New Mexico lawmaker wants to strengthen press shield law
Rep. Sarah Silva (D-Las Cruces) outside her office in the New Mexico Legislature on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)
A freshman state lawmaker and leaders in both legislative chambers want to update and strengthen New Mexico's press shield law.
Rep. Sarah Silva (D-Las Cruces) is carrying House Bill 153, which would update the definition of a journalist to include bloggers and nonprofit news outlets (like Source NM).
It would also protect reporters' electronic communications, such as email, from state spying.
The bill is modeled after the federal PRESS Act, which Congress failed to enact last year after then President-elect Donald Trump ordered congressional Republicans to block it. That would have codified regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 under former President Joe Biden.
'We see examples at the federal level of government chipping away at journalists' ability to do their jobs by pursuing the identities of unnamed sources and deterring whistleblowing,' Silva said in a statement on Friday.
Trump tells U.S. Senate Republicans they 'must kill' journalism shield law
Silva's Protect Reporters From Exploitive Spying Act is being co-sponsored by House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), according to a news release from the Democratic majority in the House.
The House of Representatives assigned the bill for hearings in the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee, and then the House Judiciary Committee. Those committee chairs on Friday had not yet scheduled it for a hearing.
If enacted, the legislation would only apply to proceedings in the state government's legislative and executive branches because of a 1976 New Mexico Supreme Court ruling forbidding the Legislature and governor from enacting laws related to rules of evidence in court.
The high court's press shield rule provides 'reasonably strong' protection against compelling journalists from disclosing confidential sources and information, according to a compendium written by Albuquerque lawyer Charles K. Purcell, an expert on the state's shield law and rule and a New Mexico Foundation for Open Government board member.
However, Purcell wrote, that protection goes away whenever someone can convince a judge that the source or information is 'crucial' to their case and they have no other way of getting it.
According to the news release, Silva and Purcell will ask the Supreme Court's Rules of Evidence Committee to consider changing the shield rule.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
25 minutes ago
- Axios
Poll: Rep. Gabe Evans' approval lags behind Trump's
Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans' favorability rating five months into the job is lower than President Trump's among registered voters in the congressman's district, according to a poll released Tuesday. Stunning stat: Evans' favorability (40%) lagged behind Trump's (45%) in Colorado's 8th District, which stretches from the suburbs north of Denver toward Greeley. The big picture: More than half of registered voters in the state's most competitive congressional district would be less likely to vote for a candidate who voted to cut Medicaid funding, per a poll released by Healthier Colorado, a nonprofit that supports expanding the federal safety net program. Why it matters: The poll comes as a major warning for Evans, who's gunning for reelection next year while staunchly defending the "big, beautiful bill" calling for historic reductions in Medicaid spending. Context: The poll, conducted from May 29 to June 4, included 404 registered 8th District voters, per Healthier Colorado. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 4.87% at the 95% confidence interval. State of play: A majority of 8th District voters (53%) share a favorable view of the safety net program, the poll shows, citing the health care access it provides to low-income and vulnerable people. Less than a quarter of respondents (23%) hold an unfavorable opinion of Medicaid. Between the lines: Republicans like Evans are framing the federal spending proposal as a measure to curb fraud and waste in the federal safety net program — but most voters aren't buying that, Healthier Colorado CEO Jake Williams said during a Tuesday press call. What they're saying:"Republicans' plan increases Medicaid spending every single year and makes the program more efficient by cutting out fraud, waste, and abuse," Delanie Bomar, a spokesperson for Evans' reelection campaign, said in a statement.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Associated Press seeks full appeals court hearing on access to Trump administration events
The Associated Press on Tuesday asked for a hearing before the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, seeking to overturn a three-judge panel's ruling that allowed the Trump administration to continue blocking AP access to some presidential events — a four-month case that has raised questions about what level of journalistic access to the presidency the First Amendment permits. Three judges of that court on Friday, in a 2-1 decision, said it was OK for Trump to continue keeping AP journalists out of Oval Office or other small events out in retaliation over the news outlet's decision not to follow his lead in changing the Gulf of Mexico's name. He had sought a pause of a lower court's ruling in AP's favor in April that the administration was improperly punishing the news organization for the content of its speech. 'The decision of the appellate panel to pause the district court's order allows the White House to discriminate and retaliate over words it does not like, a violation of the First Amendment,' AP spokesman Patrick Maks said. 'We are seeking a rehearing of this decision by the full appellate court because an essential American principle is at stake.' A hearing before the full court would change the landscape — and possibly the outcome as well. The two judges who ruled in Trump's favor on Friday had been appointed to the bench by him. The full court consists of nine members appointed by Democratic presidents, and six by Republicans. The news outlet's access to events in the Oval Office and Air Force One was cut back starting in February after the AP said it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its copy, while noting Trump's wishes that it instead be renamed the Gulf of America. For decades, a reporter and photographer for the AP — a 179-year-old wire service whose material is sent to thousands of news outlets across the world and carried on its own website, reaching billions of people — had been part of a small-group 'pool' that covers a president in places where space is limited. Now, an AP photographer routinely gets access to these events, while text reporters rarely do. ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at and
Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Associated Press seeks full appeals court hearing on access to Trump administration events
The Associated Press on Tuesday asked for a hearing before the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, seeking to overturn a three-judge panel's ruling that allowed the Trump administration to continue blocking AP access to some presidential events — a four-month case that has raised questions about what level of journalistic access to the presidency the First Amendment permits. Three judges of that court on Friday, in a 2-1 decision, said it was OK for Trump to continue keeping AP journalists out of Oval Office or other small events out in retaliation over the news outlet's decision not to follow his lead in changing the Gulf of Mexico's name. He had sought a pause of a lower court's ruling in AP's favor in April that the administration was improperly punishing the news organization for the content of its speech. 'The decision of the appellate panel to pause the district court's order allows the White House to discriminate and retaliate over words it does not like, a violation of the First Amendment,' AP spokesman Patrick Maks said. 'We are seeking a rehearing of this decision by the full appellate court because an essential American principle is at stake.' A hearing before the full court would change the landscape — and possibly the outcome as well. The two judges who ruled in Trump's favor on Friday had been appointed to the bench by him. The full court consists of nine members appointed by Democratic presidents, and six by Republicans. The news outlet's access to events in the Oval Office and Air Force One was cut back starting in February after the AP said it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its copy, while noting Trump's wishes that it instead be renamed the Gulf of America. For decades, a reporter and photographer for the AP — a 179-year-old wire service whose material is sent to thousands of news outlets across the world and carried on its own website, reaching billions of people — had been part of a small-group 'pool' that covers a president in places where space is limited. Now, an AP photographer routinely gets access to these events, while text reporters rarely do. ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at and
