Transparency win kicks off first day of the Legislative Session!

Noon on Tuesday marked the opening of New Mexico’s 2017 legislative session.  

Just minutes after the Senate convened, Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) moved to adopt a rule change to allow for the archiving of webcasts for Senate committees and floor sessions.

The House had previously adopted a similar rule change during the last legislative session.  

This new rule was quickly adopted by the Senate members, and from now on, both Senate and House webcasts will be archived for five years and accessible to the public through the New Mexico legislature’s website: www.nmlegis.gov

This is a huge win for New Mexico’s citizens to have access to videos of various hearings and watch their elected officials take votes on issues that they care about. Before the new rule, citizens would often miss out on the live webcasts since key votes sometimes happen during the workday or last late into the night. This tool will also grant the public the ability to participate more fully in the legislative process from remote locations and see their elected officials in action! 

Thank you to Sen. Wirth and Senate members for adopting this new rule and creating a more inclusive democracy here in our state. It certainly sets the tone that increased transparency in our legislative process is a priority for 2017!

Check back here daily for more exciting updates and announcements as the session unfolds, there’s much more to come!