Today FOG sent each member of the New Mexico Legislature the following letter, insisting that the state budget be discussed in public, allowing citizens to hear the debate and weigh in on critical decisions affecting our state. We encourage you to contact your representatives and tell them you support an open budget process in accordance Read More …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Although the sun was at high noon when it ended, the 2015 Legislative Session won’t be remembered as the Sunshine Session. Cue the theme song from Sergio Leone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” for a look at the 60 day term in the light of transparency. Proceedings started on a high and good Read More …
UPDATE (03/13/15): House Bill 378 to require the opportunity for public comment in public meetings received a “do pass” from the House Judiciary Committee and will advance to the House floor for a vote. With only a week remaining in the session, amendments to the bill are still pending for debate and time is of Read More …