Evaluation of New Mexico state website
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Contents |
NewMexico.gov is the website for the state of New Mexico.
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of state websites or see sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
This website was reviewed on January 22, 2012.
[edit] The good
- Elected officials are listed with contact information.[1]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information within department pages.
- Budgets are posted, but for recent years, only recommended budgets, not adopted budgets, are available.[2]
- Audits are posted.[3]
- A database of state contracts is posted.[4]
- Bid opportunities are posted.[5]
- State tax information is provided.[6]
- The state has a transparency website.[7]
- While search on the main NewMexico.gov website does not bring up these results, there is a page on the Legislature website that provides a contact for public records requests to the Legislature,[8] and the Governor's Office has links to guides for public records requests.[9]
- Legislative ethics information is posted.[10]
- Lobbyist lists are posted.[11]
[edit] The bad
- The site is somewhat difficult to navigate, and the search function does not search all websites of the New Mexico government; .e.g., searches for "lobbyists," "ethics," or "public records" either bring up no results or only irrelevant results.
- Adopted budgets are not available for current and recent budgets.
- Executive ethics information is not available.
- No information is available on Taxpayer-funded lobbying.
- Contacts and forms are not provided for public records requests to state departments.
[edit] U.S. PIRG rating
The U.S. PIRG rated the state website a "C+" on providing online access to government spending data, with a score of 75 out of 100.[12]
The scorecard that U.S. PIRG uses has 13 items and focuses on a separate state website that is searchable at the checkbook level. Sunshine Review, on the other hand, focuses on the availability of separate spending-related items; they do not need to be in a central database.
| Item | Possible points | Notes |
| Checkbook-level website | 30 | Detailed expenditure information, including individual payments made to vendors. |
| Search by vendor | 8 | Ability to search checkbook-level expenditures by contractor or vendor name. |
| Search by keyword of activity | 8 | Ability to search checkbook-level expenditures by type of service or item purchased, category, or government fund. |
| Search by agency or departments | 8 | Ability to search checkbook-level expenditures by branch of government. |
| Contract or summary information | 10 | A copy of the contract or detailed summary information is included for the expenditures. |
| Historical expenditures | 5 | Checkbook-level expenditure data from previous fiscal years. |
| Grants and economic development incentives information | 10 | Awardee-specific grants and/or economic development incentives are included in the checkbook tool or elsewhere with specific award amounts. |
| Downloadable | 3 | Information can be downloaded for data analysis. |
| Tax expenditure reports | 10 | The state's tax expenditure report is linked on the website. |
| Off-budget agencies | 2 | Expenditures from quasi-public agencies are included on the website. |
| City and county budgets | 2 | Financial information for some local governments is accessible. |
| ARRA Funding | 2 | A link is provided to the state's website that tracks funding related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. |
| Feedback | 2 | Website users are capable and encouraged to give feedback about the site. |
There are several similarities between the checklists. For both checklists, the searchability of information factors in to how usability is rated. Both checklists have an item relating to contracts, tax information, and the budget. The U.S. PIRG requires information for quasi public entities; Sunshine Review requires information on lobbying, which includes quasi public entities lobbying activity.
Unlike the Sunshine Review checklist with each check worth one point, different items on the U.S. PIRG checklist merit more or fewer points, depending on the item.
