The commission then ordered dismissal of the complaint. The State Ethics Commission – an independent panel that includes members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders – requires bipartisan support to take action.Īlso Friday, the commission adopted a settlement agreement with State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg after he was accused in an ethics complaint of failing to disclose his role in a business that helps property owners protest their tax assessments.Īs part of the settlement, Eichenberg agreed to answer a series of questions from the commission’s general counsel and to amend his public disclosures, if necessary. The ethics commission, Farris said, “authorized all necessary action to ensure that those government officials who are required to disclose, in fact, do so.” “New Mexico law requires state agency heads and Senate-confirmed members of boards and commissions to file annual financial disclosures as a condition of holding their offices.” “Financial disclosures are essential to public confidence in government,” he said in a statement to the Journal. The figure is down to about 155 now – a rate Farris described as “unacceptable,” especially since the individuals have been notified of the problem. Jeremy Farris, executive director of the State Ethics Commission, said the compliance rate was even worse before the Secretary of State’s Office and ethics commission staff worked to notify people who hadn’t filed.Īt one point this year, he said, hundreds of the 650 people required to file disclosures hadn’t done so. The ethics agency authorized its staff Friday to issue demand letters to about 155 people who haven’t filed the mandatory disclosures and to go to court if necessary to enforce the law. SANTA FE – More than 20% of the individuals required to file annual disclosures about their income sources and property – a group that includes public officials and candidates in New Mexico – haven’t done so, according to the State Ethics Commission.
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