HOODWINKED BY ETHICS REFORM

HOODWINK: Pronunciation: 'hud-"wi[ng]k: To take in by deceptive means; to cause to accept what is false, especially by trickery or misrepresentation; to betray, deceive, dupe, fool; to conceal one's true motives by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end.

The third HOODWINK AWARD goes to the New Mexico Legislature for its attempt at fooling the public into thinking that they actually are trying to reform their own ethical conduct and standard.

With the allegations of corruption regarding a former member of the Legislature you would think the leadership would be concerned with the perception the public has of our integrity instead of stating that ethics is “not a problem in the Legislature.” When we hear that the leadership of the Legislature is proposing laws providing a strict ethical standard, we would assume that there is a genuine interest in creating a system that is transparent, incorruptible and in the best interest of the citizens of the State. However, when we examine the bills proposed, we instead find out that they are carefully crafted to continue the system as it now exists while appearing to deal with the concerns of the public. And, when we further examine the bills that the leadership allows to pass through the Legislature we find out that, once again, there will not be any reform of the ethics of the Legislature.

Even the bills proposed by this leadership are a scam. There is the issue of limiting gifts to legislators to $250; that would mean that a lobbyist could offer to talk to a legislator about supporting a bill while taking him out to buy a suit. There should not be any gifts allowed; with the exception of maybe a plaque of appreciation for a job well done.

There is the proposed limit on campaign contributions per individual/company at $2300; a contribution this large would expect something in return on their investment, and combining special interests looking for special favors could easily control an election. There should be no contributions allowed from anyone doing business with the State.

To prevent the dependence on gifts and contributions and to compensate for what has become a full-time commitment as a legislator, state funding of legislative campaigns should be provided as well as a legislative salary commensurate with the federal poverty level or at a level of less than the average per capita income of the citizens of the state. This would provide those Legislators, who in the past have received hefty gifts and contributions, with the ability to deflect those perceptions that they have become beholden to those who have provided these offerings. In the long run it will save the State money.

During this last special session that was called, a primary focus was supposed to deal with ethics reform. The bills that I placed into the session to deal with the ethics issues mentioned above, were not allowed to be debated or even heard in Senate committees, while a bill from the House that only offered campaign financing for judicial candidates, was immediately heard on the floor of the Senate and passed to give the appearance that ethics reform had been accomplished.

Another bill that I had introduced during the regular session and repeated its introduction in the special session, dealt with opening Conference Committees. Conference Committees are secret meetings with just a few legislators, who are hand-picked by the leadership, determining results of bills with differences between the House and Senate. These bills many times come out with a much different result than what went in—especially with money bills that are typically voted on without much scrutiny of each body due to their complexity and length. Conference Committees are closed because the leadership doesn’t want the public or even the other non-participating members of the legislature to know what is going on. That bill was also refused a hearing in the Senate by the leadership.

While the legislative system is corruptible and in desperate need of ethics reform, the current leadership refuses to consider real reform, because it is to their advantage that deals be made behind closed doors and that they maintain their power to decide the direction of the Legislature and fate of legislation. That’s understandable, but why do a majority of the rest of the Legislature follow like sheep. Does that make the rest of the Legislature complicit when corruption occurs and they give their approval to those actions by voting as they are told or turning a blind eye, because if they speak out they would lose favor with the leadership?

The changes that need to occur are not going to happen as the result of current leadership changing their minds on what is best for the Legislature and the State. It will only happen when enough Legislators decide that being hoodwinked by their leadership is not the reason they were elected to office. It would mean they would have to have the courage to deny the perks they receive from being part of a group-think mentality dictated to by their powerful leaders, and decide that their allegiance to the honor and integrity of the Senate to which we were all elected, far outweighs the personal gain.

The Legislature owes it to themselves and their constituents to call themselves back into a special session to bring about the reform of an ethical standard that offers more than lip-service to the citizens of our state.

Contact:
Senator Joseph J. Carraro

505-898-9369

joecarraro@aol.com