March 10, 2016
Voqal Fund grantee New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG) successfully worked with Common Cause and others to lobby for legislation to improve the disclosure of lobbyist spending and campaign finance contributions in New Mexico.
An improved lobbyist disclosure bill supported by NMFOG passed in the 2015 session. While the Secretary of State’s office felt it was in compliance with the new law, extensive efforts by NMFOG, including public outreach and media coverage, were necessary to ensure that the site was actually improved and made compliant by the start of the 2016 session.
NMFOG also worked tirelessly to secure the adoption of a bill that requires that campaign finance information and expenditures to be searchable, sortable and downloadable.
Due in large part to the tenacious efforts of NMFOG citizens and the press can now follow the money in both election contributions and contributions to seated legislators in New Mexico consistent with best practices used elsewhere in the country.