First up, Rep. Martin Heinrich. His report can be found in the second PDF, beginning on page 343. Here’s the summary:

Next up is Rep. Harry Teague. His report is located on the third PDF, beginning on page 277:

Finally, here’s Rep. Ben Lujan. His report is in the second PDF, starting on page 337. His summary:

Looks like Rep. Teague spent the most this quarter and YTD, almost cracking the $1 million mark for 2009 spending just more than $900,000 thus far.

Each member has about 5-6 pages of information, where the above info is broken down into details (like reimbursements for taxi rides and contracts for technology services), so check through and see if there’s anything interesting. Also, while these reports are a great asset and step toward transparency, they could be better. Keep an eye on the Sunlight Foundation blog for more and to see how you can help.

Update: To answer the obvious question, I included images because I literally couldn’t copy and paste just the sections I wanted. That’s how poorly structured these were (at least for me).

Update 2: Though Rep. Teague did spend the most among his peers in New Mexico, he didn’t really come close to spending $1 million (though Rep. Heinrich did). Also, Teague has been disclosing his office expenditures online all year long. You can see those reports here (on Teague’s nicely detailed Transparent Government page). After doing some searching on the sites for Reps. Heinrich and Lujan, I couldn’t find a similar page, nor could I locate office disclosures for past quarters.

So, kudos to Rep. Teague for being ahead of the curve.

Now, on the face of it, this is the exact same tactic being used by Republicans in the U.S. Senate to thwart a proposed reform of the way Senate candidates file campaign finance reports (full disclosure, I’m a Sunlight Foundation employee and this is one of our big issues).

But beyond that, if New Mexico lawmakers are so concerned about their voting records being made public, they should change the way they’re voting! In addition, didn’t they sign up for this job? If New Mexico state senators don’t want to be in the public eye, if they don’t want their actions to be scrutinized, they’re in the wrong business.

That’s what’s so disheartening about Barb’s post at DFNM about Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez. This guy went out and told his colleagues that the boogey man the Loch Ness Monster aliens from outer space a blogger had said mean things about the senators. And he used that as justification to oppose a revolving door lobbying reform bill (see Jim Baca for more on this bill). That sort of thing is straight out the playbook of national politicians (even President Obama has stooped to discounting bloggers recently).

Now, I know I’ve been slacking a bit on the blogging front lately (hey, new job and all) but I hope that the few of you out in New Mexico still reading this will call your senators (especially you folks who can call Sen. Howie Morales) and tell them to adopt some meaningful reforms. Also, tell your friends to call! It’s not a big list, and they’re not hard reforms:

1. Require electronic disclosure of campaign finance reports so people know who is giving money in a timely fashion.
2. Enact a limit on the amount of money donors can give to individual candidates. In a recession like this one, it’s even harder for the little guy to make his voice heard with his wallet, while the big corporations, special interests and fat cats can still line the campaign pockets for lawmakers. This is a practice that should be reined in, and it’s a shame New Mexico still hasn’t done it.
3. Enact the revolving door law, which would prevent former lawmakers from lobbying their former colleagues for one year after they leave office. This should be a no-brainer, but thanks to Sen. Sanchez the legislation was voted down today.
4. Open up the legislative process by streaming committee meetings and floor sessions online. New Mexico may not have a large population, but its geographic size is prohibitive to not just citizens but also for journalists trying to cover the legislative sessions.

There are probably more, but that’s a really, really good start. With all the ethics problems plaguing the state lately, however, I’d think it would be an easy task to get New Mexico lawmakers to become open and transparent. Looks like they’re going to fight it tooth and nail.

Experts say sophisticated modern methods — involving digital data, computers and mobile phones — are a far cry from the days of the Stasi who used steaming devices to open envelopes as well as magnetic microphones and typewriters.

“But there are similarities. There is the same lack of scruples over looking into peoples’ lives — the possibility of obtaining and using the information on people,” said Staadt.

The Stasi ran a notoriously effective network of domestic and foreign agents to quash dissent and guard the Berlin Wall against would-be escapees.

