Do you know how to access public data and information? The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) is providing NMSAE members a free training on how to access public records and the rules relating to the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA). 

Learn how your association or professional society can utilize these laws to access information that can be valuable to your organization. 

The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act states that "all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of public officers and employees." More specifically, the law provides two rights -- the right to inspect public records and to obtain copies of public records. Records include: 

• emails, 
• metadata,
• papers,
• letters, 
• books, 
• maps, 
• tapes, 
• photographs, 
• recordings, 
• text messages, 
• salaries, and 
• more.

 Additionally, the New Mexico Open Meetings Act provides the statutory guidelines for conducting public meetings. The “Open Meetings Act,” NMSA 1978, Sections 10-15-1 to 10-15-4, is known as a “sunshine law.”

All states have such laws, which are essentially motivated by the belief that the democratic ideal is best served by a well-informed public. Sunshine laws generally require that public business be conducted in full public view, that the actions of public bodies be taken openly, and that the deliberations of public bodies be open to the public.