A. The interim legislative ethics committee is authorized to:

(1) issue advisory opinions on the interpretation and enforcement of ethical principles as applied to the legislature and that are not under the jurisdiction of the state ethics commission;

(2) investigate complaints from another member of the legislature or a member of the public alleging misconduct of a legislator;

(3) investigate referrals made to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council from the state ethics commission, the attorney general, the secretary of state or a district attorney;

(4) hire special counsel, arbitrators or independent hearing officers as necessary; and

(5) make recommendations to the respective houses regarding proposed sanctions for ethical misconduct.

B. The interim legislative ethics committee shall issue an annual report no later than the first day of May of each year regarding its activities during the previous twelve months, including a listing of the number of complaints received, the disposition of the complaints that have been resolved and the advisory opinions issued.

C. The interim legislative ethics committee shall maintain a web page on the legislature's website.

History: Laws 1993, ch. 46, § 53; 2019, ch. 86, § 22.

The 2019 amendment, effective January 1, 2020, specified that the interim legislative ethics committee is authorized to issue advisory opinions on the interpretation and enforcement of ethical principles as applied to the legislature that are not under the jurisdiction of the state ethics commission, and required the interim legislative ethics committee to issue an annual report and to maintain a web page on the legislature's website; added new subsection designation "A" and redesignated former Subsections A through E as Paragraphs A(1) through A(5), respectively; in Paragraph A(1) added "and that are not under the jurisdiction of the state ethics commission", in Paragraph A(3), after "legislative council from the", added "state ethics commission, the", in Paragraph A(4), after "special counsel", added "arbitrators", in Paragraph A(5), after "respective houses", deleted "by the end of the first full week of the next convened regular session"; and added new Subsections B and C.