On Aug. 20, the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico Senate held a publicly unannounced full senate meeting prior to previously scheduled and announced committee meetings. This meeting included the passing of a bill and confirming the appointment of three new senators.
This failure to alert the public to the existence and circumstances of a meeting where business regarding legislation could take place is in violation of the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, as well as the ASUNM Lawbook.
The New Mexico Open Meetings Act is part of the state’s Sunshine Laws that provide statutory guidelines for conducting public meetings, and ensure that public policy is made in meetings that are open to the public where members thereof are permitted to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings, according to UNM School of Law and the New Mexico Department of Justice.
Section 8301 of the ASUNM Lawbook reads: “[i]n recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent on an informed electorate and ASUNM is a public policy making body, it is required that ASUNM follow the Open Meetings Act of the State of New Mexico.”
According to the Open Meetings Act, “[a]ny meetings at which the discussion or adoption of any proposed resolution, rule, regulation or formal action occurs and at which a majority or quorum of the body is in attendance, and any closed meetings, shall be held only after reasonable notice to the public,” NMSA 1978, Chapter 10, Article 15, reads.
Violating the Open Meetings Act is classified as a misdemeanor and for any person violating OMA carries a fine of no more than $500 upon conviction, according to OMA Section 4.
The meeting first came to the attention of the Daily Lobo on Aug 20. after an anonymous source — who is an individual familiar with ASUNM legislative matters, who fears retaliation — provided copies of an email sent by Vice President Hope Montoya to senators, reminding them to attend the meeting and what to expect from it. At the time prior to the meeting, no notice or agenda could be found on the ASUNM website for this Full Senate meeting — violating OMA and the ASUNM Lawbook.
ASUNM is required to provide notice of meetings 72 hours before the meeting occurs, according to OMA.
“Meeting notices shall include an agenda containing a list of specific items of business to be discussed or transacted at the meeting or information on how the public may obtain a copy of such an agenda. Except in the case of an emergency or in the case of a public body that ordinarily meets more frequently than once per week, at least seventy-two hours (72) hours prior to the meeting,” OMA Section 1(F), reads.
Agendas must be available to the public and posted on the public body’s web site, if one is maintained, according to OMA Section 1(F).
When asked by the Daily Lobo if the notice and agenda could be found elsewhere, Montoya wrote that they had both been “posted in accordance with the 72 hour deadline” on the website. However, according to images taken of the Fall 2025 Meeting Schedule, Agendas and Minutes page two minutes before the meeting started, there was no notice or agenda for the Aug. 20 meeting under the Full Senate Meetings heading.
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A screenshot of the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico's website, at 5:34p.m. Aug. 20.
Full Senate meetings are also required to devote time for public comment, where members of the UNM community are able to express their views in front of the gathered senate and other members of the ASUNM legislative and executive staff, according to ASUNM Full Senate Standing Rules. The agenda posted for the Aug. 20 meeting included an item for public comment.
When asked for comment, ASUNM Attorney General Breahna Roark responded in a statement on Saturday, Aug. 30.
“The Agendas and Notices were created in accordance with the OMA timelines. The agendas were properly emailed to our Advisor, Ryan Lindquist, in advance, with the expectation that they would be posted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. The fact that they were not uploaded within the required timeframe was the result of an unintentional logistical error, not a willful disregard of the law,” Roark wrote.
Montoya had not yet completed the training required for access to editing privileges on the site and relied on Lindquist to make sure the notice and agenda were posted, Roark wrote.
“Moving forward, ASUNM is fully equipped to ensure that all agendas are posted on time and in strict compliance with the Open Meetings Act,” Roark wrote.
Montoya has now finished the required web training to gain access to the site, according to Roark.
Section 3(A) of the Open Meetings Act reads that “[n]o resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance or action of any board, commission, or committee or other policymaking body shall be valid unless taken or made at a meeting held in accordance with the requirements of” Section 1.
Another full senate meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 3 — despite the bi-weekly meeting schedule that saw a full senate meeting last occur on Aug. 27 — with a posted agenda including voting again on confirming the appointment of the three new senators who were approved by the senate on Aug. 20, seemingly in recognition of Section 3(A).
The OMA violation also calls into question the validity of the passage of the bill and any actions taken by these individuals as senators after being approved. ASUNM leadership could not be reached by the Daily Lobo for comment on this matter in time for publication.
Full senate meetings generally take place every other Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at the Student Union Building. The notice and agenda have been posted for the next full senate meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 3.
Elliott Wood is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
