Taos County officials say lunches only meals, not deals

From Santa Fe New Mexican: TAOS — A quorum of the Taos County Commission meets regularly to have lunch, but commissioners insist that they discuss no county business.

County officials say the lunches are within the state’s sunshine laws, but an attorney with the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government told The Taos News he questions whether this is an ethical practice, and says it is teetering on the edge of illegal.

Greg Williams, an Albuquerque-based attorney who volunteers as a legal consultant for NMFOG, said that if even one sentence comes out of a commissioner’s mouth during one of these lunches that has to do with county business, that commissioner has broken the law.

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The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is a member of NFOIC. –eds

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