SENATE BILL 159

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Sander Rue

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS TO BUDGET INFORMATION; REQUIRING CREATION OF A SEARCHABLE BUDGET DATABASE WITH PUBLIC ACCESS; ENACTING THE BUDGET TRANSPARENCY ACT.

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

     Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Budget Transparency Act".

     Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Budget Transparency Act:

          A. "department" means the department of finance and administration; and

          B. "local government" means an incorporated municipality, a county, a special district, a school district or any other subdivision of the state. 

     Section 3. SEARCHABLE BUDGET DATABASE--PUBLIC ACCESS--REQUIRED CREATION.--

          A. The secretary of finance and administration, in coordination with the secretary of information technology, shall develop and make available to the public an easily accessible, searchable budget database on the department's web site that is a single unit and that displays the state budget for each year beginning with fiscal year 2011 within forty-five days following the adoption of the general appropriations bill for each fiscal year.

          B. The state budget database shall include all appropriations of state and federal money available for expenditure in the fiscal year.

          C. The budgets of each local government in the state shall be accessible through clearly visible links on the department's budget database web site.

          D. To the extent possible, a search in the state's budget database shall also search prior state databases and current and prior budget databases of all of the local governments.

     Section 4. LOCAL GOVERNMENT BUDGETS.--

          A. Within forty-five days after the adoption by a local government of its budget, but no later than June 1 of any fiscal year beginning on or after June 1, 2010, a local government shall provide an easily accessible, searchable budget database on the local government's web site that is a single unit, that displays the budget of that local government and that displays all appropriations made by that local government from municipal, county, district, state, federal or other sources.

          B. To the extent possible, a search in one local government's database shall also search the current and prior databases of the department and all other local governments in the state.

          C. The local government budget database shall be reviewed and approved by the department as to format, content, ease of access and ability to search and find data prior to being made available to the public.

     Section 5. PRIOR BUDGETS--STATE--LOCAL GOVERNMENT.--

          A. A budget shall remain available and able to be searched on the web site of the department or of a local government for at least a ten-year period.

          B. No later than July 1, 2012, the secretary of finance and administration shall post budgets for fiscal years 2001 through 2010 on the department's web site. The budgets shall be able to be searched and made clearly accessible to the public.

          C. No later than July 1, 2012, local governments shall post links to budgets for the years 2001 through 2011 on the web site with the local government's current budget. The budgets shall be easy to access and search.