HOUSE BILL 509

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Randall T. Pettigrew

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY; ENACTING THE TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING ACT; REQUIRING CERTAIN PROCEDURES FOR PROVIDING THE PUBLIC WITH INFORMATION ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS; PROVIDING FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING ACT; PROVIDING FOR A DIRECTORY OF INFORMATION WITHIN THE SUNSHINE PORTAL.

 

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

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 4 of this act may be cited as the "Transparency in Government Contracting Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Transparency in Government Contracting Act:

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

                (1) the procurement of items of tangible personal property, services or construction pursuant to the Procurement Code; and

                (2) the disbursement of federal, state or other funds in which the government agency grants or awards the disbursement of those funds based upon a competitive grant or applications received from individuals or entities other than government agencies;

          B. "government agency" means:

                (1) the New Mexico state government or a department, division, institution, board, bureau, commission or committee of state government; and

                (2) every political subdivision of the state and the agencies, instrumentalities and institutions thereof, including post-secondary educational institutions, school districts and local school boards and municipalities;

          C. "make available" means to provide access to the public through a searchable online database or web page and includes providing direct email notifications of contracts to an individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association or entity that has made such request in writing to the custodian of records for that government agency; and

          D. "protected information" means information that is a trade secret, confidential, sealed or otherwise protected by law from public disclosure.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] GOVERNMENT AGENCY--SOLICITATION TO CONTRACT--PUBLIC DISCLOSURE--REQUIREMENTS.--

          A. A government agency shall:

                (1) make available the invitations for bids, requests for proposals, requests for information or other solicitations relating to a contract of that government agency no later than one week after soliciting interested parties for a contract;

                (2) update the web pages associated with the Transparency in Government Contracting Act as new information is provided or received but at least monthly, including information from the previous month or year, where relevant, for comparison purposes and maintain the web page as the primary source of public information about the contractual activity of the government agency that is related to that act;

                (3) include the name and contact information of the custodian of records of the government agency on the web page associated with the Transparency in Government Contracting Act;

                (4) provide the department of information technology with a uniform resource locator or working link to the web page required by the Transparency in Government Contracting Act. At any time that the uniform resource locator or link is altered or changed, the government agency shall update the department of information technology; and

                (5) make available any information relating to emergency or sole source contract of the government agency.

          B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the government agency to make available any protected information." 

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] ENFORCEMENT--INVALID ACTIONS.--

          A. If the provisions of the Transparency in Government Contracting Act are knowingly and willfully violated, the contract at issue shall be presumed invalid.

          B. All provisions of the Transparency in Government Contracting Act shall be enforced by the attorney general or by the district attorney in the county of jurisdiction. However, nothing in that act shall prevent an individual from independently applying for enforcement through the district court. 

          C. The district court has jurisdiction, upon the application of any person to enforce the purpose of the Transparency in Government Contracting Act, by injunction, mandamus or other appropriate order.

     SECTION 5. 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] website that is free, user-friendly, searchable and accessible to the public, known as the "sunshine portal", to host the state's financial 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 cash balances by account or fund;

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

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

                (4) 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 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) 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;

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

                (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) 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;

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

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

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

                (18) a link to the New Mexico Administrative Code;

                (19) 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;

                (21) a directory of the uniform resource locators or links corresponding to each government agency provided to the department as required by the Transparency in Government Contracting Act; and

                [(21)] (22) 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 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 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.

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