Summary:

 House Bill 143 (HB 143) requires a lobbying activity report on the legislation lobbied and position taken by a lobbyist or lobbyist's employer and preserves lobbying activity reports for at least ten years. 

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill 143 (HB 143) enacts a new section of the Lobbyist Regulation Act to read:

A. Prior to the adjournment of a legislative session, a lobbyist or lobbyist's employer that is required to file an expenditure report or registration statement must file a lobbying activity report or reports with the Secretary of State that discloses the lobbyist's or lobbyist's employer's lobbying activity on legislation that has been introduced, including any lobbying on the development of legislation prior to its introduction in a legislative session, and that identifies the: 

(1) specific legislation lobbied; 
(2) lobbyist's or lobbyist's employer's support, opposition or other position taken on the legislation and whether the support, opposition or other position changed; and 
(3) name of the lobbyist's employer that lobbied on the legislation, either directly or through the registered lobbyist. 

B. If a lobbyist or lobbyist's employer commences lobbying on legislation after the adjournment of a legislative session, a lobbying activity report must be filed prior to the end of the time period in which the governor may act on legislation. 

C. A lobbyist or lobbyist's employer is only required to report lobbying activity on a piece of legislation one time unless the lobbyist's or lobbyist's employer's position on the legislation has changed, in which case the lobbying activity for each change in position must be reported. 

D. The lobbying activity report must be filed at a time and in a format as prescribed by rule of the Secretary of State, provided that the time for filing lobbying activity reports is consistent with filing as soon as practicable after commencement of the lobbying activity. 

E. The lobbying activity reported for each specific piece of legislation must be included or linked on the legislature's website for that specific piece of legislation." 
Section 2-11-7 NMSA 1978 is amended to require that each registration, expenditure and lobbying activity report as required by the Lobbyist Regulation Act must be archived and accessible on the Secretary of State's lobbyist disclosure website for a period of at least ten years from the date of filing as a public record, open to public inspection at any reasonable time. Unless an action or prosecution is pending that requires preserving the report, it may be destroyed ten years after the date of filing. Further, lobbyist registration, expenditure and lobbying activity reports must be kept and maintained on the Secretary of State's lobbyist disclosure website and must be available in searchable and downloadable formats. Specific requirements regarding the Secretary of State’s records regarding lobbyists are detailed.


 

Current Law:

 Current Law:
The proposed requirements as stated do not currently apply.
 

Amendments:

 Amended February 22, 2025 in HJC

HJCa/HB 143: The House Judiciary Committee amendment to House Bill 143 makes the following changes:

1. On page 1, line 12, strike "OR" and insert in lieu thereof "AND". 
2. On page 1, lines 20 and 21, strike "Prior to the adjournment of a legislative session, a" and insert in lieu thereof "A". 3. On page 2, line 6, strike "or" and insert in lieu thereof "and". 
4. On page 2, lines 24 and 25, strike "at a time and". 
5. On page 3, lines 1 and 2, strike "; provided that the time for filing lobbying activity reports is consistent with filing as soon as practicable after" and insert in lieu thereof "within forty-eight hours of".