What is IPRA?

“IPRA” stands for the Inspection of Public Records Act, which is a state act in New Mexico that was created in 1978 and can be found in the New Mexico Statutes Annotated (NMSA) at §§14-2-1 through 14-2-12. In enacting IPRA, the New Mexico legislature’s purpose is to convey that

 “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of public officers and employees.” (§14-2-5)

Who can make a request for public records?

Any “person” can request “public records”.  “Person” includes any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association or entity.

What is a “public record”?

“Public records” are documents, papers, letters, books, maps, tapes, photographs, recordings and other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that are used, created, received, maintained or held by or on behalf of any public body and relate to public business.

What must be included in the request?

Any person wishing to inspect public records may submit an oral or written request. The failure to respond to an oral request will not subject the custodian to any penalty.  A written request must provide the name, address and telephone number of the person seeking access to the records and it must identify the records sought with reasonable particularity. The requestor is not required to state the reason for wanting to inspect the records.

Who should the request be submitted to?

NMSU does not have a central/single Custodian of Records.  A request may be submitted to the University General Counsel (UGC) or directly to the appropriate Records Custodian for the department/unit responsible for maintaining the records sought. A list of NMSU Records Custodians can be found on the UGC website.

Are there public records that are excepted from disclosure?

The following is a partial list of some of the types of records and information that are not subject to public inspection under IPRA:

• records pertaining to physical or mental examinations and medical treatment of persons confined to an institution;
• letters of reference concerning employment, licensing or permits;
• letters of memoranda that are matters of opinion in personnel files or students’ cumulative files
• certain law enforcement records
• trade secrets
• attorney-client privileged information
• tactical response plans or procedures that could be used to facilitate the planning or execution of a terrorist attack
• certain information concerning information technology systems
• submissions in response to a competitive grant, land lease or scholarship until finalists are publicly named or the award is announced
• student records under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• records protected from disclosure pursuant to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Protected personal identifier information (PPII) which includes: (1) all but the last four digits of a taxpayer identification number, financial account number, credit or debit card number or driver’s license number; (2) all but the year of a person’s date of birth; (3) a social security number; and (4), with regard to a nonelected employee of a public body in the context of the person’s employment, the employee’s nonbusiness home street address.

What if a public record contains both exempt and nonexempt information?

A requested public record containing both types of information shall be separated by the custodian prior to inspection.  For example, the custodian will redact PPII before releasing the otherwise nonexempt record.

How long after receiving a request will the University respond?

The custodian will acknowledge the request within 3 business days by either producing the record or, if that is not possible to do within 3 business days, telling the requestor that the records will be produced within 15 calendar days from the date the request was received.  If the custodian determines that the request is excessively burdensome or broad, then the custodian will determine a reasonable time period for producing the records and will inform the requestor of that determination within 15 calendar days of receiving the request.