The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, Section 14-2-1 et seq., NMSA 1978, provides that some classes of records are not subject to public inspection "as otherwise provided by law." Federal law expresses a policy in favor of protecting the privacy of individuals in their social security numbers. 5 U.S.C. § 522a(b). City department heads, other employees and officials have a legitimate and reasonable expectation of privacy in their social security numbers. The legitimate and reasonable expectation of privacy that City employees have in their social security numbers, outweighs the interest in the public in the disclosure of such information. City employees other than department heads and officials have a legitimate expectation of privacy in their home addresses and home telephone numbers in order to protect such information from use for illegal purposes. The legitimate and reasonable expectation of privacy that City employees have in their social security numbers, home addresses and home telephone numbers outweighs the interest in the public in the disclosure of such information. In light of the Congressional policy favoring nondisclosure of social security numbers and the constitutional right to privacy in one's home address and home telephone numbers, the City is justified in enacting legislation codifying such protections for its public employees and officials. New Mexico state law expresses a policy in favor of protecting individuals from non-consensual distribution of sensitive images of their person. See Section 30-37A-1 NMSA 1978. Individuals have a legitimate and reasonable expectation that to the extent sensitive images are evidence in a criminal case or otherwise in the possession of the city, those images will be exempt from disclosure in response to public records requests from the general public. New Mexico state law expresses a policy in favor of government bodies protecting sensitive information technology infrastructure and cybercrime is becoming a growing concern. See Section 30-45-4 NMSA 1978. The city has a legitimate need to protect its information technology infrastructure and systems from intrusion and compromise.
(Ord. 20-2000; Am. Ord. 2022-044)