New Mexico Sets Trends in Transparency Websites

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 11:41 AM by Lauren Forbes

With all the wasteful spending and state tax increases, think tank-sponsored transparency websites are sprouting up nationwide. Maine Heritage Foundation launched a portal in September 2008 which shed light on Maine expenditures and now includes payroll data. In the same vein, the Rio Grande Foundation launched a website this week to bring accountability and transparency to the taxpayers of New Mexico. Newmexicospending.com provides information on payroll and other spending information for the state's largest school districts for the last couple years: Artesia, Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Clovis, Farmington, Hobbs, Rio Rancho, Roswell and Santa Fe.

While New Mexico has yet to have a state site for full transparency, they have launched a contracts database website, which provides taxpayers with a searchable database for contracts in excess of $20,000 entered with the State of New Mexico. In March 2010, the Governor of New Mexico also signed the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act, introduced by Sen. Rue, which provides for the creation and maintenance of a web-based information portal that provides public access to state government budgets, expenditures, revenue, and other information. The website will be launched no later than July 1, 2011. We applaud the Rio Grande Foundation’s efforts and hope their portal informs and encourages a helpful and productive state transparency portal.

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