New Mexico Foundation for Open Government

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is an educational and charitable organization with a single mission--to help the general public, students, educators, public officials, media and legal professionals  understand, obtain and exercise:

v      Their rights and responsibilities under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records, Open Meetings and Arrest Record Information Acts.

v      Their rights under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

v      Their First Amendment rights.

NM-FOG began this work in 1990 and will continue it into the foreseeable future.

NM-FOG has received both state and national honors, including:

·        New Mexico Bar Foundation’s Media Award in 1991 for responsible reporting of law-related issues in its newsletter, FOG LIGHT.

·        In 2000, FOG was named the only finalist for the Scripps-Howard Foundation’s Distinguished Service to the First Amendment Award; FOG founder and longtime executive director Bob Johnson was also elected to the New Mexico Press Hall of Fame.

·        In 2002, Johnson received the Albuquerque Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award.

·        In 2003, Johnson was one of the first three inducted into Heroes of the 50 States: the State Open Government Hall of Fame, a joint creation of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists.

·        In 2004, Bob Johnson was chosen for the Common Cause New Mexico "Working for the Best in Government Award."

All membership dues, donations and grant monies are used to support FOG’s efforts through literature, seminars, lectures, teamwork with the Attorney General's Office and litigation.

NM-FOG was created to fill a specific need because public officials and public agencies in New Mexico were – and some still are – often disdainful of the public's right to know and of the laws intended to insure public access to government decision-making.

NM-FOG was incorporated in June 1989. It began soliciting members on April 1, 1990, and received recognition as a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) non-profit organization as of December 6, 1990.

The inspiration for forming NM-FOG came from the New Mexico Legislature in 1987 when a member of the House Judiciary Committee told witnesses at a hearing on proposed improvements to the Inspection of Public Records Act that the media are just "a special interest group" and do not represent the public.

NM-FOG has only one employee, an executive director, who carries out all operational, educational and fund-raising activities with assistance and advice from the Board of Directors.

The Board consists of up to 25 directors drawn from journalism, law, education and the general public.

Several lawyers form a Hotline team that provides the executive director with pro bono information and advice on questions of access to either meetings or records. These lawyers are available to answer other First Amendment questions as well.

The NM-FOG Hotline, available free of charge at (888) 843-9121, handles hundreds of telephone calls each year.