Transparency organizations raise concerns about Uniform Law Commission’s redaction initiative

A letter from government transparency organizations urges the Uniform Law Commission to prioritize the public’s right to know when it studies the redaction of personal information from public records.  The June 17 letter was written by Sarah Brewerton-Palmer, legislative chair of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, and was edited and endorsed by Todd Fettig, the […]

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New Mexico Foundation for Open Government announces new executive director

Albuquerque, N.M. — The Board of Directors of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) has named Shannon Kunkle as the new Executive Director of the organization beginning Jan. 3, 2022.  Kunkle is an Albuquerque native who graduated with honors from the University of New Mexico, where she studied journalism, advertising and marketing.  Her […]

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New Mexico attorney general decides against appealing records-law ruling

Attorney General Hector Balderas seemed poised to appeal after a state court ruled against his office last month in a lawsuit over New Mexico’s open-records law. But amid mounting concerns from advocates of government transparency that he could undermine what they viewed as a big win for the public’s right to know, Balderas ruled out […]

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NMFOG names new executive director

The Board of Directors of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government announced this week that Melanie Majors, whose 25-year professional career in New Mexico has spanned the fields of journalism, communications and public relations, is the organization’s new executive director. Founded in 1989, FOG is a non-profit organization with a singular mission to educate […]

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Sunshine Portal keeps New Mexico in the dark

SANTA FE – Call up New Mexico’s transparency website and you’ll find the contact information for three state employees ready to help answer questions. But one of those employees, Robert McEntyre, left state government eight months ago. And the site misspells the name of another, Wyndham Kemsley. The problems go well beyond that, says state Sen. […]

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New Mexico bills flounder on both transparency, secrecy

Residents of New Mexico may be none the wiser when it comes to information about independent political expenditures and everyday spending by lobbyists after key transparency measures were vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez. At the same time, a long list of anti-transparency initiatives designed to restrict access to government information floundered during this year’s 60-day legislative session.

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Public records audit details response of New Mexico offices

An audit by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government found it took anywhere from two days to several weeks for many government offices in the state to fulfill public records requests and more than a dozen failed to respond at all.

The open government advocacy group released the findings of its audit Tuesday. It marked the foundation's first public records audit in four years.  Continue…

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New Mexico open-government group questions secret budget talks

House Republican and Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico have been gathering in closed-door committee and subcommittee meetings over the last two weeks to discuss how to allocate more than $6 billion in state money, without the public scrutiny that comes with most committee hearings.

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New Mexico AG promises more FOI enforcement

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has created an Open Government Division within his office to beef up enforcement of New Mexico’s freedom-of-information laws, and though the process has had a few hiccups, transparency advocates are optimistic that the office will be more aggressive.

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government has long complained that the office, through several administrations, has never prioritized enforcement of the state’s laws guaranteeing access to public records and meetings.

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