Legislature had 5 harassment complaints in 2018 session

None of the accusations resulted in formal ethics charges against lawmakers

The New Mexico Legislature received five complaints of possible sexual misconduct, harassment and discrimination during the monthlong session that ended last week.

The Legislature’s legal counsel told The Associated Press that each of the complaints was resolved and that none was found to have merited formal ethics charges against lawmakers.

The complaints are the first under a new policy established by the Legislature at the outset of this year’s session amid mounting scrutiny of harassment and sexism in institutions from the media to politics. And the complaints follow a decade in which only one formal complaint of sexual misconduct was filed against a New Mexico legislator under the previous policy.

Members of the House were the focus of one complaint of discrimination and one report of possible sexual harassment, The Associated Press reported.

Legislative staff also lodged two allegations of possible sexual harassment against other employees but the council service said these were resolved “to the satisfaction of the parties involved.”

Another complaint was related to the use of the legislative process by an outside group and determined to not be a matter of harassment.

Because there were no findings of probable cause in any of the cases, the Legislative Council Service did not release details of the complaints.

The previous policy tasked legislative aides with investigating their supervisors in the event of complaints, and it did not seem to extend to the public, leaving lobbyists or others working at the Capitol without an avenue to address harassment by lawmakers.

In an open letter in December, state Rep. Kelly Fajardo, R-Los Lunas, wrote that “tolerating this behavior is seen as the price of doing business in the Roundhouse, especially for women” and described the old process as slanted against victims.

On the day before this year’s session began, legislators underwent harassment training and adopted a new sexual harassment policy, expanding on protocols that had not been updated since 2008.

Under the new policy, if a person who is not a legislative employee is harassed by a legislator, they can report the incident to the director of the Legislative Council Service or the chief clerk of the state Senate or House of Representatives. They will in turn report the complaint to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the lawmaker’s chamber, who will consult with an outside attorney experienced in employment law and decide whether to investigate.

If any of the legislative leaders or the lawyer believe the complaint should be investigated, the complaint will be given to a group from a House or Senate ethics committee, which will have an outside lawyer investigate the matter.

Advocates applaud that new measure of outside oversight and contend it should boost confidence in the process for handling allegations of wrongdoing.

“It’s not a good thing there are complaints,” Fajardo said. “It’s a good thing we have a system in place to handle them.”

The renewed discussion of harassment has brought new attention and awareness to the issue, she added, and put actors on notice.

Heather Brewer, a political consultant, said it seems like a good sign that people have come forward. But she questioned how quickly the complaints had been resolved and whether that time allowed for a thorough investigation.

Moreover, Brewer suggested the bigger issues besides the new harassment policy is a need for cultural change around harassment.

“Culture change does not happen overnight,” she said. “But I’m optimistic we’re on the way forward.”