts of$20,000 or greater are posted online.

CLEAN GOVERNMENT

Reduce/Eliminate Political Positions Over the last eight years,the

number of political appointees has exploded under theRichardson/Denish Administration. We must reduce or eliminatemany of these positions. We must have greater reliance on merit,qualification and experience as factors in the hiring of stategovernment positions, rather than on politicalconnections.

Strengthen The Governmental Conduct Act Currently, only


5/5

legislators are required to undergo ethics training every two years.All state elected officials, political appointees and state employeesshould take ethics training, attending a minimum of two hours ofethics and professionalism continuing education and training eachyear.

Eliminate Finders Fees New Mexico needs a strong law eliminatingthe use of finders fees in state investments. The State InvestmentCouncil has implemented a policy against this practice, but the onlyway to strengthen this policy is to place it in law and institute harshpenalties for violating it.

###

Paid for by Susana Martinez for Governor, Anna Emerick-Biad, Treasurer.

susanamartinezethicsplan

Documents