Transparency

Julia Goldberg from The Santa Fe Reporter joins the show to talk about benefit corporations and HB118. Benefit corporations are a new positive trend in the business world. We talk about how New Mexico can get on board with a movement that is seen by many as positive for the community. 

Take a look at Julia's article on benefit corporations here 

Matt Grubs from New Mexico PBS joins the program to talk about Senate Joint Resolution 7. What is SJ7? If it passes it would pave the way for New Mexico to have a professional legislature. Matt discusses where it stands at the Roundhouse and what that would mean for the state. We also discuss the budget, the opportunity scholarship, and the legal settlement transparency act. 

New Mexico Senators asked a local news reporter to leave a committee meeting Thursday at the Roundhouse, citing a Senate rule that bars recording these public meetings without permission from the head of the committee. 

Lawyers say this may be a violation of First Amendment freedom of the press, and some lawmakers want the rule changed to allow full transparency. 

Kaveh Mowahed comes into the studio to talk about lobbyists and ethics. The New Mexico Ethics Watch commission just released a report. (Check it out here.) It has a few recommendations to help add more transparency to our state government. Listen close as Kaveh and I talk about the latest developments. 

Matt Grubs from New Mexico PBS talks with me about some of the budget issues being addressed in this year's session. The Legal Settlement Transparency Bill (SB 64), fixes to PERA and what that will mean for the state's retirement fund, as well as the 2020 budget passing the House Appropriations committee are all on deck for our conversation.

When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent 50 state police officers to patrol parts of Albuquerque in mid-May, Mayor Tim Keller announced the operation, saying it was intended to fight violent crime. Officials touted the hundreds of arrests state police officers made, but residents in targeted communities said the sudden over-policing was familiar and felt like a siege.

When the Legislature is not in session in New Mexico, lawmakers still meet and hold hearings about things like education funding, solitary confinement, green energy jobs and more. When these off-session meetings happen in Santa Fe, they’re live-streamed, and anyone around the state can tune in. But if they’re held anywhere else in New Mexico, the public’s out of luck. That might be changing.

For decades, legislators have repeatedly fumbled the creation of an ethics commission to stop government corruption. But voters demanded one overwhelmingly in November, and now it’s on some of the very people the commission would police—state lawmakers—to decide what it can and can’t do. They’re considering two bills this year: one where people can see what the commission’s up to and one where it’s mostly secret.

To get a sense of how New Mexicans feel about good government and accountability in advance of our interactive community event on Tuesday April 4, 2017, we sent People, Power, and Democracy reporter Jeremy Zeilik to find out.

KUNM Call In Show 3/23 8a: Call now toll-free 1-877-899-5866.  This year's 60-day legislative session wrapped up last weekend, but lawmakers may soon be called back by Governor Susana Martinez to continue debate on the state budget. We'll look at the latest news from the Roundhouse and we ask you to share what you think would make state government more accessible and accountable to everyday New Mexicans.

Gov. Susana Martinez stood before the state’s lawmakers to give her sixth State of the State address on Tuesday. She called for transparency and good government. 

University of New Mexico regents voted Monday, March 14, to put themselves in charge of the Health Sciences Center despite public objections to the sudden shift.

KUNM Call In Show Thu. 2/25 8a:  

State legislators passed a budget, created a REAL-ID driver's license fix, cracked down on DWI and child porn and advanced bail reform. But did they do anything to reverse the tide of indicators that New Mexicans have lost faith in state government? We look at what lawmakers did, or didn't do, to restore the public trust.