SENATE BILL 472

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Sander Rue

AN ACT

RELATING TO THE SUNSHINE PORTAL; EXPANDING THE INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE POSTED ON THE SUNSHINE PORTAL; IDENTIFYING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION NOT TO BE POSTED ON THE SUNSHINE PORTAL.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 10-16D-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010, Chapter 34, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "10-16D-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act:

          A. "contract" means an agreement with a state agency for:

                (1) the rendition of services, including professional services;

                (2) the furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment;

                (3) the construction, alteration or repair of any public building or public work;

                (4) the acquisition, sale or lease of any land or building;

                (5) a licensing arrangement;

                (6) a loan or loan guarantee; or

                (7) the purchase of financial securities or instruments;

          B. "department" means the department of information technology, or its successor agency;

          C. "exempt employee" means an employee of the state or a state agency who is in a policymaking or supervisory position and who serves at the discretion of the agency head or at the discretion of an appointee of the agency head;

          D. "expenditure" means:

                (1) for a state agency, a disbursement of state or federal funds by the state agency, whether or not the funds have been appropriated by the legislature; or

                (2) for a local education provider, a disbursement of federal, state or other funds by the local education provider;

          E. "federal funds" means money received by a state agency from the federal government or one of its branches, departments, agencies, offices, officers or instrumentalities;

          F. "financial information" means the state's information or data provided by the department of finance and administration concerning the expenditure of public money;

          [F.] G. "local education provider" means:

                (1) a school district, including the local school board for that school district; or

                (2) a locally chartered or state-chartered charter school, including the governing body of that charter school;

          [G.] H. "revenue" means:

                (1) for a state agency, money received by the state agency and deposited into the general fund or another state fund. "Revenue" includes money from taxes, fines, fees, royalties, federal funds and other sources but does not include money deposited into a state suspense fund; or

                (2) for a local education provider, all money received by the local education provider, including federal and state grants, state distributions, property tax revenues and donations; [and

          H.] I. "state agency" means the New Mexico state government or any department, division, institution, board, bureau, commission or committee of state government and includes any office or officer [of any of the above] thereof;

          J. "sunshine portal" means the single, internet website that is the primary source of public information about the activity of the state government; and

          K. "transparency website" means a website provided by a state agency for the purpose of providing the public with information for the purpose of providing governmental transparency and accountability to taxpayers."

     SECTION 2. Section 10-16D-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010, Chapter 34, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "10-16D-3. SUNSHINE PORTAL--DEPARTMENT DUTIES.--

          A. The department [with the department of finance and administration] shall develop, operate and maintain [a single internet web site that is] the sunshine portal, that is free, user-friendly, searchable and accessible to the public, [known as the "sunshine portal"] to host the state's financial and public information for the purpose of governmental transparency and accountability to taxpayers.

          B. No later than October 1, 2010, the department shall create the architecture and the information exchange process for the collection and electronic publication of the state's financial information.

          C. No later than July 1, 2011, the sunshine portal shall be available for public access and include updated information as required by Subsection D of this section.

          D. The sunshine portal shall provide, at a minimum, access to the following information:

                (1) the state's financial information, including:

                     (a) the state's cash balances by account or fund;

                     [(2)] (b) a monthly summary of the state's investment accounts;

                     [(3)] (c) annual operating budgets for each state agency with monthly expenditures by category;

                     [(4)] (d) contracts that a state agency enters into for the lease, sale or development of state land and state contracts that have a total contract price of more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), naming the recipient of the contract, the purpose of the contract and the amounts expended. No later than January 1, 2017, the information provided shall also include

                     [(a) the name of the recipient of the contract;

                     (b) the purpose of the contract;

                     (c) the amounts expended on the contract; 

                     (d)] a copy of or an internet [web site] website link to a copy of the contract document, including amendments and [(e)] a copy of or an internet [web site] website link to a copy of a resident certificate issued pursuant to Section 13-1-22 NMSA 1978 and used in the award of a contract;

                     [(5)] (e) the revenue that the state received in the preceding month by source, such as type of tax, fee, fine, administrative fee or other collection category;

                     (f) approved budget adjustment requests by state agency and affected budget category;

                     (g) quarterly consensus revenue estimates;

