Sweeping Good Government Reform Awaits Gov. Richardson's Signature

Senate Bill 531 (LFC Review of State Funding Recipients), sponsored by Sen. Tim Keller (D-Bernalillo-17), was very under the radar for most of this Legislative Session but picked up significant momentum when folks started better understanding its intent. It's essential to grasp that this bill has significant repercussions for healthcare, education and ethics reform, as well as preventing pay-to-play schemes. We need to call Gov. Bill Richardson at (505) 476-2200 and urge him to sign it by April 10th. But don't take my word for it. Check out what Sen. Keller has to say about the measure.

“This bill is critical to helping our government function more effectively, with more accountability and less bureaucracy. Enactment of this measure will enable a more open government and improve accountability for our State’s biggest programs including education, Medicaid, healthcare and retirement plans. Without this bill, major reform will continue to stall because of intra-governmental jurisdiction issues. This bill is the means to an end, a true ‘open government’ fully capable of self improvement,” said Sen. Tim Keller. SB 531 was passed unanimously by the House, Senate and their respective committees.

According to Sen. Keller, SB 531 would establish a “cross confidentiality” agreement between branches of government so that information can be shared within the bounds of state government and still remain confidential with respect to individual privacy. The bill also would create a framework for program evaluation that alleviates the current subpoena requirement. The current subpoena process is long, costly, arduous and often not warranted for many inquiries. The bill would save the executive, legislative and the tax payer’s time and money.

Speaking at the recent opening of the UNM Southeast Heights Albuquerque Health Clinic, Sen. Keller reminded the crowd that New Mexico is one of the few states that does not have an intra-governmental cross-confidentiality statute and that requires subpoenas for branches to share information with one another.

“For true healthcare reform – or any major government accountability, regardless of which solutions we choose -- we need transparency into the current system for real program evaluation. To make sound decisions, policy makers need to know the fundamentals like cost, benefit, elasticity, supply, demand and return on investment. We have to be able to analytically understand effectiveness before we can address the root causes behind our biggest challenges,” he concluded.

Please call Governor Richardson at (505) 476-2200 and urge him to sign SB 531 to make appropriate information sharing between government agencies easier, yet secure. Remind him that the bill passed unanimously in all committee votes and in both chambers of the Legislature.