Gov. Bill Richardson was quick to ink two ethics reform bills Thursday, making campaign contribution limits and more frequent campaign finance reporting state law.

The governor is taking his time, however, to act on a Legislature-approved measure that would open conference committees to the public.

The campaign contribution limits measure (Senate Bill 116) means people running for non-statewide posts and the Legislature could get up to $2,300 from a contributor for both the general and the primary election. Individuals running for statewide office can receive up to $5,000 for the primary and general elections.

Under the law, political action committees could only give $5,000 for each election cycle.

The bill takes effect after the 2010 gubernatorial election and will leave just four states in the nation without campaign limits. Until now, there had been no limits on political contributions to statewide officeholders and state lawmakers and critics said it gave large contributors undue influence on the political process.

The other measure (SB128) calls for candidates to file more frequent campaign reports.

Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, who has long worked on ethics bills including contribution limits, said the ethics measures aren't perfect, but are a step in the right direction.

"I hope that this will only be the beginning," she said.

Some advocates had pushed for the contribution limits to take effect sooner, and for the reporting requirements to be stronger, but agreed to the approved measures as a compromise.

The campaign reporting bill, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, mandates candidates to file campaign finance reports twice in non-election years. Currently, in non-election years, candidates are only required to file one report in May. It also calls for two additional reports to be filed during election years.

Wirth said he sponsored the bill after he ran for office and his first campaign finance report was due after early voting had started. "I was in a five-way Democratic primary and voters were going to the polls having no idea who was raising what and who was spending what," he said.

The measure applies to anyone who files a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State's Office.

As for ethics measures that were rejected this session, including one that would create an independent state ethics commission, the governor said he will consider putting them on the agenda for the special session likely to be held this fall.

On the open conference committees bill, (House Bill 393) Richardson said the measure as of Thursday hadn't reached his desk. And, he said, not a lot of input from the public is reaching him, either.

"There wasn't much public support for this in terms of e-mails. ... I meet with numerous constituents and I think once somebody came to me in Las Cruces and was for the open conference committees," he said.

Supporters had tried to pass a conference committee bill for more than a decade, but Richardson has said he's concerned that the bill allows the Legislature to close a meeting to the public with a two-thirds vote. Supporters, though, have said it would be difficult to get so many lawmakers to agree to close the meetings again.

Terri Cole, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, urged Richardson at the news conference to sign the bill.

"In the business community, open, transparent government is good government and good government is good for business," she said.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com