The New Mexico Office of the Attorney General released a letter Friday which informed the University of New Mexico that they are in violation of the state’s “sunshine laws” by withholding documents that should be public information.
“We conclude this determination by, yet again, reminding the University that as a public body in New Mexico, it is obligated to provide ‘the greatest possible information’ about affairs to the public,” said Assistant Attorney General John Kreienkamp in the letter obtained by the Albuquerque Journal. “Over the past few years, this Office has repeatedly found the University in violation of IPRA in a multitude of ways.”
The letter was written to UNM following their refusal to release documents regarding their accreditation process to the Albuquerque Journal in April.
UNM spokesperson Cinnamon Blair told the Journal in an email that the University had a “good faith argument” the documents could be withheld from the public, but in light of the letter from the attorney general’s office, they plan to disclose the documents.
This is not the first time the University has found itself in hot water over it’s neglect in releasing public documents.
In September 2018, the office of the attorney general released a 32-page report detailing the University’s violations of both OMA and IPRA at the time.
Makayla Grijalva is the managing editor of the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MakaylaEliboria.
