Heath Haussamen
New Mexico leapt ahead of most states last week in a key area: government transparency.
The unveiling of the state’s Sunshine Portal, coupled with the recent expansions of legislative webcasting, give people better access to state government in New Mexico than they’ve ever had before.
The N.M. Foundation For Open Government’s Sarah Welsh put it this way in a letter to supporters:
“When I became FOG’s executive director last year, one of the first things I did was survey the landscape of open-government initiatives around the country. I quickly discovered that it’s all about tech – releasing raw data, building online checkbooks, webcasting. It’s about giving people real-time, hands-on access to government information without the need to file a written request.
“I thought, wouldn’t that be great? But New Mexico will take years to get on that train. How wrong I was.”
Last week, a beta version of the Sunshine Portal went live – six months ahead of schedule.
It is, quite simply, fantastic.
Check it out at sunshineportalnm.com. You can find detailed information about the state’s cash balances, purchases, revenue, appropriations, state land contracts, employee salaries and other info.
For example, if you look at salaries in the governor’s office, you’ll find that five employees make more than the governor.
If you check out State Land Office business leases, you’ll find five for Katerina, LLC. That’s a company organized by Las Crucen Philip Philippou, a controversial developer whose interactions with the land office have gained media attention in the past.
Thanks to those who made this happen
The bottom line: People now have easier access to financial information from state government than they ever have before. And New Mexico is now one of the states at the forefront of utilizing the Internet to provide such access to information.
Thank you to Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, for sponsoring the legislation that created the Sunshine Portal. Thank you lawmakers for approving the legislation.
Thank you Lt. Gov. Diane Denish for pushing for the creation of the Sunshine Portal and signing the bill into law.
There are more steps to be taken. Audio and video webcasting should be expanded to all policymaking bodies in state government. Webcasting should be archived online. The sunshine portal should include real-time information, not just recent information. Actual documents should be scanned and put online.
But the Sunshine Portal is a gigantic leap forward for New Mexico. Thanks to those who made it happen.