The Albuquerque Journal has an interesting article on what happens when public records are controlled by a private company.
In short, the cost to the public of inspecting and obtaining those records goes up dramatically as the relevant government agency and the private company use them to make money – at least in the case of the state’s Motor Vehicle Division.
Now, according to the Journal article, the Legislature is considering a bill that might change that. From the Journal:
“Sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, the measure would make public records at the state level ‘open and available to anybody that asks for them,’ said Sarah Welsh, executive director of the Foundation for Open Government, which is also supporting the bill.
“House Bill 406 would allow a records custodian of a state agency to charge a reasonable fee for production of the information requested, but that fee couldn’t exceed the cost of the materials and reasonable charges for the personnel required to retrieve and provide the information.”
Read more by clicking here.