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.