A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE STATE COMMISSION OF PUBLIC RECORDS TO ESTABLISH A MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE STATE'S CONFIDENTIALITY AND ACCESS PROVISIONS REGARDING PERMANENT PUBLIC RECORDS AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.

WHEREAS, public records are preserved to promote accountability in government by providing a foundation for the development of present and future policies and for understanding New Mexico's history; and

WHEREAS, the constitution and the legislature have recognized the need for the protection of personal privacy; and

WHEREAS, the legislature has also recognized, in the Inspection of Public Records Act, the need for open government; and

WHEREAS, the state records center and archives, alone, currently maintains over forty thousand linear feet of permanent confidential records; and

WHEREAS, the original need for the confidentiality of many of the state's permanent public records may no longer exist; and

WHEREAS, many of these records are of great value to social scientists, scholarly researchers, genealogists, teachers of history and students, yet they are not accessible to the public; and

WHEREAS, the state commission of public records is charged with the management of the state's public records and, in that role, advocates the preservation and protection of and access to the state's public records;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state commission of public records be requested to establish a multi-agency task force to study confidentiality and open access in the management of the state's permanent public records and to develop recommendations concerning any modifications thereto; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force report its progress and recommendations to the appropriate legislative interim committee appointed by the New Mexico legislative council no later than October 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the state commission of public records, the office of the governor, the offices of the attorney general and other statewide elected officials and to the New Mexico legislative council.