N.M. Admin. Code § 1.13.3.10 - INTRODUCTION: ACCOUNTABILITY

A. Public acceptance of New Mexico state government and the roles of its employees depend on trust and confidence. This trust is founded on all of government being accountable for its actions. Access to full and accurate records is at the heart of the accountability process. Records are the means by which the evidence of past and current action, decisions, procedures and policy are preserved for future analysis and access.

(1) Records are fundamental tools in the business of government and their absence can lead to inefficiencies or failure in operational procedures. The absence of records can open agency employees to accusations of fraud and impropriety, political embarrassment and an inability to defend the state in cases of legal action or claims against the government.

(2) Records can also be transferred from one medium to another and from one context to another through copying, imaging or digital transfer. Electronic records are easily updated, deleted, altered and manipulated. If appropriate measures are not taken, the essential characteristics of records (content, structure, context) can be altered or lost in the process. Careful planning and system design are required to ensure that these characteristics of records are both captured and maintained.

(3) These guidelines are intended to provide guidance to agencies on the management of electronic records throughout their entire lifecycle, from initial system design to the final disposal or permanent preservation of state records. This "records lifecycle" view is critical in an electronic environment because, by the disposition stage (when actions are taken regarding records no longer needed for current government business), records may be irretrievable if not properly managed while they are in active use. The administrative rule covers records created using all types of computerized environments, including such diverse elements as personal computers, distributed networks, mainframes, spatial data systems, and multimedia systems.

B. Although there exists sensitive or confidential data, all data generated by a state or local government agency in New Mexico are public unless they have been legally declared closed to public inspection by state or federal statute. State agencies are not empowered to make exemptions to the Inspection of Public Records Act (Sections 14-2-1 through 14-2-12 NMSA 1978). Agency heads often have valid concerns about security and privacy rights, thus, questions related to concerns about specific sensitive information or data elements are more properly addressed to legal council for the agency or to the office of the attorney general for the state of New Mexico. Exceptions to this general rule exist throughout state and federal law.

C. In a court of law the evidence may be in documentary, oral, audio-visual, electronic or object form. It shall satisfy the tests of evidence and be admissible in that legal context. Evidence as a concept, however, is not confined to legal contexts. Within business and public sector environments, the evidence from previous actions and decisions is used as a basis for the formulation of new decisions and actions. Organizations keep records as evidence or proof that an activity or transaction did or did not occur. Beyond this more immediate use, researchers also use records as historical evidence on which to base their conclusions.

D. There is no specification in the Inspection of Public Records Act (Sections 14-2-1 through 14-2-12 NMSA 1978) of any means which access to public records shall take. The means of access is left to the discretion of the public agency. The public should not be given direct access if such an action would compromise the security and safety of the records themselves. Common sense urges caution where valuable records are concerned. Hardcopy and digital file storage areas may contain both "open" and "closed" records material, and the alteration, destruction, or theft of files represent clear dangers to public records. If a member of the public demands access that the agency believes will compromise records security but that is not otherwise clearly prohibited in federal or state statutes, that agency is urged to contact their legal council or the office of the attorney general for guidance.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 1.13.3.10

1.13.3.10 NMAC - Rp, 1.13.3.10 NMAC, 6/30/2008