Bill > HB392

This bill mandates that, starting January 1, 2016, all public bodies in New Mexico, including state agencies, counties, municipalities, and districts, must provide live video and audio streams of their public meetings online, unless specific exemptions apply. These exemptions are determined by the presiding officer based on financial, technical, or logistical practicability, with a preference for at least live audio if video is not feasible. The Department of Information Technology will manage a central website for executive state agencies' meeting streams, while other agencies will use separate websites, with the location of these streams to be included in public meeting notices. All streamed meetings, whether live or audio-only, must be archived as public records. The bill also requires public bodies to make reasonable efforts to schedule meetings at times and places conducive to live streaming and clarifies that the legislature itself must provide live audio and video streams of its sessions and public meetings by its second session of the fifty-second legislature, with similar exemptions for impracticability. The bill also makes minor adjustments to the definition of "meeting" for legislative committees and policymaking bodies.