Legislative Ethics Reforms

Issue Summary News Policy Report  Take Action to Support Ethics Reforms

Issue Summary

In the wake of the August 2026 conviction of a former New Mexico House Majority leader of 31 federal felonies for stealing over $2 million in public education funding, Think New Mexico released a new report, The Next Step for a Modernizing Legislature, which proposes ten reforms that would bring New Mexico’s legislative ethics laws in line with the majority of other states and help restore public trust in state government.

According to a 2025 poll by Research and Polling Inc., New Mexicans’ trust in their state government has fallen from 31% in 2020 to a record low of 19% in 2025.

Multiple report cards have given New Mexico low marks for our state government ethics laws, including the States With Anti-Corruption Measures for Public Officials (S.W.A.M.P.) Index, which ranked New Mexico 36th in the nation for our laws governing ethics and transparency. Similarly, the Center for Public Integrity’s most recent State Integrity Investigation gave New Mexico an overall grade of D-, tied for 34th in the nation, based on its evaluation of the systems we have in place to deter government corruption.

Think New Mexico analyzed the state’s legislative ethics laws and found that they lag behind the ethics laws governing legislatures in other states. They are also less rigorous than the laws that apply to New Mexico’s executive and judicial branches.

One justification for the state’s relatively lax legislative ethics laws has been that New Mexico’s legislature is the last unsalaried legislature in the nation. With Constitutional Amendment 4 on the November 2026 ballot to pay New Mexico legislators a salary, it is time to enact stronger legislative ethics laws as part of the larger effort to modernize and professionalize the state’s legislative branch.

Think New Mexico recommends ten policy reforms that would bring New Mexico’s legislative ethics laws in line with the majority of other states and help restore public trust in state government.

ETHICS REFORMS FOR LEGISLATORS

  • Require legislators to disclose when they have a direct, financial conflict of interest with a bill, and to recuse themselves—i.e., not vote or take action—on that bill. Forty-three state legislatures require disclosure of direct, financial conflicts of interest, and 36 require recusal. An August 2026 poll by BSP Polling found that 81% of New Mexico voters support this reform (with 5% opposed).
  • Enhance the annual financial disclosure forms filed by legislators, statewide elected officials, and agency heads to include disclosure of specific sources of assets and income, in order to more effectively identify potential conflicts of interest.
  • Establish a two-year “cooling off” period before a legislator can become a paid lobbyist, similar to the laws in 37 states. The August 2026 poll found that 66% of New Mexico voters support this reform (only 10% oppose it).

ETHICS REFORMS FOR LOBBYISTS

  • Require lobbyists to include more detailed information on their expenditure reports, including: (1) which legislators are benefiting from an expenditure; (2) which bills or issues are being lobbied with the expenditure; and (3) which client paid for the expenditure. Each of these additions is supported by about three out of four New Mexico voters, according to the August 2026 poll.
  • Require registered lobbyists to disclose the compensation they are paid by each of their clients, similar to the laws in 31 states. The poll found that 81% of New Mexico voters support this reform (4% oppose it).
  • Require lobbyists to submit financial reports at the midpoint of a legislative session and shortly after the session concludes, rather than waiting until May. The poll found that 79% of New Mexico voters support this reform (with 7% opposed).
  • Require lobbyists to disclose which bills they are lobbying and which positions they are taking on those bills. The poll found that 72% of New Mexico voters support this reform (only 10% oppose it).

ETHICS REFORMS FOR DARK MONEY & ADVOCACY GROUPS

  • Shine a light on dark money by requiring the disclosure of the original, “true source” of funding used for political or issue advertisements.
  • Close a loophole in the current law by requiring out-of-state political action committees to file the same disclosure reports as in-state PACs.
  • Outlaw the growing practice of using constituents’ names and emails to send fake emails to elected officials.

These reforms are supported by large majorities of New Mexico voters, based on an August 2026 poll conducted by Dr. Gabriel Sanchez of BSP Polling. (Dr. Sanchez is the former Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of New Mexico.) Among other findings, 81% of New Mexico voters support holding legislators to a higher ethical standard, and 64% support paying legislators a salary—but only if legislators also have to comply with mandatory ethics reforms.

Dr. Sanchez will have a public press availability to answer questions about the poll at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

Register to attend this zoom event:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/m-H32-NwT1upGFDlicko5w

FULL POLL RESULTS TO BE POSTED HERE SEPTEMBER 30.

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