Gov. Susana Martinez has used her veto pen to kill a bill that supporters say would have strengthened the state's sex-offender registry law.

However, the governor says that even though House Bill 298, sponsored by Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque, passed both chambers of the Legislature without a single dissenting vote, the bill would have weakened the current law that requires convicted sex offenders to register with law enforcement.

"Vitally needed law enforcement tools to track sex offenders on social networking sites did not become law due to petty politics," Maestas said in a Thursday news release, "but Gov. Martinez has made her choice clear — politics over our children's safety."

Martinez, in her executive message announcing the veto of the bill, said Attorney General Gary King was in favor of her veto. She listed specific arguments against the bill. But she also indicated that she didn't like some of the measure's supporters.

"We note this bill garnered support from sex offenders and others who will directly benefit from HB 298's compromised registration requirements," she wrote.

She might have been referring to an Albuquerque-based group called Reform Sex Offender Laws New Mexico, which is comprised of sex offenders, family members, lawyers and others.

The group's website says it is dedicated to reforming sex-offender registry laws and that the sex-offender registry "must be returned to its original intent — tracking the few most dangerous and predatory offenders." The site stresses that it "does not condone sexual activity between adults and children in any way, nor does it condone any sexual activities that break laws in any state."

RSOLNM president Lloyd Swartz of Albuquerque said in a telephone interview Thursday that the group worked hard for the bill, which he called a compromise. "The Department of Public Safety got about 85 percent of what they wanted and we got about 5 percent of what we wanted," he said. "But we thought it was a step in the right direction and the beginning of a dialogue."

Swartz said current sex registry laws in the country represent a "civil rights crisis" and, by lumping all offenders together, are not effective in tracking true predators.

Swartz, 42, is on the state registry for a sexual assault he committed in Texas at the age of 17.

Maestas' bill would have:

• Required people with sex-crime convictions in other countries to register as a registered sex offender;

• Required anyone with kidnapping or false-imprisonment offenses to registration only if there was intent to inflict a sex crime (Under current law, one only has to register if the victim was under 18);

• Required registration of other addresses where a sex offender spends time;

• Added the crime of Child Solicitation by Electronic Communications Device to New Mexico's list of offenses requiring sex-offender registration and would have required that sex offenders disclose emails and monikers used on social-networking sites.

But Martinez, in her executive message, argued that the current law requires a sex offender's employment information to be posted on a public database when an offender's job requires direct contact with children, while HB 298 would have required the offender to register this information only if the offender's job requires unsupervised contact with children under 16.

The current law, Martinez said, requires those convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact with an adult to register with the proper authorities for the remainder of the offender's life. But HB 298 would reduce that time from life to 10 years.

Martinez said the bill would keep the state out of compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, a federal law that has specific requirements for registering sex offenders. As long as the state is out of compliance, she said, it is at risk of losing federal grant money earmarked for law enforcement.

The governor said the Department of Public Safety preferred a bill (HB 526) sponsored by state Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo, which she said would have brought the state into compliance with federal law.

"It is disappointing that instead of supporting the department's legislation, lawmakers chose instead to advance this measure with its weakened provisions," the governor said. Herrell's bill included some of the provisions of HB 298.

Another bill that passed unanimously in the Legislature but was vetoed by Martinez this week was SB 25. This measure, sponsored by Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, would have required the State Investment Council to evaluate "economically targeted investments" and report on how much if at all these investments actually helped create jobs and helped the economy.

Economic investments include such things as film projects and businesses located in the state.

In her executive message, Martinez said that the SIC already has the power to do this without a new law. But she added, "However, in light of heightened scrutiny of SIC investment decisions, it would be prudent that the council dedicate its time to regaining that trust by faithfully executing its duties, rather than assuming duties that are better suited for the state's Economic Development Department."

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.