New Mexico transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from New Mexico.
Open records case: State racks up hefty attorney fees
November 15, 2008: The state Taxation and Revenue Department spent at least $31,000 on outside attorneys for a public-records lawsuit against it, and thousands more on in-house attorneys.
The state last month announced it was settling the lawsuit filed by Albuquerque private investigator Eric Griego, who claimed the state was illegally withholding documents he uses in his business. Read the full article here.
Public-records lawsuit settled
October 11, 2008: The state Department of Taxation and Revenue has settled a two-year-old public-records case and agreed to pay $117,500 to a private investigator who sued the department for access to the records.
A lawyer for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government said the settlement amount was the largest ever made in such a case. Read the full article here.
Judge rules in Sandia landfill public records case
October 8, 2008: A state district judge has ruled that a report concerning groundwater monitoring at Sandia National Laboratories' mixed waste landfill is public record.
The state Environment Department had sued Albuquerque-based advocacy group Citizen Action last fall to keep the report secret. The department cited executive privilege in preventing the disclosure of the 2006 report by TechLaw, a consulting company. Read the full article here.
New Mexico Tech Resorts to Snake Oil
August 17, 2008: New Mexico Tech is an institution widely respected as a purveyor of science and knowledge. So it's especially sad to see it sink to peddling snake oil as a way to justify its ill-advised refusal to turn over documents in response to a request under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act. Read the full article here.
UNM regents approve public records changes
August 12, 2008: University of New Mexico regents on Tuesday approved changes to the school's public record policies that will allow employees to opt out of releasing their home addresses and telephone numbers. Read the full article here.
State appeals open records rulings
August 12, 2008: The state is appealing a judge's ruling that certain property records sought by an Albuquerque man are public.
The state Taxation and Revenue Department also is appeal the awarding of $25,970 in attorney's fees to the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. Read the full article here.
Attorney fees awarded in public records lawsuit
July 17, 2008: A state district judge has awarded attorney's fees to a government watchdog group in a 2-year-old public records case against the state Taxation and Revenue Department.
Judge Valerie Huling awarded $25,970 to the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government in its work with Albuquerque private investigator Eric Griego.
Griego sued the state in 2006 in an attempt to obtain records from the department. He and the foundation contend the records are public. Read the full article here.
