New Mexico Statutes
Article 19 - Campaign Practices
Section 1-19-34 - Candidates; political or campaign committees; treasurer; bank account; anonymous contributions; contributions from special events; credit and debit card contributions.

A. A political or campaign committee or a candidate shall ensure that:
(1) a treasurer has been appointed and is constantly maintained; provided, however, that when a duly appointed treasurer is unable for any reason to continue as treasurer, the candidate or committee shall appoint a successor and notify the secretary of state within ten days; and provided further that a candidate may serve as the candidate's own treasurer;
(2) all disbursements of money and receipts of contributions are authorized by and through the candidate or treasurer;
(3) a bank account has been established and all receipts of money contributions are deposited in and all expenditures of money are disbursed from one or more bank accounts maintained by the treasurer in the name of the candidate or committee; provided that nothing in this section shall prohibit investments from a bank account to earn interest as long as the investments and earnings are fully reported. All disbursements except for disbursements made from a petty cash fund of one hundred dollars ($100) or less shall be made in a form such that the date, amount and payee of the transaction are automatically recorded or by check made payable to the person or entity receiving the disbursement and not to "cash" or "bearer"; and
(4) the treasurer upon disbursing or receiving money or other things of value immediately enters and thereafter keeps a proper record preserved by the treasurer, including a full, true and itemized statement and account of each sum disbursed or received, the date of such disbursal or receipt, to whom disbursed or from whom received and the object or purpose for which it was disbursed or received.
B. No anonymous contributions shall be accepted for more than one hundred dollars ($100). The aggregate amount of anonymous contributions received by a reporting individual during a primary or general election or a statewide special election shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) for statewide races and five hundred dollars ($500) for all other races.
C. Cash contributions received at special events that are unidentifiable as to specific contributor but identifiable as to the special event are not subject to the anonymous contribution limits provided for in this section so long as no single special event raises, after expenses, more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in such cash contributions. For those contributions, due diligence and best efforts shall be made to disclose on a special prescribed form the sponsor, date, place, total amount received, expenses incurred, estimated number of persons in attendance and other identifiable factors that describe the special event. For purposes of this subsection, "special event" includes an event such as a barbecue or similar fundraiser where tickets costing twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or less are sold or an event such as a coffee, tea or similar reception; provided that no candidate shall accept contributions of more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) in cash at a special event from any one contributor.
D. Any contributions received pursuant to this section in excess of the limits established in Subsections B and C of this section shall be donated to the state general fund or an organization to which a federal income tax deduction would be available under Subparagraph (A) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection (b) of Section 170 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
E. A candidate or political committee shall not accept a contribution made by a credit card or a debit card via the internet or where the card is not physically present unless, at the time the contribution is made, the contributor provides the card security code assigned to and printed or imprinted on the card and the billing address associated with the card.
History: 1978 Comp., § 1-19-34, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 360, § 10; 1981, ch. 331, § 10; 1993, ch. 46, § 11; 1995, ch. 153, § 11; 2013, ch. 53, § 1; 2018, ch. 29, § 1; 2019, ch. 262, § 9.
Cross references. — For Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, see 26 U.S.C. § 170.
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, increased from fifteen dollars to twenty-five dollars the maximum cost of special event tickets that are exempt from the Campaign Reporting Act's anonymous contribution limits; and precluded a candidate from accepting contributions of more than twenty-five dollars in cash at a special event from any one contributor; in the section heading, added "or campaign"; in Subsection A, in the introductory clause, deleted "It is unlawful for the members of any" and added "A", after "candidate", deleted "to make any expenditure or solicit or accept any contribution for a political purpose unless" and added "shall ensure that", in Paragraph A(1), after "successor", added "and notify the secretary of state within ten days"; and in Subsection C, after "tickets costing", deleted "fifteen dollars ($15.00)" and added "twenty-five dollars ($25.00)", and after "reception;", added "provided that no candidate shall accept contributions of more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) in cash at a special event from any one contributor".
The 2018 amendment, effective May 16, 2018, prohibited a candidate or political committee from accepting a contribution made by a credit card or a debit card via the internet or where the card is not physically present, unless at the time the contribution is made, the contributor provides the card security code and the billing address associated with the card; in the catchline, added "credit and debit card contributions"; and added Subsection E.
The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, required that the date, amount and payee of disbursements from a bank account, that are not made by a check, be automatically recorded; and in Paragraph (3) of Subsection A, in the second sentence, after "one hundred dollars ($100) or less shall be", added "made in a form such that the date, amount and payee of the transaction are automatically recorded or".
The 1995 amendment, effective June 16, 1995, substituted "are" for "shall be" preceding "deposited in" in Paragraph (3) of Subsection A, substituted "record" for "book" in Paragraph (4) of Subsection A, and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.
The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, rewrote the section heading and rewrote this section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 379.
29 C.J.S. Elections § 329.