Panel approves changes to committee that looks into harassment claims against lawmakers
Dec. 13—A panel that oversees the inner workings of the Legislature on Monday approved policy changes designed to strengthen procedures that deal with the investigation of harassment claims against lawmakers.
Though efforts to push the proposal forward had failed on a tie vote in October, members of the Legislative Council voted 9-7 on Monday to approve it without changes or new material in the policy.
The policy adds a fifth and tiebreaking member to a pair of existing interim ethics committees charged with investigating harassment claims against legislators. The fifth member would not be a member of the Legislature but an outside attorney with a background in harassment issues.
Rep. Daymon Ely, D-Corrales, who introduced the proposed changes to the existing anti-harassment policy in Monday's Legislative Council meeting, said the addition of the new member will break any "logjam" that comes out of a 2-2 vote.
The Legislative Council is a 16-member bipartisan body co-chaired by the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tem. The council oversees and sets procedures and policies for the Legislature.
Republicans on the council were not happy Ely brought back the proposal — which failed on a 7-7 vote in October — for a second try.
"We had a vote last time," said Sen. Greg Baca, R-Belen. "On that vote, this did not pass. So is that the ongoing practice — we present the exact same bill with no changes to the bill, essentially, until we get the results we want?"
Ely, who did not seek reelection and soon will leave the Legislature, told Baca members of the public asked him to reintroduce the policy changes for another vote and said his proposal is the only one to prevent gridlock in harassment complaints.
Calls for reform to the Legislature's harassment policies and its investigations of complaints have continued in the wake of accusations by lobbyist Marianna Anaya and others against Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque.
Anaya said Ivey-Soto groped her and displayed inappropriate behavior. Ivey-Soto has denied any wrongdoing, and an investigation followed. Though its results have not been made public, several lawmakers have since intimated the interim ethics investigatory committee stalled on a 2-2 vote on whether to move forward with a hearing.
The confidential 2-2 vote came up during Monday's hearing, with some lawmakers saying it fell along partisan lines and others insisting it did not.
Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, said the final vote had more to do with internal caucus conflict among Senate Democrats who "could not get a Republican to vote against a Democrat. It wasn't partisan."
He and other Republicans said efforts to add a fifth and external member to the committees smacked of partisanship in favor of Democrats.
After the hearing, Ely said efforts to paint the new policy as partisan are "nonsense."
Ely said the passage of his proposal is "a start" toward initiating ethics reform and effective anti-harassment policies. He said the Legislature, when it convenes in January for a 60-day session, can do more to ensure investigations don't "get stuck" on tie votes in investigatory hearings.
"The status quo is not sustainable," he said after the hearing.
The investigation into Ivey-Soto appears to have come to a halt. Ivey-Soto told The New Mexican in September he had been told "further action on that complaint was postponed indefinitely. Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said that same month the ethics committee process had ended with no resolution.
A coalition of advocates from various organizations have put steady pressure on lawmakers to initiate measures to rid the Legislature of any inappropriate behavior toward lawmakers, lobbyists and members of the public.
