FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 15, 2015
Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216
Santa Fe, NM – Attorneys from the Office of the Attorney General are traveling throughout New Mexico for the remainder of the year, offering free training sessions on Sunshine Laws designed to help government agencies and municipalities better understand the requirements of the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) and its Open Meetings Act (OMA). The training sessions will be held monthly beginning next week and continuing through the end of the year.
IPRA defines what information agencies must release to the public. The Act recognizes that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government” and that providing public information is “an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of public officers and employees.”
OMA is designed to ensure that the affairs of government are conducted in public and that “the conduct of business by vote shall not be conducted in closed meeting.”
The first training is in Valencia County next week and the full details are below. For the rest of the year’s trainings, cities and dates are listed. More logistical information about each upcoming training will be released in the future.
May 20 – Los Lunas, Village of Los Lunas Transportation Center, 121 Courthouse Road, 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Participants have lunch on their own.
June 17 – Truth or Consequences
July 15 – Los Alamos
August 19 – Clovis
September 16 – Grants
October 21 – Las Cruces
November 18 – Alamogordo
December 16 – Roswell
The trainings are free and are open to the public, but the Attorney General requests that participants call to reserve a space. To RSVP, contact LaVerne Roller at lroller@nmag.gov or call (505)-827-6063.
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