NMPED makes time to do McCleskey's scutwork.

Politicians and public servants are required by law to surrender upon request, any public records they have in their possession, and which do not enjoy one of the specific exceptions under the law.

They are not required, under the law, to "create" records.

According to the Compliance Guide, link, published by the Attorney General's Office;

B. CREATION OF PUBLIC RECORDS
The right to inspect applies to any nonexempt public record that exists at the time of the request. A records custodian or public body is not required to compile information from the public body’s records or otherwise create a new public record in response to a request.

Yet, it appears that, that is exactly what was done by the NM PED for Governor Susana Martinez' political adviser Jay McCleskey, link, (Santa Fe New Mexican) and link, (the Journal).

NM PED PIO Larry Behrens, and who knows how many other NMPED employees with better things to do than compile mailing lists for political operatives, launched a giant research project and data crunch to create a new public record. I have asked Behrens for an estimate of the number of public employee hours that were invested in the project.

Whether the law has been broken, or merely stretched to its limits, is not as clear as the fact that this is an inappropriate use of public employees. The public trust has been betrayed.

Remaining to be seen, whether any one, any where, will receive any consequences.

The likely answer is no, which means the next time Martinez' political hatchet man needs his own research project done by government employees on government time, he will ask, and they will oblige.