NMFOG Applauds Decision On UNM Foundation

NMFOG News:

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG) applauds the decision Thursday by Judge Nancy Franchini that records held by the University of New Mexico Foundation are subject to the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) and must be released to the public.

NMFOG, along with the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, had submitted a brief to the court urging it to find that the Foundation’s records were public.

The records at issue relate to payments made to the UNM Foundation by WisePies for naming rights for the Pit. UNM and its foundation had argued that the Foundation’s records were not subject to IPRA. Judge Franchini, of the Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque, rejected that argument and held that the records were public.

“UNM and the foundation should never have withheld these records,” said Gregory P. Williams, a member of NMFOG’s executive committee and a co-author of the brief. “Nearly all of UNM’s fundraising goes through the foundation. UNM is perhaps the most prominent public entity in the state, and the public has a right to see these records.”

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG) is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization committed to helping the citizens students, educators, public officials, media and legal professionals understand, obtain and exercise:

  • their rights and responsibilities under New Mexico “sunshine laws” – the Inspection of Public Records Act, Open Meetings Act and Arrest Record Information Act.
  • their rights under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
  • their First Amendment rights.

For more information, contact FOG at nmfog.org.

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