Introduction to New Mexico Public Records
All 50 states within the US have their own public records law. New Mexico public records are governed by a series of laws known as the Inspection of Public Records Act. The act has been revised numerous times by the state, but the basic premise of the law is that everything collected by or created within the government is eligible for New Mexico public records, unless the legislature itself has decided there is a good reason to exclude it.
Making it Accessible
Most of the changes to New Mexico public records laws have been with regard to how accessible they are. The state is continually trying to make it easier to locate public records. Some notable additions ot the law include:
The state made it possible to fax or email request for public records.
The state started putting many of its public records in a searchable online database.
The state has tried to pass some laws that limit information within public records, including removing felons from the database after they have been out of prison for a pre-determined period of time, but none of those measures ever made it very far on the floor. Most have been postponed indefinitely, allowing the current practices regarding information to stand.
