The main purpose of HB686 is to grant authority to the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and prosecute elected officers of the executive (including the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, and the State Auditor) or judicial departments for swindling the people of New Mexico (including for crimes such as rigging elections and stealing public funds, among others). HB686 does not make any action illegal that is not already illegal; it simply moves “primary authority” for the investigation and prosecution of some crimes from the District Attorneys’ Offices to the Attorney General’s Office.
There are potentially scores of government officials ripping off the taxpayer right now, and the District Attorneys’ Offices simply do not have sufficient resources to investigate them all. The types of crimes and potential criminals covered in HB686 are likely to have left traces in several different counties. For practical purposes of justice, the AGO would be more efficient in bringing government culprits down, because it has more investigative capabilities. However, this bill does not take away prosecutorial powers from the District Attorneys in any cases— there are provisions included to allow the DAs authority to investigate and prosecute in any case where the AGO fails to do so.
After a minor amendment by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (striking the provision to hold a DA’s office financially responsible for a prosecution carried out by the AGO), the bill was passed unanimously in the House. Unfortunately, after stalling on the bill for 10 days, the Senate Judiciary Committee withdrew it from their schedule and it was postponed indefinitely. It’s possible that Senator Michael Sanchez of Belen, a member of the SJC, had a hand in dismissing this bill. He became furious at another bill drawn up by the Attorney General’s Office that would’ve required legislators to disclose potential conflicts of interest, and now he may have a grudge against the AG. Why does Michael Sanchez object to a free government? This bill is crucial for illuminating the dark corners of the government’s crypts with the light of justice, and for burning out any of those rats who steal from the people of New Mexico.