SANTA FE — A freshman lawmaker hopes to broaden protections for journalists and their sources amid fears of government overreach.
The Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS, would expand New Mexico’s existing shield laws to include a new generation of internet-based journalists and to protect reporters’ digital notes and communications on personal devices such as cellphones and laptops.
The bill is modeled off the Federal PRESS Act that passed the Republican-controlled House more than a year ago and has sat dormant in the Senate Judiciary Committee since then-presidential candidate Donald Trump called on Republican lawmakers to “kill” it.
In New Mexico, Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, introduced House Bill 153 with support from Democratic leadership in both chambers, calling the current law outdated, especially in a time of tension between the federal government and journalists.
Silva is married to longtime New Mexico reporter Heath Haussamen, who worked at multiple local newspapers before moving on to independently publishing his work online. This bill would extend protections for journalists who release their work outside of traditional media institutions.
New Mexico’s current shield laws haven’t been updated since 1973, Silva said, which leaves journalists vulnerable. Reporters, especially those unprotected by the current law, may be compelled by the state to provide digital communications and notes — outing their sources, Silva said. This bill would only apply to legislative subpoenas or executive proceedings, and not interfere with court processes due to a 1976 New Mexico Supreme Court ruling that forbids the other branches from establishing laws on evidentiary rules.
This bill comes at a crucial time, Silva said, as Trump establishes himself in the White House.
“We saw, and we continue to see, the pressure that the Trump administration and the federal government has been putting on the press,” Silva said.
On the campaign trail, Trump frequently called journalists the “enemies of the people,” and just days before the election, Trump seemed to encourage violence against reporters at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Since the inauguration, Trump’s rhetoric has translated to action. Late last week, four major media outlets, including Politico, The New York Times, NPR and NBC News, were told in a memo that they must vacate their designated office space in the Pentagon by Feb. 14 to make way for right-wing media sites such as Breitbart News and One America News. The administration has branded the change as an “annual rotation.”
The Journal reached out to the Republican Party of New Mexico for comment, but the group did not provide a statement.
While most top-down policy changes are affecting national affairs reporters thus far, Silva voiced concern that the federal government might intervene in journalism stateside.
“What I want to avoid is a federal agency pressuring a state agency to execute subpoenas on journalists for their sources or their notes or other information,” Silva said.
The bill garnered support from both House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, and has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. However, committee chairs have yet to put the bill on their hearing schedules.
“While the federal government attacks and belittles the press, New Mexico is stepping up to defend their freedoms,” Martínez said in a statement Wednesday. “As elected leaders, we have a responsibility to protect the rights of journalists who serve our communities as watchdogs and champions of good government, transparency, and accountability.”
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This story was published in the Albuquerque Journal as part of a collaboration between the Albuquerque Journal and UNM’s Statehouse Reporting Project.
Gillian Barkhurst is a student at the University of New Mexico pursuing a Bachelor of the Arts in Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication, with a minor in Spanish. Her work has been published in the Albuquerque Journal, Limina: UNM Non-Fiction Review, the Daily Lobo and New Mexico News Port. Gillian is currently a staff writer at the Albuquerque Journal.
