NEW MEXICO Over the past several years, there has been a dramatic increase in public records requests at every level of government, placing increasing demands on the records custodians who are responsible for responding to them.
They need a solution, and finding one will require a robust, inclusive conversation. This is why the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government supports legislation to create a task force focused on practical, real-world solutions that do not sacrifice government transparency.
HJM 2 is a bipartisan House Joint Memorial sponsored by Rep. Cathrynn Brown, Sen. Natalie Figueroa, and Rep. Matthew McQueen. The memorial calls for the creation of a task force to study IPRA, the law governing public access to government records. The task force would gather input from the public and records custodians across the state to better understand their concerns and identify potential solutions.
On Monday, the memorial passed its first hurdle by getting a unanimous vote in the House Judiciary Committee. It next moves to the House floor and then the Senate.
This effort to create the task force grew out of work that began nine months ago, when NMFOG convened a committee of more than 50 IPRA stakeholders. Participants included records custodians, legislators, and representatives from the New Mexico Department of Justice, the ACLU of New Mexico, New Mexico Counties, the New Mexico Press Association, and the New Mexico Broadcasters Association. Over several months, the committee worked collaboratively to draft a memorial that balances the interests of custodians and the public.
'The public needs access to records to hold their government accountable,' said NMFOG president Lucas Peerman. 'FOG is committed to finding the tools that records custodians need to ensure that access is never lost.'
The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog organization dedicated to promoting transparency and accountability in government.