ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico House of Representatives has backed a bill that would require the Legislature to publish a list of capital projects approved each year, including details about project costs and sponsorship.
Currently, final projects are published, but not how much each legislator has allocated.
The state House voted 65-1 on Thursday, at least the third time similar legislation on the state’s capital outlay process has passed the chamber with majority support, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The measure, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Matthew McQueen and Republican state Rep. Kelly Fajardo, has repeatedly failed to make it through the Senate. But there are now 11 new members this year after the election.
“This is truly a bipartisan bill,” McQueen said. “We think this is the year it will also pass the Senate.”
Fajardo said it is their job to be “transparent and accountable.”
Democratic state Rep. Miguel P. Garcia was the lone dissenting vote, arguing legislators should be permitted to decide whether to release their list of projects, not media outlets.
If approved, the bill would take effect immediately.
