A. The commission shall:

(1) employ an executive director, who shall be an attorney, upon approval of at least five commissioners;

(2) develop, adopt and promulgate the rules necessary for it to implement and administer the provisions of the State Ethics Commission Act; and

(3) establish qualifications for hearing officers and rules for hearing procedures and appeals.

B. Beginning January 1, 2020, the commission shall:

(1) receive and investigate complaints alleging ethics violations against public officials, public employees, candidates, persons subject to the Campaign Reporting Act [1-19-25 to 1-19-36 NMSA 1978], government contractors, lobbyists and lobbyists' employers;

(2) hold hearings in appropriate cases to determine whether there has been an ethics violation;

(3) compile, index, maintain and provide public access to all advisory opinions and reports required to be made public pursuant to the State Ethics Commission Act;

(4) draft a proposed code of ethics for public officials and public employees and submit the proposed code to each elected public official and public agency for adoption; and

(5) submit an annual report of its activities, including any recommendations regarding state ethics laws or the scope of its powers and duties, in December of each year to the legislature and the governor.

C. Beginning January 1, 2020, the commission may:

(1) by approval of at least five commissioners, initiate complaints alleging ethics violations against a public official, public employee, candidate, person subject to the Campaign Reporting Act, government contractor, lobbyist or lobbyist's employer;

(2) petition a district court to issue subpoenas under seal requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records, documents or other evidence relevant or material to an investigation;

(3) issue advisory opinions in accordance with the provisions of the State Ethics Commission Act;

(4) compile, adopt, publish and make available to all public officials, public employees, government contractors and lobbyists an ethics guide that clearly and plainly explains the ethics requirements set forth in state law, including those that relate to conducting business with the state and public agencies; and

(5) offer annual ethics training to public officials, public employees, government contractors, lobbyists and other interested persons.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 5.

Effective dates. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 41 made Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 5 effective July 1, 2019.

Applicability. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 40 provided that the provisions of the State Ethics Commission Act apply only to conduct occurring on or after July 1, 2019.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 86, § 37 provided that:

A. By October 1, 2021, the state ethics commission shall submit a report to the legislature and the office of the governor regarding whether to extend commission jurisdiction.

B. If the report recommends extension of the state ethics commission's jurisdiction, the report shall address:

(1) a detailed plan for implementation of an extension of the commission's jurisdiction and a proposed timeline for the implementation;

(2) the estimated number of additional employees and other resources needed by the commission to perform its expanded duties;

(3) estimated budget increases needed for the commission to perform its expanded duties; and

(4) recommended changes to existing law.