Diane Denish
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish wants the proposed sunshine portal to include the names of state employees along with their titles and salaries.
But she hopes the legislation, which would create an online database of state government financial information, is approved regardless of whether it requires that names be included.
“The lieutenant governor supports (including) names, but on a more fundamental level she supports the creation of a sunshine portal as a start, and will continually seek to improve it once implemented,” Denish spokesman James Hallinan said.
Hallinan’s comments come on the same day that the House Judiciary Committee stripped the provision from the bill that would require the inclusion of names. After doing that, the committee gave the legislation – Senate Bill 195, sponsored by Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque – a do-pass recommendation.
The legislation has already passed the Senate – with the provision requiring that names be included in the database. The bill now heads to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
Denish has championed creation of the sunshine portal.
“This bill is a great start in the direction of increased openness for government, and she will continue to work toward strengthening the sunshine portal to include more information,” Hallinan said. “Passing the legislation this session is crucial to true transparency for the taxpayers.”