I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A bill introduced Tuesday in the state Senate would create a one-stop clearinghouse for public information in an effort to create more transparency in how government works.
Sponsored by Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, the legislation gives the state Department of Information Technology the go-ahead to start designing the Web site and databases that will hold the information.
By mid year 2011, a New Mexican interested in learning about state government could go to a state Web site to learn everything she needed to know. Who works for the state, how much state agencies spend each month, who is a state contractor and how much those contracts are worth.
The proposed legislation comes at a time when state government is under extra scrutiny following several scandals that have rocked the state’s political class. Those scandals include several federal and state criminal investigations into deals involving various state agencies and several elected officials.
“Now is the best time to move forward with this,” said Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who is running for governor. Denish endorsed the proposal during an event Tuesday in her fourth-floor office at the state Capitol.
Supporters say the site would help open up state government to public scrutiny. That includes sharing the number of political appointees across state government and what each one earns. The state wouldn’t attach names to those salaries, however.
“We had an issue putting names with salaries,” Rue said.
Already the state has started down the path of providing more information to the public. It launched a contractor database Jan. 1 that allows the media and the public to review large contracts.
If the bill becomes law, the state’s Information Technology agency would design the Web site and databases this year with the expectation that the site would go live in July 2011, said Marlin Mackey, the state’s chief information officer.
It’s unclear how much trouble the bill might run into during this year’s legislative session. Rue said he expected an easy path in the state Senate.
“We’ll probably have to work the House side a little bit,” Rue said.
