OPINION

Mail letters to PO Box 4910, Santa Fe, NM 87502; or email them to editor@sfreporter. com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

MORNING WORD, MARCH 19: “SPECIAL SESSION TO CONSIDER ECONOMIC RELIEF MEASURES KICKS OFF APRIL 5”

SCRUTINY=BETTER

With a budget surplus during the 2022 session, legislators were each given free rein to spend a portion of $50 million. The resulting “junior” bill was culled together with no transparency about which lawmakers backed which projects included in the legislation. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed the bill.

The upcoming special session provides lawmakers the opportunity to start fresh and get the process right. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government calls on Lujan Grisham to include a requirement for junior bill transparency in her agenda for the special session. However, whether or not openness is required by law, legislators should proactively release their lists of appropriations. The $50 million at stake belongs to the public, and every New Mexican has a right to know how legislators are choosing to spend this taxpayer money. Making spending decisions transparent would increase public trust and make elected officials more accountable to their constituents. Under public scrutiny, better decisions are made, resulting in better outcomes that meaningfully improve the lives of New Mexicans. We face weighty challenges as a state, and we cannot afford for a single dollar to be wasted when there is such great need. SHANNON KUNKEL NEW MEXICO FOUNDATION FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT

ONLINE, MARCH 30:

“CROSSING THE ARROYO: PUBLIC MEETING ON RICHARDS EXTENSION”

DRIVE ON

I’m OK with this. JOHNNY JAMES GABALDON VIA FACEBOOK

IN SUPPORT

Finally! ANGELIQUE ENRIQUEZ VIA FACEBOOOK

SFR will correct factual errors online and in print. Please let us know if we make a mistake: editor@sfreporter.com or 988-7530.

SANTA FE EAVESDROPPER

“I kind of have a lot of pot already, but I guess you can never have too much.”

—Overheard at the Violet Crown

“It’s a big beer town.”

—Overheard as man gestures in several directions on the Santa Fe Railyard