                     (h) reversions and cash balances by state agency and fund;

                     (i) an annual summary within three months after the end of the fiscal year, or as soon thereafter as the information becomes available, of the state's fiscal health, including the state budget, revenues and expenditures for the previous fiscal year and projected revenues and operating budgets for the current fiscal year; and

                     (j) additional information, as required by rule of the department of finance and administration, that will assist the public in understanding state government operations and the use of taxpayer dollars;

                (2) information concerning appropriations, including:

                     [(6)] (a) special appropriations received outside the general appropriation act by each state agency and the purpose of those appropriations; and

                [(7) approved budget adjustment requests by state agency and affected budget category;

                (8) quarterly consensus revenue estimates;

                (9) reversions and cash balances by state agency and fund;

                     (10)] (b) appropriations for capital projects, identified by project location, type of project and funding source;

                [(11) a directory of all employee positions, other than exempt employee positions, identified only by state agency, position title and salary;

                (12) a directory of all exempt employee positions, identified by state agency, position title, salary and the name of the individual that holds the position;]

                (3) a directory of all employee positions identified by state agency, position title, exempt employee or classified employee status, salary and the name of the individual that holds the position; provided that the following shall be confidential and not be identified on the sunshine portal or any other transparency website:

                     (a) the name and information pertaining to an undercover peace officer;

                     (b) the name and information of an employee who filed for an order of protection pursuant to the Family Violence Protection Act or other order of protection pursuant to state or federal law; and

                     (c) the name and information of an employee from its directory of all employee positions if it is determined by the state agency or local education provider that publishing the employee's name would endanger the employee's personal safety or the safety of others;

                [(13)] (4) information relating to local education providers compiled and published by the public education department pursuant to Section 10-16D-6 NMSA 1978; and

                (5) links to transparency websites maintained by state agencies, including:

                     [(14)] (a) a link to an open meeting tracker [web site] website upon which each state agency shall post open meetings scheduled for the current month and the next month, including the time and place of the meeting, the subject of the meeting and an agenda;

                     [(15)] (b) a link to the [web site] website maintained by the regulation and licensing department for the purpose of accessing information relating to occupational licenses;

                     [(16)] (c) a link to the state auditor's [web site] website for the purpose of accessing financial audits;

                     [(17)] (d) a link to New Mexico's statutes;

                     [(18)] (e) a link to the New Mexico Administrative Code; and

                     [(19)] (f) a link to the secretary of state's [web sites] websites for lobbyist regulation

                [(20) an annual summary within three months after the end of the fiscal year, or as soon thereafter as the information becomes available, of the state's fiscal health, including the state budget, revenues and expenditures for the previous fiscal year and projected revenues and operating budgets for the current fiscal year; and

                (21) additional information, as required by rule of the department of finance and administration, that will assist the public in understanding state government operations and the use of taxpayer dollars].

          E. State agencies shall provide updated financial information as frequently as possible but at least monthly.

          F. The department shall update the [web site] website as new information is received but at least monthly, [include] including information from the previous month or year, where relevant, for comparison purposes and maintain the [web site] website as the primary source of public information about the activity of the state government."

     SECTION 3. Section 10-16D-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010, Chapter 34, Section 4) is amended to read:

     "10-16D-4. RULES PROMULGATION--COMPLIANCE REQUIRED.--

          A. Pursuant to the State Rules Act, the department shall promulgate rules necessary to implement the architecture, information exchange process and maintenance of the sunshine portal pursuant to the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act.

          B. Pursuant to the State Rules Act, the department of finance and administration shall promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act.

          C. Pursuant to the State Rules Act, the department shall promulgate rules to create the architecture and the information exchange process for the collection and electronic publication of the state's public information that is not financial information.

          [C.] D. All state agencies shall comply with the provisions of the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act and rules promulgated by the department and the department of finance and administration pursuant to that act."

     SECTION 4. Section 10-16D-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010, Chapter 34, Section 5) is amended to read:

     "10-16D-5. PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.--

          A. Nothing in the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act shall require disclosure of information that is confidential by state or federal law, rule or regulation.

          B. No agency shall be required to post on the sunshine portal or any transparency website information for which the agency head has made a written determination that prevailing public interest is against publishing that type of information on the internet."

     SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2017.

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