Sunshine Week Legislative Recap

Recent Legislative Session Casts Shadow on Sunshine Week, Editorial by New Mexico Foundation for Open Government President Greg Williams. Closed-door budget talks and a failed effort to create a transparent ethics commission largely shaded the recent New Mexico Legislative session from sunlight, but 2016 did see two incremental victories for transparency. Sunshine Week is March Read More …

DOH makes medical marijuana producer information public

Following a lawsuit filed by freelance reporter Peter St. Cyr and NMFOG, the Department of Health has now complied with the state’s public records law and made the names of med-pot producers public. The Santa Fe Reporter discusses the lawsuit and its importance on Gene Grant’s New Mexico In Focus program “The Line.” The Albuquerque Read More …

FOG Meets With Ukrainian Delegation

FOG’s Shannon Kunkel was honored to have the opportunity to speak with visitors from Ukraine on Thursday. The visitors were in Santa Fe as part of a program offered by the Center for International Relations and the U.S. State Department. They had a range of experience and came from various cities within Ukraine, but most Read More …

Campaign Finance Reporting Bill is Off to the Governor’s Desk!

HB 105 has passed the Legislature with unanimous support! HB 105 Electronic Reporting Requirements sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto is now headed to the Governor! House Bill 105 amends the Campaign Reporting Act and the Lobbyist Regulation Act to require electronic filing of contribution and expenditure reports. The bill requires the Read More …

Campaign Finance Reporting Bill Goes to the Floor!

UPDATED: After passing the House, HB 105 is now awaiting hearings in the Senate. We’ll let you know if and when it is to be heard on the Senate floor. FOG is excited to announce that HB 105: Improve Campaign Finance is on its way to the House floor! We have testified in support of Read More …

Join us for our fifth-annual CLE!

Public Records and Open Meetings: Looking for Sunlight! Register for FOG’s fifth-annual Continuing Legal Education seminar for attorneys, public officials, journalists and citizens. Approval pending for 6 continuing education credits, including 1 ethics credit. Continuing Legal Education Thursday, May 5, 2016 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Albuquerque Journal 7777 Jefferson St. NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 Read More …

Transparency promotes economic development, research confirms.

With a struggling economy and the highest unemployment in the nation, New Mexico business leaders say it’s time for more open-government reforms. New polling finds that shedding a light on campaign finance reports, lobbyist spending, and political contributions would help to prevent corruption and build both public trust and investor confidence in our state. Two-thirds Read More …

FOG Sends Letter to Legislative Leadership

FOG has received complaints from the media and the public following a closed-door meeting of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. As a result, FOG has emailed and hand delivered a letter to Speaker of the House Don L. Tripp and Senate President Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen urging the Legislature to (1) clarify ambiguous language Read More …

Campaign Finance Reporting Bill Advances

Today at the Roundhouse, the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee voted unanimously in favor of HB105 sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith (R-Sandia Park). FOG spoke in support of the bill, which would require improved campaign finance reporting technology on the Secretary of State’s website. Currently, campaign finance reports housed on the Secretary of Read More …

2015 FOG Year In Review

Your generosity and enthusiasm for transparency have helped make FOG’s 25th-anniversary year a tremendous success. FOG fights for your right to know throughout New Mexico, and we do it on an annual budget of just over $100,000, with only our full-time executive director, Susan Boe; our part-time membership director, Shannon Kunkel; and our panel of Read More …