![\"A](\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse-336x220.jpg\")
<\/a>Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p>
The new House rule requires archiving of webcasts beginning next year. Archives will be available to the public for five years after meetings are webcast live.<\/p><\/div>\n
Members of the House voted 62-0 to approve archiving of video and audio webcasts<\/a> on Tuesday. A persistent\u00a0Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, pushed\u00a0the rule change again this year, even after his proposal\u00a0died in 2014 and 2015 without a floor vote.<\/p>\n Apparently the third time’s a charm.<\/p>\n “When this archiving begins, citizens will be able to watch the Legislature at their convenience and have a record of our proceedings,” Steinborn said.<\/p>\n “I deeply appreciate my colleagues for embracing this historic step,” he said.<\/p>\n Like the House, the New Mexico Senate currently webcasts live feeds<\/a> of its floor sessions and committee meetings but doesn’t\u00a0save recordings of those webcasts to make available online later. Joint interim committee meetings are also webcast but not archived.<\/p>\n On Tuesday the House also approved, on a vote of 61-0,\u00a0a bill<\/a> sponsored by Rep. Alonzo Baldonado, R-Los Lunas, that would require archiving of all webcasts of\u00a0House, Senate, and interim committee meetings.<\/p>\n \u201cPreserving the public\u2019s access to these records improves transparency and helps the public stay informed,\u201d Baldonado said. \u201cEnacting this legislation will let New Mexicans across the state observe what their elected officials are doing in Santa Fe.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldonado’s bill would\u00a0need Senate approval before the session ends Thursday\u00a0at noon, and the governor would have to sign it.<\/p>\n The House can set its own rules without the approval of the Senate or governor, which is the route Steinborn took. The new House rule requires archives to be available to the public for five years after meetings are\u00a0webcast\u00a0live. While the rule states that archiving will begin in 2017, it also states that archiving\u00a0is “subject to the financial capability of the House.”<\/p>\n No senators sponsored legislation\u00a0this session that would\u00a0require that body\u00a0to archive webcasts.<\/p>\n Archiving webcasts has become a fairly common way to increase citizens’ access to their government. It allows people with busy schedules to catch up when they have free time.<\/p>\n Currently, 41 state legislatures archive webcasts of at least some of their meetings, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures<\/a>. And in New Mexico, the state\u2019s largest cities \u2014\u00a0Albuquerque<\/a>, Las Cruces<\/a>, Rio Rancho<\/a> and\u00a0Santa Fe<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 archive webcasts of meetings\u00a0of their governing boards. So do many smaller towns\u00a0including Las Vegas<\/a>,\u00a0Silver City<\/a> and\u00a0Socorro<\/a>.<\/p>\n Locally in Las Cruces, other\u00a0governing bodies, including the Do\u00f1a Ana County Board of Commissioners<\/a>, the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education<\/a>, and the New Mexico State University Board of Regents<\/a>\u00a0archive webcasts of their meetings.<\/p>\n Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration also archives webcasts of meetings of many state\u00a0boards and commissions<\/a>, such as the Board of Finance.<\/p>\n The battle for webcasting and archiving isn’t only being fought in the Legislature. The state’s Public Regulation Commission doesn’t archive its webcasts<\/a>. And activists in\u00a0Hobbs are continuing their push for the city commission there to begin webcasting<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tuesday’s vote for\u00a0greater transparency and accessibility in the House came as\u00a0two other ethics bills died in the Senate, which has generally been more resistant to ethics and transparency legislation than the House for the last decade.<\/p>\n The Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday voted down Steinborn’s proposal<\/a> to require greater disclosure from lobbyists at the Roundhouse.<\/p>\n And\u00a0Rep. Jim Dines, R-Albuquerque, withdrew his proposal to create a state ethics commission, which would set ethical standards for the executive and legislative branches of government\u00a0and help police violations. He did that\u00a0because the Senate Rules Committee was poised to approve a substitute bill that would strip the commission of transparency and make other changes.<\/p>\n Dines called the substitute bill “a toothless tiger”<\/a> and said he didn’t want his name on it.<\/p>\nIncreasing access<\/h3>\n
Meanwhile, transparency dies in Senate<\/h3>\n