The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is encouraging the public to attend a meeting on Tuesday hosted by a state task force examining public records laws. The task force has been holding meetings across the state this summer and will convene at Santa Fe Community College. The task force is collecting feedback on access to the state's public records.
The state Department of Justice assembled the task force after Inspection of Public Records Act requests jumped from around 2,000 average monthly requests in 2020 to over 5,000 in 2024. An increasing percentage of the requests come from data brokers who commercially harvest and resell public records. The New Mexico Municipal League said in a 2025 report that, “public resources are being used for corporate profit.”
Although the records are public, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that public voices have been missing from these meetings. New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Christine Barber estimates that 80 percent of public commenters at the 10 meetings held so far have been government officials.
The task force will compile the feedback it receives and submit to state lawmakers by October first.
The meeting will be held at Santa Fe Community College on Tuesday from 4 to 7 pm.