[edit] State Integrity Investigation
The 2012 State Integrity Investigation graded state ethics laws according to an "Integrity Index." The index was created by researching 330 "Integrity Indicators" across 14 categories of state government. The report assigned grades based on what laws are on the books, and whether or not they were effectively enforced. The report was a project of The Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity, and Public Radio International.[13]
New Mexico received an overall grade of D-, or 62%. It ranked 39 out of the 50 states.[14]
| Category | Grade |
| Public Access to Information | D+ |
| Political Financing | D- |
| Executive Accountability | D |
| Legislative Accountability | D |
| Judicial Accountability | C |
| State Budget Processes | C- |
| State Civil Service Management | C- |
| Procurement | C- |
| Internal Auditing | B- |
| Lobbying Disclosure | F |
| State Pension Fund Management | D |
| Ethics Enforcement Agencies | F |
| State Insurance Commissions | F |
| Redistricting | B- |
[edit] Transparency Legislation
[edit] 2011
- SB47 is sponsored by Senator Tim Keller and would create a tax expenditure budget that would display special tax breaks included in the tax code.[15]
[edit] Resources
| Resource | Run by | Includes | Year | URL |
| Secretary of State | State | Lobbying and campaign finance | 2011 | http://www.sos.state.nm.us/ |
| Recovery and Reinvestment Plan | State | Tracks federal stimulus funds | 2011 | http://www.recovery.state.nm.us/ |
| Budget Division | State | Budget info | 2011 | http://budget.nmdfa.state.nm.us/content.asp?CustComKey=201583&CategoryKey=201584&pn=Page&DomName=budget.nmdfa.state.nm.us |
| Contracts Database | State | Contracts | 2011 | http://contracts.gsd.state.nm.us/HB546App/Homepage.aspx |
| New Mexico Spending | Rio Grande Foundation | Payroll, contracts, expenditures | 2010 | http://www.newmexicospending.com/ |
| Follow the Money | National Institute on Money in Politics | Campaign contributions | 2010 | http://www.followthemoney.org/database/state_overview.phtml?y=2010&s=NM |
[edit] Salaries
[edit] State and Local Employees
According to 2008 Census data, the state of Colorado and local governments in the state employed a total of 144,852 people.[16] Of those employees, 118,633 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $403,244,024 per month and 26,219 were part-time employees paid $25,713,036 per month.[16] More than 58% of those employees, or 84,481 employees, were in education or higher education.[16]
Earning more than any state employee is Peter Dekom, New Mexico's film consultant. The State Investment Council elected to extend his contract in 2010, which is for 30 hours a month at $260,000 a year.[17]
[edit] Benefits
Paid leave State workers traditionally received four hours of paid leave in addition to their regular annual leave, to attend the Fiesta de Santa Fe and State Fair.[18] In 2007 the cost to taxpayers for the four-hour leave was estimated at about $1.5 million.[18] The leave was canceled in 2010 due to the state budget crisis. In FY2010, most state employees had to take five unpaid furlough days due to the budget crisis.[18]
[edit] Pensions
Public Employees Retirement Association serves state employees. New Mexico teacher and school employees participate in a pension administered by the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board.
New Mexico’s pension funding level has dropped from 96% in 2000 to nearly 83%, with the required contribution growing from $334 million in 2000 to more than $667 million in 2010.[19]
As of June 30, 2008, New Mexico’s unfunded pension liability was $4,519,887,000 while the unfunded retiree health care liability was an additional $2,946,290,000. [20]
Every member of the 12-member pension board is in a position that is eligible for a pension.[19] A recent study by economists Joshua Rauh of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business concluded that the New Mexico pension fund will run out of money in 2023.[21][22]
[edit] Reform
Rep. Mimi Stewart recently sponsored HB 644, which was passed in the house with a 37-32 vote. It will increase the retirement age and would tie COLA increases to the consumers price index.[23]
[edit] Education Retirement Board
The Education Retirement Board (ERB) is facing many long-term financial troubles and is currently renegotiating funding and benefits with the New Mexico Legislature. The legislature has proposed an increased individual contribution and increasing the retirement age for the beneficiaries. Meanwhile ERB reps feel that they've already made significant sacrifices and have proposed ERB members pay a half a percent more per year for the next four years, with the state contributing an additional three percent over the next six years.[24]
[edit] Contribution Increase
The state temporarily shifted 1.5% of the employer’s contribution to employees in 2009.[19]
[edit] Eligibility
The New Mexico state legislature increased the number of years of service prior to retirement eligibility from 25 years to 30 years.[25]
[edit] Funding Levels
Currently, 84 percent of PERA is funded by Buck projects, but this number is expected to drop to 63 percent within three years.[26] ERB is funded at 68 percent, but that is expected to drop to 58 percent by 2012.[26]
[edit] Public Records
The Inspection of Public Record Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: New Mexico FOIA procedures
[edit] Recent news
- See also: New Mexico transparency headlines
Transparency blocking
- New Mexico Supreme Court to require I.D. to view court records 2011-02-24 13:07:37
- Pay-to-play lawsuit: Plaintiff files complaint after records request denied 2009-06-11 17:57:57
- State agency won’t release GRIPgate records 2009-06-11 17:55:15
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
Litigation
- NM Supreme Court to determine if employee complaints are public records 2011-04-14 09:59:17
- New Mexico appeals court orders police complaints released 2010-08-18 08:13:56
- New Mexico Appeals Court exempts names and addresses from drivers licenses 2010-07-14 08:11:52
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
Legislation
- Records Act 'sabotage' a Roundhouse mystery 2009-06-11 18:09:20
- Bill limits access to criminal records 2009-06-11 18:06:40
- Bills would make government more transparent 2009-06-11 18:04:32
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
Sunshine Guardians
No recent news. If you have news add it here
Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[edit] External links
- New Mexico Sunshine Portal
- NewMexico.gov
- New Mexico Legislature
- Attorney General
- Contact the Governor
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
- New Mexico on State Budget Solutions
