The New Mexico State University Library will host a special event during Sunshine Week, a nationwide celebration of open government. A panel discussion on New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act and current legislative efforts to modernize the law will take place on Thursday, March 20 from 3-4p.m. in the Branson Library 4th Floor Casad & Evangeline Smith Mandell Gallery at 1305 Frenger Mall.  The event is free and open to the public; parking passes are available. 

The event will feature four panelists discussing the purpose and importance of New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).  The act grants the public right of access to governmental records and lays out the process to submit a request.  IPRA helps promote an open, transparent, and accountable government for all.  The New Mexico legislature is currently considering multiple bills that will impact IPRA by restricting certain types of records from being released to the public, tightening definitions within the law, and requiring commercial requests be identified as such (see HB283 Law Enforcement Records Changes). The speakers include professionals who either make use of the law to report on governmental actions or who are tasked with fulfilling public requests for information.    

Panelists include:

Sunshine Week is a national initiative held each March to promote the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy.  Launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, now News Leaders Association, the week coincides with James Madison’s birthday (March 16, 1751) and features published articles, opinion columns, and public seminars and forums held across the country that argue government operates in the interest of its citizens when it does so in the open.

This program is made possible by generous financial support from Tim Parker, and sponsored by the New Mexico State University Library and the Department of Journalism & Media Studies. For information regarding parking at NMSU, visit park.nmsu.edu.