New Mexico Statutes
Article 19 - Campaign Practices
Section 1-19-26 - Definitions.

As used in the Campaign Reporting Act:
A. "advertisement" means a communication referring to a candidate or ballot question that is published, disseminated, distributed or displayed to the public by print, broadcast, satellite, cable or electronic media, including recorded phone messages, or by printed materials, including mailers, handbills, signs and billboards, but "advertisement" does not include:
(1) a communication by a membership organization or corporation to its current members, stockholders or executive or administrative personnel;
(2) a communication appearing in a news story or editorial distributed through a print, broadcast, satellite, cable or electronic medium;
(3) a candidate debate or forum or a communication announcing a candidate debate or forum paid for on behalf of the debate or forum sponsor; provided that two or more candidates for the same position have been invited to participate or, in the case of an uncontested election, that the single candidate for the position has been invited to participate;
(4) nonpartisan voter guides allowed by the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for Section 501(c)(3) organizations; or
(5) statements made to a court or administrative board in the course of a formal judicial or administrative proceeding;
B. "anonymous contribution" means a contribution the contributor of which is unknown to the candidate or the candidate's agent or the political committee or its agent who accepts the contribution;
C. "ballot question" means a constitutional amendment or other question submitted to the voters in an election;
D. "bank account" means an account in a financial institution regulated by the United States or a state of the United States;
E. "campaign committee" means an association of two or more persons authorized by a candidate to act on the candidate's behalf for the purpose of electing the candidate to office; provided that a candidate shall not authorize more than one campaign committee;
F. "campaign expenditure" means an expenditure that is made by a campaign committee or by a candidate in support of the candidate's campaign in an election;
G. "candidate" means an individual who seeks or considers an office in an election covered by the Campaign Reporting Act, including a public official, who has filed a declaration of candidacy and has not subsequently filed a statement of withdrawal or:
(1) for a nonstatewide office, has received contributions or made expenditures of more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or authorized another person or campaign committee to receive contributions or make expenditures of more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the purpose of seeking election to the office; or
(2) for a statewide office, has received contributions or made expenditures of more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) or authorized another person or campaign committee to receive contributions or make expenditures of more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) for the purpose of seeking election to the office or for candidacy exploration purposes in the years prior to the year of the election;
H. "contribution":
(1) means a gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or other thing of value, including the estimated value of an in-kind contribution, that is made or received for a political purpose, including payment of a debt incurred in an election campaign;
(2) includes a coordinated expenditure;
(3) does not include the value of services provided without compensation or unreimbursed travel or other personal expenses of individuals who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or political committee nor does it include the administrative or solicitation expenses of a political committee that are paid by an organization that sponsors the committee; and
(4) does not include the value of the incidental use of the candidate's personal property, home or business office for campaign purposes;
I. "coordinated expenditure" means an expenditure that is made:
(1) by a person other than a candidate or campaign committee;
(2) at the request or suggestion of, or in cooperation, consultation or concert with, a candidate, campaign committee or political party or any agent or representative of a candidate, campaign committee or political party; and
(3) for the purpose of:
(a) supporting or opposing the nomination or election of a candidate; or
(b) paying for an advertisement that refers to a clearly identified candidate and is published and disseminated to the relevant electorate in New Mexico within thirty days before the primary election or sixty days before the general election in which the candidate is on the ballot;
J. "deliver" or "delivery" means to deliver by certified or registered mail, telecopier, electronic transmission or facsimile or by personal service;
K. "election" means any primary, general or statewide special election in New Mexico and includes county and judicial retention elections but excludes federal, municipal, school board and special district elections;
L. "election year" means an even-numbered year in which an election covered by the Campaign Reporting Act is held;
M. "expenditure" means a payment, transfer or distribution or obligation or promise to pay, transfer or distribute any money or other thing of value for a political purpose, including payment of a debt incurred in an election campaign or pre-primary convention;
N. "independent expenditure" means an expenditure that is:
(1) made by a person other than a candidate or campaign committee;
(2) not a coordinated expenditure as defined in the Campaign Reporting Act; and
(3) made to pay for an advertisement that:
(a) expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or the passage or defeat of a clearly identified ballot question;
(b) is susceptible to no other reasonable interpretation than as an appeal to vote for or against a clearly identified candidate or ballot question; or
(c) refers to a clearly identified candidate or ballot question and is published and disseminated to the relevant electorate in New Mexico within thirty days before the primary election or sixty days before the general election at which the candidate or ballot question is on the ballot;
O. "legislative caucus committee" means a political committee established by the members of a political party in a chamber of the legislature;
P. "person" means an individual or entity;
Q. "political committee" means:
(1) a political party;
(2) a legislative caucus committee;
(3) an association that consists of two or more persons whose primary purpose is to make contributions to candidates, campaign committees or political committees or make coordinated expenditures or any combination thereof; or
(4) an association that consists of two or more persons whose primary purpose is to make independent expenditures and that has received more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) in contributions or made independent expenditures of more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) in the election cycle;
R. "political party" means an association that has qualified as a political party pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-7-2 NMSA 1978;
S. "political purpose" means for the purpose of supporting or opposing a ballot question or the nomination or election of a candidate;
T. "prescribed form" means a form or electronic format prepared and prescribed by the secretary of state;
U. "public official" means a person elected to an office in an election covered by the Campaign Reporting Act or a person appointed to an office that is subject to an election covered by that act; and
V. "reporting individual" means a public official, candidate or treasurer of a campaign committee or a treasurer of a political committee.
