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Bill Would Reward School, Local Government Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers who report public school and local government fraud would be rewarded under a measure approved by a New Mexico Senate committee.

The bill calls for expanding the Fraud Against Taxpayer Act to include schools and local governments. State agencies, departments, boards and commissions are already covered.

The act is a series of statutes designed to protect the state from potential fraud and abuse. It rewards a percentage of the penalized amount to the whistleblower, or the person exposing the fraud.

The bill by Senate Minority Whip Bill Payne of Albuquerque was approved Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Payne says fraud would be discouraged in schools and local government if officials knew employees and others were being encouraged to report wrongdoing.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.