Well OK not quite yet. But, Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, an Albuquerque Republican, has bravely set up her own rogue webcast, set to start streaming here on Monday. It won't be of floor sessions, but rather committees. No matter, it's a start for transparency that she took on by herself.
Keep in mind, this is kind of webcasting that wasn't going to happen after the Senate decided to wait on webcasting to save money -- even though cameras were installed and everything. (The cameras were later taken down.)
Arnold-Jones isn't usually one to rock the boat. But she's among many Republicans upset by the move to not do the webcasts this year.
GOP Chairman Harvey Yates put out a statement on the situation this morning, calling the lack of webcasting a "travesty."
“New Mexicans are independent thinkers and politically engaged. That’s why we are a swing state,” Yates said in a statement. “It is a travesty in this technological age to require our people to drive an hour, or five hours, to take part in the lawmaking process. Most of us have to work and take care of our families. The legislature should make it easier for people who are busy to get involved.”
My company bid on web casting the sessions. We were prepared to deliver a turnkey system well within the allowed budget. The approach they took required the installation of a very expensive system and did not provide operating funds. The word on the street was that it became "political".
ReplyDeleteKenneth Knoll
Southwest Communication Services