History: 1978 Comp., § 1-19-26, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 360, § 2; 1981, ch. 331, § 1; 1985, ch. 2, § 10; 1993, ch. 46, § 1; 1993, ch. 55, § 12; 1993, ch. 314, § 58; 1995, ch. 153, § 1; 1997, ch. 112, § 2; 2003, ch. 66, § 1; 2009, ch. 67, § 1; 2009, ch. 68, § 2; 2019, ch. 262, § 4.
Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 262, § 16 provided that the secretary of state, in consultation with the attorney general, shall promulgate rules to implement the amendatory provisions of this act by August 1, 2019.
The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, defined "advertisement", "ballot question", "campaign expenditure", "coordinated expenditure", "independent expenditure", "legislative caucus committee", and "political party", and revised and removed the definitions of certain terms, as used in the Campaign Reporting Act; deleted former Subsection A, which defined "advertising campaign", and added a new Subsection A; added a new Subsection C and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections D and E, respectively; in Subsection D, after "financial institution", deleted "located in New Mexico" and added "regulated by the United States or a state of the United States"; in Subsection E, after "authorized by a candidate to", deleted "raise, collect or expend contributions" and added "act", and after "office;", added "provided that a candidate shall not authorize more than one campaign committee"; added a new Subsection F and redesignated former Subsections E and F as Subsections G and H, respectively; in Subsection G, in the introductory clause, after "declaration of candidacy" deleted "or nominating petition" and added "and has not subsequently filed a statement of withdrawal", in Paragraph G(2), after "made expenditures of", deleted "two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)", after "more", added "than three thousand dollars "($3,000)", after "make expenditures of", deleted "two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)", and after "more", added "than three thousand dollars ($3,000)"; in Subsection H, added paragraph designations "(1)" and "(3)" and Paragraphs H(2) and H(4); added a new Subsection I and redesignated former Subsections G through J as Subsections J through M, respectively; in Subsection M, after "pre-primary convention", deleted "but does not include the administrative or solicitation expenses of a political committee that are paid by an organization that sponsors the committee"; added new Subsections N and O and redesignated former Subsections K and L as Subsections P and Q, respectively; in Subsection Q, after "means", deleted the remainder of the introductory clause, deleted former Paragraphs (1) through (3), and added new Paragraphs Q(1) through Q(4); added new Subsection R and redesignated former Subsection M and N as Subsections S and T, respectively; in Subsection S, after "means", deleted "influencing or attempting to influence an election or pre-primary convention, including a constitutional amendment or other question submitted to the voters" and added "for the purpose of supporting or opposing a ballot question or the nomination or election of a candidate"; deleted former Subsection O, which defined "proper filing officer", and redesignated former Subsections P and Q as Subsections U and V, respectively.
2009 Multiple Amendments. — Laws 2009, ch. 68, § 2, effective November 3, 2010, in Subsection L(1), added "political parties".
Laws 2009, ch. 67, § 1, effective June 19, 2009, deleted Subsection R, which defined "statement of exception".
Severability. — Laws 2009, ch. 68, § 5 provided that if any part or application of this act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.
The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, in Subsection G, inserted "to deliver" preceding "by certified", substituted "transmission" for "mail" preceding "or facsimile"; inserted "political committee" near the end of Subsection L; added designations Paragraphs L(1) to L(3); deleted "provided that a political committee includes" at the end of Paragraph L(1); substituted "five hundred dollars ($500)" for "two thousand dollars ($2,000)" in Paragraph L(3); inserted "or electronic format" in Subsection N.
The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, added Subsection A and redesignated the following subsections accordingly.
The 1995 amendment, effective June 1, 1995, added Subsections H, J, N, O, and Q and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; in Subsection D, inserted "including a public official" and "nominating petition or"; in Subsection G, deleted "regular" before "primary"; in Subsection P, inserted "public official" and deleted "who contributes, receives contributions or makes expenditures as defined in the Campaign Reporting Act" following "political committee"; and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.
The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, rewrote the section to the extent that a detailed comparison would be impracticable.
Defining political committee. — The secretary of state cannot regulate as political committees those organizations which do not engage in express advocacy or the functional equivalent of advocacy for the election or defeat of candidates. New Mexico Youth Organized v. Herrera, No. 09-2212 (10th Cir. June 30, 2010).
Expenditures for political purposes independently of a candidate. — An expenditure of funds for political purposes separately and independently of a candidate is not, by itself, an in-kind contribution to the candidate. If, however, the person gives the goods, services or other product of the expenditure to the candidate, the goods, services or other product will constitute an in-kind contribution. 2010 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 10-03.
Energy company's payment of legislators' expenses incidental to an educational tour need not be reported as in-kind donations. — Payments from an energy company that is proposing to build a nuclear waste storage facility in southeastern New Mexico for members of the New Mexico legislature to attend a series of educational programs at the company's Missouri nuclear generating station are not required to be reported by legislators on their filings with the secretary of state, because the energy company's payment of reasonable expenses for flights, meals, refreshments, and lodging incidental to the educational tour are not given for a political purpose and therefore are not contributions under 1-19-26(H)(1) NMSA 1978. 2020 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2020-03.
The Campaign Reporting Act does not apply to federal elections. — Members of the New Mexico legislature and certain other elected officials are prohibited from knowingly soliciting contributions governed by the Campaign Reporting Act between January 1 and the adjournment of any regular legislative session and between the proclamation and adjournment of any special session, 1-19-34.1 NMSA 1978, but the Campaign Reporting Act only applies to candidates in primary, general or statewide special elections in New Mexico and excludes federal elections from the application of the act, and therefore a New Mexico state legislator who solicited campaign contributions for the federal office of United States Representative during a state legislative session did not violate the Campaign Reporting Act. 2021 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2021-05.