The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish signed into law today a bill that will create a publicly accessible, online database of financial information from government agencies in New Mexico.
Senate Bill 195, sponsored by Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, calls for the new Web site to be online by July 1, 2011. The database will include the names of exempt employees but not classified employees
Rue said the so-called “Sunshine Portal” will be more than a Web site for centralized, convenient and freely accessible information about government finances. He said it will allow citizens the access they need to do their civic duty of overseeing government.
Sander Rue
“I am most excited because we will get more public input into how state government should be run,” Rue said in a news release after the bill was signed. “They will be able to go online and easily see budget line-items and see how their tax dollars are being spent.”
Denish pushed the legislation during the session. Rue thanked her and Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, who carried the bill for him in the House.
Denish signed the bill because the governor is out of state, according to the news release from the Senate minority office.
Update, 3:30 p.m.
“This has enormous potential to increase citizen oversight and involvement,” said New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh. “It’s particularly exciting in a large state like New Mexico. Just imagine – citizens from Las Cruces to Chama will have useful government information at their fingertips, without the trouble of filing a records request and driving hundreds of miles to view documents.”
Update, March 6, 8:20 a.m.
“By signing this bill we are not just creating a Web site; we are giving the public – the people of New Mexico – information they should have had all along,” Denish said in a news release. “In this day and age – with technology at our fingertips – there is no excuse. The time has come for complete transparency in government. When the Sunshine Portal goes live next year, the public will finally have the ability to scrutinize the state’s checkbook in an easy-to-navigate, online format.”