Abstract
The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) is a powerful mechanism for government transparency. Although private companies that contract with state agencies are subject to IPRA, the New Mexico Corrections Department and its contractors continually flout their IPRA obligations. Newsome v. Centurion Correctional Healthcare highlights a tension between IPRA’s robust enforcement provisions and its practical application to government contractors. The Newsome opinion, in denying access to records that should have been disclosed, struggles to articulate how public bodies, contractors, and designated records custodians interact under IPRA. This comment proposes an ordered, step-by-step approach to the custodian problem, seeking to clarify the precedent and make private contractors’ obligations under IPRA clear. First, public records are already subject to disclosure pursuant to IPRA whether they are held by a truly public entity or a private contractor performing a public function. Second, the role of the records custodian must also encompass those documents, which requires contractors to either appoint their own records custodian or serve as institutional custodians. This approach ensures that public records continue to be truly public.
Recommended Citation
August M. Ryan,
Into the Black Hole: Private Prison Contractors and the Inspection of Public Records Act,
56
N.M. L. Rev.
449
(2026).
Available at:
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmlr/vol56/iss2/8
