N.M. Stat. § 2-11-2 (2026)

As used in the Lobbyist Regulation Act:

    A. "compensation" means any money, per diem, salary, fee or portion thereof or the
equivalent in services rendered or in-kind contributions received or to be received in
return for lobbying services performed or to be performed;

    B. "expenditure" means a payment, transfer or distribution or obligation or promise
to pay, transfer or distribute any money or other thing of value but does not include a
lobbyist's own personal living expenses and the expenses incidental to establishing and
maintaining an office in connection with lobbying activities or compensation paid to a
lobbyist by a lobbyist's employer;

    C. "legislative committee" means a committee created by the legislature, including
interim and standing committees of the legislature;

   D. "lobbying" means attempting to influence:
       (1)     a decision related to any matter to be considered or being considered by
the legislative branch of state government or any legislative committee or any legislative
matter requiring action by the governor or awaiting action by the governor; or

       (2)    an official action;

   E. "lobbyist" means any individual who is compensated for the specific purpose of
lobbying; is designated by an interest group or organization to represent it on a
substantial or regular basis for the purpose of lobbying; or in the course of his
employment is engaged in lobbying on a substantial or regular basis. "Lobbyist" does
not include:

       (1)      an individual who appears on his own behalf in connection with legislation
or an official action;

       (2)    any elected or appointed officer of the state or its political subdivisions or
an Indian tribe or pueblo acting in his official capacity;

        (3)     an employee of the state or its political subdivisions, specifically
designated by an elected or appointed officer of the state or its political subdivision, who
appears before a legislative committee or in a rulemaking proceeding only to explain the
effect of legislation or a rule on his agency or political subdivision, provided the elected
or appointed officer of the state or its political subdivision keeps for public inspection,
and files with the secretary of state, such designation;

       (4)    any designated member of the staff of an elected state official, provided
the elected state official keeps for public inspection and files with the secretary of state
such designation;

       (5)     a member of the legislature, the staff of any member of the legislature or
the staff of any legislative committee when addressing legislation;

         (6)    any witness called by a legislative committee or administrative agency to
appear before that legislative committee or agency in connection with legislation or an
official action;

      (7)     an individual who provides only oral or written public testimony in
connection with a legislative committee or in a rulemaking proceeding and whose name
and the interest on behalf of which he testifies have been clearly and publicly identified;
or

       (8)    a publisher, owner or employee of the print media, radio or television,
while gathering or disseminating news or editorial comment to the general public in the
ordinary course of business;
   F. "lobbyist's employer" means the person whose interests are being represented
and by whom a lobbyist is directly or indirectly retained, compensated or employed;

   G. "official action" means the action or nonaction of a state official or state agency,
board or commission acting in a rulemaking proceeding;

    H. "person" means an individual, partnership, association, committee, federal, state
or local governmental entity or agency, however constituted, public or private
corporation or any other organization or group of persons who are voluntarily acting in
concert;

   I. "political contribution" means a gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of any
money or other thing of value, including the estimated value of an in-kind contribution,
that is made or received for the purpose of influencing a primary, general or statewide
election, including a constitutional or other question submitted to the voters, or for the
purpose of paying a debt incurred in any such election;

    J. "prescribed form" means a form prepared and prescribed by the secretary of
state;

   K. "rulemaking proceeding" means a formal process conducted by a state agency,
board or commission for the purpose of adopting a rule, regulation, standard, policy or
other requirement of general applicability and does not include adjudicatory
proceedings; and

   L. "state public officer" means a person holding a statewide office provided for in
the constitution of New Mexico.

History: 1953 Comp., § 2-13-2, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 261, § 2; 1985, ch. 16, § 1;
1993, ch. 46, § 19; 1994, ch. 85, § 1.

                                     ANNOTATIONS

The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, in Subsection E, in the introductory
paragraph, inserted "the specific purpose", "or organization", "on a substantial or regular
basis", and "'Lobbyist' does not include", and redesignated the paragraphs and
subparagraphs, adding Paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (7), and (8), and deleting former
Subparagraph (3)(d) relating to individuals who appear before a legislative committee to
testify; and made stylistic changes throughout the section.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, rewrote this section to the extent that a
detailed comparison is impracticable.

The state ethics commission has jurisdiction to enforce the registration and
reporting requirements of the Lobbyist Regulation Act against all "persons," both
individuals and organizations. — Where petitioner conducted a digital lobbying
advertising campaign, spending $36,000 on that campaign and then registering with the
secretary of state, as required by the Lobbyist Regulation Act (LRA), 2-11-6(I) NMSA
1978, and filing the required expenditure report, but failing to list the identity of the
contributors to its advertising campaign, the amounts contributed by each, and each
contributor's address and employment, and where, in response to a complaint filed with
the state ethics commission (commission) alleging that petitioner violated 2-11-6(I)
NMSA 1978, petitioner filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that the commission did not
have jurisdiction to enforce 2-11-6(I) NMSA 1978, and where, following a hearing
officer's denial of petitioner's motion to dismiss, petitioner filed a verified petition for writ
of mandamus with the district court, asking the district court to issue its writ ordering the
commission to cease all proceedings against petitioner and to dismiss the complaint for
lack of jurisdiction, claiming that 10-16G-9(A) NMSA 1978 of the State Ethics
Commission Act limited the commission's jurisdiction to an individual who is a "lobbyist"
or to that "lobbyist's employer," as defined by 2-11-2(E) NMSA 1978 and 2-11-2(F)
NMSA 1978, respectively, the district court erred in concluding that the commission
lacked jurisdiction to proceed, because the sole issue before the commission was
whether an organization which engages in a lobbying advertising campaign is a
"person" within the commission's enforcement jurisdiction, and by using the word
"person" in the State Ethics Commission Act (ECA) to define the term "lobbyist," the
legislature intended to include organizations, associations, and other legal or
commercial entities within the definition of "lobbyists." Individuals and organizations
that are required by any provision of the LRA to register with the secretary of state, are
"lobbyists," as the ECA defines the term, and therefore the legislature granted the
commission jurisdiction to enforce the registration and reporting requirements of the
LRA against all "persons," both individuals and organizations, that are required by the
terms of the LRA to register with the secretary of state. N.M. Fams. Forward v. N.M.
State Ethics Comm'n, 2025-NMCA-016, cert. denied.