The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Members of the Legislative Council unanimously approved today a motion directing staff to begin webcasting interim committee meetings as soon as possible.
The motion the committee approved directs staff to “expeditiously begin webcasting as many interim committee meetings as practicable within budget and scheduling constraints” by means that could include using existing video conferencing systems or the infrastructure already in place to webcast committee meetings held during legislative sessions.
The committee’s motion directs that the webcasts “be produced in substantially the same manner as the webcasts produced during the session,” meaning that only official portions of meetings will be webcast, and there will be no archiving.
Interim committees meet between regular sessions to explore issues and craft legislation that will be considered in the next session. They’ve already been meeting this year.
Normally, those meetings are held around the state to give New Mexicans a chance to have input in the legislative process and give lawmakers a chance to see what’s going on in areas other than their home districts and Santa Fe. But because of the budget crunch, lawmakers decided to hold all interim meetings in Santa Fe this year.
As I reported earlier today, it was state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, who asked legislative leaders to allow webcasting and video conferencing of those meetings.
You can view a list of interim committees, and find schedules of their upcoming meetings, by clicking here.
Update, 1:30 p.m.
Arnold-Jones, who has championed legislative webcasting, said she’s pleased with the council’s decision, which moves the Legislature toward increased accessibility and transparency.
“We’re getting there,” she said.
Update, June 30, 10:20 a.m.
From State Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, who has pushed webcasting legislation in the past:
“This is another step in the right direction. We are always looking for ways to make government more transparent and accessible to the public. Webcasting is a useful service for our constituents.”