New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 12 /June 22, 2021
NOTICE OF RULE MAKING AND PUBLIC RULE
HEARING
Notice of Rulemaking: The State
Ethics Commission [the commission] will hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment
of certain rules, as detailed below.
These amendments are proposed pursuant to Sections 10-16-11 and 11.1,
NMSA 1978; Subsection C of Section 10-15-1, NMSA 1978; Section 10-16G-8, NMSA
1978; and Paragraph 4 of Subsection B of Section 10-16G-5, NMSA 1978. No technical or scientific information was
consulted in drafting these proposed amendments.
Copies of all the proposed amendments
may be found at the Commission’s website, https://www.sec.state.nm.us, or at
the commission’s main office in Albuquerque: the State Ethics Commission,
University of New Mexico Science and Technology Park, 800 Bradbury Drive SE,
Suite 215, Albuquerque, NM, 87106.
Notice of Public Rule Hearing: The public
rule hearing is currently scheduled to occur on Friday, August 13, 2021 at 10:00
am in UNM’s Science and Technology
Park’s Executive Board Room, 851 University SE, Suite 200, Albuquerque, NM
87106. It is possible that,
pursuant to the Public Health Emergency declared by Governor Michelle Lujan
Grisham in Executive Order 2020-004, as extended, and in light of the current
pandemic, the Commission will decide to conduct this meeting remotely at that
time and date rather than in person. In that case, instructions for public
participation will be posted on the Commission’s website, https://www.sec.state.nm.us/transparency. Members of
the public are advised to check this website before the meeting to confirm
whether it will be held in person or over the internet. The public hearing will
be conducted in a fair and equitable manner by the commission and shall be
recorded. Any interested member of the
public may attend the hearing, in person or remotely, and will be provided a
reasonable opportunity to offer public comment, including presentation of data,
views, or arguments, on the proposed rules during the hearing. Individuals with disabilities who need any
form of auxiliary aid to attend or participate in the public hearing are asked
to contact Sonny.Haquani@state.nm.us. The
commission will make every effort to accommodate all reasonable requests, but
cannot guarantee accommodation of a request that is not received at least five calendar
days before the scheduled hearing.
Notice of Acceptance of Written Public Comment: Written public
comments, including presentation of data, views, or arguments about the
proposed amendments, from any interested member of the public will be accepted
until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, by submitting them via email to ethics.commission@state.nm.us
with the subject line “SEC Rulemaking R21-01,” or via first class mail or by
hand delivery to the commission’s Albuquerque office: New Mexico Ethics
Commission, University of New Mexico Science and Technology Park, 800 Bradbury
Drive SE, Suite 215, Albuquerque, NM, 87106.
Description of Proposed Amendments: In compliance
with Section 14-4-5.2 NMSA 1978, this notice includes the following summary of
the proposed amendment, a short explanation of the purpose of the amendment,
and specific legal authority authorizing the amendment and proposed new rule.
The method and manner of public comment and notice of public hearing on the
proposed rules are listed above.
The proposed amendments
are as follows: amendments to 1.8.1 NMAC, Sections 9
& 13; amendments to 1.8.3 NMAC, Sections 1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16.
1.8.1.9 NMAC (“Advisory opinions and informal advisory
opinions”); proposed amendments: The proposed amendments to 1.8.1.9 NMAC (i) add a new paragraph to Subsection A of Section 1.8.1.9
that permits a member of the commission to request an advisory opinion based on
a legal determination issued by the director, the general counsel, or a hearing
officer; and (ii) add a new paragraph to Subsection B of Section 1.8.1.9 giving
the director discretion to decide whether to issue an informal advisory opinion
or request that the commission issue a formal advisory opinion in response to a
request for an advisory opinion that does not specify whether an informal or
formal advisory opinion is sought.
1.8.1.13 NMAC (“Address for filing documents”);
proposed amendments: This section currently provides an address
for the filing of documents with the commission. The proposed amendments to 1.8.1.13 NMAC
change the section title to “Address” and deleting “for filing documents.” The commission
has created an electronic filing system for filings related to administrative
complaints and maintains an email address for receipt of other
submissions. The amendment removes the
reference to “for filing documents” because the commission discourages physical
submission of materials. The proposed
amendments to 1.8.1.13 also amend the commission’s address to the current,
correct address.
1.8.3 NMAC (“Administrative hearings”); proposed
amendments: Part 3 governs the
initiation, investigation, and adjudication of ethics complaints. The proposed amendments add definitions of
important terms to account for changes to the complaint filing process. The proposed amendments streamline and
improve the processes governing the investigation of complaints, the issuance
and enforcement of subpoenas, and the conduct of hearings on complaints. The proposed amendments to 1.8.3 NMAC:
* conform the commission’s administrative rules with Laws
2021, Chapter 109 (House Bill 244, as amended), which amends the State Ethics Commission
Act to delete the notarization requirement for administrative complaints;
* conform the commission’s administrative rules with the commission’s electronic case management and filing
system;
* improve the efficient and fair administration of the commission’s
administrative cases by resolving several gaps and ambiguities that staff have
noted in the past sixteen months, by (among other things) allowing complainants
to amend their complaints, limiting complainants in the number of complaints
they may file in a calendar year (to prevent vexatious litigants), enabling the
executive director to make jurisdictional determinations more efficiently,
enabling the general counsel to make probable cause determinations more
efficiently, formalizing the process by which the commission may initiate
administrative complaints, and clarifying the commission’s subpoena powers.