A coalition of politically conservative groups and individuals is stepping up opposition to New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s proposal to require more transparency on where “independent expenditure” groups get their money.
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is the latest to oppose proposed changes in financial disclosure rules, adding his name to a letter from the coalition, which is spearheaded by the Virginia-based Concerned Veterans of America. The group calls Toulouse Oliver’s proposal “an attempt to circumvent the legislative process and silence citizens through executive rule making.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision in 2010 — which declared unconstitutional laws limiting the amount of money that corporations and unions can spend on political ads — the power of “dark money” groups in elections has soared. While the high court said governments can require disclosure of contributions and expenditures by such groups, many conservatives around the country have resisted disclosure requirements.
“Freedom of association is a bedrock of our society, and your rules, as proposed, threaten this fundamental right,” the July 11 letter says. “Our groups — which represent citizens of New Mexico from all walks of life and across the ideological spectrum — are gravely concerned about the impact of these rules. Specifically, we believe these rules will stifle our ability to freely communicate our ideas and educate citizens across the state on critical public policy issues.”
Under the proposed changes, groups whose primary purpose is making contributions to candidates or making independent political expenditures would be required to register as political committees. Such “independent expenditure” groups — those that aren’t coordinating with a candidate or campaign — would have to report the names, addresses and other information about those who contribute $1,000 or more in an election cycle. Currently, these groups don’t have to report their contributors.
Concerned Veterans is releasing a 15-second web ad Thursday that says, “We fought to defend free speech. But now Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is going around elected officials to limit free speech in our state. Tell … Toulouse Oliver to stop attacking free speech.”
The Secretary of State’s Office, responding to recent online ads by the veterans’ group, said claims that the proposal would stop people from participating in politics are false and pointed to polls showing widespread support for more disclosure of campaign financing of independent expenditure groups.
Besides Johnson, the former Republican governor who was the national Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate in 2016 and 2012, others signing the recent letter attacking her proposal include Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation, a libertarian think tank; Carla Sonntag, president and founder of the New Mexico Business Coalition; Blair Dunn, a partner in Western Agriculture, Resource & Business Advocates and a campaign spokesman for his father, state Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn.
The Washington Post has reported that Concerned Veterans of America has received significant funding from TC4 Trust, a fund set up by brothers Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists from Wichita, Kan., who are major funders of conservative candidates and causes across the country. Other signers of the letter include officials from other Koch-affiliated groups, including Americans for Prosperity and The Libre Initiative, a conservative Latino organization.
On Tuesday, Toulouse Oliver’s re-election campaign used the Concerned Veterans attack in an appeal for political donations. “The Koch brothers and their PACs are running a targeted smear campaign against me because of my efforts to bring transparency to New Mexico’s campaign finance system,” the campaign said in an email.
In an opinion piece published by The New Mexican this week, Gessing and Bradley Smith, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics and a former member of the Federal Election Commission, wrote, “Bureaucratic rule-makings can serve an important function. They help to implement and clarify laws that are passed by the Legislature. But here, instead of implementing the law, the Secretary of State’s Office is enacting rules that were rejected in the constitutional lawmaking process.”
Supporters of the changes include New Mexico Common Cause, which for years has pushed legislation calling for similar changes, and the New Mexico League of Women Voters. Judith Williams, president of that organization, said in a recent statement, “We cannot continue elections with so little transparency. … An open, transparent government including the running and financing of political campaigns is key to a healthy democracy. [Toulouse Oliver] has done a good job of interpreting existing laws to arrive at a clear and sensible set of disclosure rules.”
Toulouse Oliver’s proposed rule is based on a bill that passed the Legislature with bipartisan support this year but was vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez. Martinez wrote in her veto message, “While I support efforts to make our political process more transparent, the broad language in the bill could lead to unintended consequences that would force groups like charities to disclose the names and addresses of their contributors in certain circumstances. The requirements in this bill would likely discourage charities and other groups that are primarily non-political from advocating for their cause and could also discourage individuals from giving to charities.”
The secretary of state’s proposal is part of a larger package of planned regulations dealing with campaign finance.
Toulouse Oliver says the proposed regulations would bring campaign finance rules in line with court decisions in recent years dealing with which groups have to register as political committees and disclose all their donors and expenses.
Meanwhile, Toulouse Oliver announced Tuesday that she is extending the public comment period on the proposed campaign finance rule. The new deadline to submit written comments by mail, email or fax is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 19.
On Wednesday, her chief of staff, John Blair, said the office had received only 74 letters about the proposed rule — 66 in favor, eight opposed. The Secretary of State’s website also shows more than 60 faxes — all identical — from opponents of the change.
The Secretary of State’s Office has scheduled three public hearings on the proposed rule, including one set for 9 a.m. Thursday at the Capitol. The other hearings are set for July 18 in Albuquerque and July 19 in Las Cruces.
Contact Steve Terrell at 505-986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at www.santafenewmexican.com/roundhouse_roundup.
