The Rio Grande Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, made up of working reporters across New Mexico, responds with concern to the introduction of HB 532 in the New Mexico state legislature.
As reporters, many of us rely on citizens to raise concerns about what they feel are misdeeds in the public sector. We feel that our sources should be able to talk to us without fear of retaliation or retribution.
This is exactly what the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act is intended to do. But this is under threat as part of proposed legislation by state Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Bernalillo.
Larrañaga’s bill, Whistleblower Protection Posting Requirements, would weaken whistleblower protections in several ways. The legislation includes narrowing the state’s definition of “retaliatory action,” eliminating the use of “good faith” as a legally protected basis for whistleblowing and removing a public employer’s duty to post Whistleblower Protection Act rights on their work premises, among other changes.
This bill also modifies part of the definition of whistleblowing from communicating information to “a third party” to communicating information to “the media.” Larrañaga offers no definition of “the media” in his bill , and we at SPJ believe that allowing state government to define what is and isn’t legally considered “media” is problematic at best and discriminatory at worst.
As journalists, we feel this bill would discourage sources with vital public information from coming forward over fear of retaliation—the very scenario the Whistleblower Protection Act is meant to prevent. SPJ opposes this legislation and urges others who support open government to do so as well.