Remember, Sen. John McCain wants to make sure telecom companies here in America are protected from lawsuits regarding their illegal eavesdropping – and he’s ready to keep spying if he’s elected president.

Reuters story via Laura Rozen.

Retiring Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., created an appearance of impropriety when he called a federal prosecutor in New Mexico to inquire about the timing of corruption indictments, the Senate ethics committee said Thursday.

The committee criticized Domenici in a letter to the senator, but it recommended no punishment.

[...]

“The committee finds no substantial evidence to determine that you attempted to improperly influence an ongoing investigation,” the committee letter said.

“The committee does find that you should have known that a federal prosecutor receiving such a telephone call, coupled with an approaching election which may have turned on or been influenced by the prosecutor’s actions … created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate.”

It looks like New Mexico’s senior senator is brushing the letter aside, and he’s heading on his way out anyway, but still, it’s interesting to see such strong language come out of the committee.

Iglesias’s case is in the crosshairs of all three investigations. Testifying before Congress, he alleged last year that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) pressured him to accelerate an investigation of a Democratic politician in New Mexico ahead of Wilson’s tight reelection bid. Iglesias said he did not plan to bring charges before the November elections, and was fired in December 2006. The administration says it was not satisfied with his pursuit of voter-fraud cases.

Public records show that the Senate ethics committee spent nearly $5,000 to send three staff members to Albuquerque in March and July last year.

I’m sure Rep. Steve Pearce welcomes the news.

After a series of non-denial denials, Domenici admitted to contacting then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias regarding an ongoing corruption investigation, an investigation that was politically sensitive and could impact 2006 election results. Iglesias has commented on the unprecedented nature of Domenici’s involvement. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) promptly filed a formal complaint against Domenici.

The full list is a who’s who of shady dealers, the people who kept the Muckrakers so busy this year. What’s the status of the investigations? Your guess is as good as mine…

For the latest on Sex on the City (aka Shag Fund) visit TPM Muckraker.

It’s far worse than you think — worse than hanging chads, faulty Diebold machines, and billionaires who bankroll last-minute attack ads. The American system for nominating a presidential candidate has about as much in common with actual democracy as Donald Duck has with a lake mallard. It’s not just that this year’s primaries have been further front-loaded, or that the early primary states aren’t representative of the nation at large. There is only passing fairness. There is only the semblance of order. There is nothing like equal representation under the law.

I’m just catching this from the Salon newsletter, and I’m off to work, so I’ll have to read the rest later. Looks to be interesting though.

UPDATE: 11:53 p.m. — Apparently, I forgot the link. Here you go.

But the group’s first allegation, made Tuesday when CREW released its list of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress, is that Pearce failed to report on a public financial disclosure form the fact that he sold the assets of Lea Fishing Tools, Inc. to Key Energy Services for more than 540,000 shares of stock in 2003. The group says Pearce was required to report the sale and his failure to do so likely violated the Ethics in Government Act.

I touched on this last week, but Haussamen has been working the phones trying to get a response from the Congressman. What happened?

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., is still refusing to explain why a watchdog group’s accusation that he failed to report a financial transaction he was required to disclose is false.

Follow the link for more.

In a 56-43 vote, the Senate today “narrowly rejected” legislation that would have restored habeas corpus rights to military detainees and given them “the right to protest their detention in federal court.” The roll call fell four votes short of the 60 needed to cut off debate.

UPDATE: Full roll call vote HERE.

There’s background over at FireDogLake. It seems absolutely ludicrous to me that we have to be fighting for these rights (laid out 200 years ago!) just two days after we celebrated Constitution Day, but, there you go. Sen. Pete Domenici, New Mexico’s senior senator, was among those who chose to roll back the liberties and rights that our nation’s sons and daughters have fought for in the past and are dying for today.

Speaking of Domenici, NewMexiKen tipped us off that Pete made CREW’s list of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress. Here’s why. I think we can be reasonably certain that CREW doesn’t have a bone to pick with New Mexico, so it’s telling that every Republican member of Congress from the Land of Enchantment was also singled out.