The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government ("NMFOG") today renewed its request for a court order directing the release of the full audit of the New Mexico behavioral health providers prepared for the New Mexico Human Services Department by a private consulting group.
In a motion to show cause filed with District Court Judge Sarah Singleton in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico in Santa Fe, NMFOG argued that the Office of the New Mexico Attorney General has had ample time to secure information for possible prosecution against any of the behavioral health care providers targeted in the audit. The Attorney General already has cleared two of the behavioral health care providers with no findings of fraud, and released portions of the audit in regard to those providers.
NMFOG was forced to file suit last September after the Attorney General and HSD refused NMFOG's public records request for the report, providing only a heavily redacted version. After an in camera review of the full audit, Judge Singleton ruled in December that the report could remain secret for the time being, citing the "law enforcement exception" to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. Judge Singleton's order left the case open to permit NMFOG to reapply for an order requiring disclosure of the report at a later date.
"To the extent Judge Singleton's previous ruling rested on the potential harm to the Attorney General's investigation of behavioral health providers, sufficient time has passed to allow release of the full report," said attorney Gregory P. Williams, president-elect of NMFOG.
"A year has passed since the audit was issued, and now that we have seen portions of the report, it's clear that disclosure of the full report will not reveal confidential sources, methods or any other information that will impede the Attorney General's investigation of the remaining providers," Williams added.
To see the full text of the motion filed today, click here: Supplemental Motion.