New rules for watchdog panels raise some hackles
Posted: Sunday, March 23, 2014 2:00 pm | Updated: 8:16 am, Mon Mar 24, 2014.
By Barry Massey AP Writer
SantaFeNewMexican.com
SantaFeNewMexican.com
Gov. Susana Martinez has clamped down on the Legislature’s watchdog committees in what some lawmakers consider an attempt to limit their oversight of the Republican governor’s agencies.
At the direction of the governor, administration agencies are telling the Legislative Finance Committee and the Legislative Education Study Committee that their requests for information must be sent first to the governor’s chief of staff, Keith Gardner, for his approval before the agency will respond.
The committees and their staff typically are in direct contact with agencies to seek data and documents.