Gov.-elect Susana Martinez's transition team is declining to release information on who has applied for the incoming administration's top law-enforcement jobs: New Mexico State Police chief and head of the state Department of Public Safety.

The transition team maintains the applications aren't subject to the state's public records law.

"Gov.-elect Martinez takes her responsibilities in relation to open government and transparency very seriously," Martinez spokesman Danny Diaz said Friday night. "The reality of the situation is that these are not public records; therefore, there is no records custodian due to the fact that there are no public funds, employees or equipment dedicated to the matter."

The New Mexican had requested the applications Tuesday and was denied, initially getting the following response from a senior member of the transition team: "The transition will be very open about who is doing the searches and even interviews, and how this is being done. In fact, we're proud of it. But applicants need to be afforded a reasonable amount of privacy. Otherwise, highly-qualified people might be reluctant to apply. Most candidates don't tell their current employer when they are applying for a job."

In a case involving disclosure of government job applications, the New Mexico Court of Appeals in 2009 ruled on a lawsuit filed by The Daily Times and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government against the city of Farmington. In that case, the city declined to release applications for the job of city manager after they were requested under the Inspection of Public Records Act.

Judge James J. Wechsler wrote: "In this Court's opinion, New Mexico's policy of open government is intended to protect the public from having to rely solely on the representations of public officials that they have acted appropriately. ... As a result, when, as here, the application is for a high-ranking public position, the public's interest in disclosure outweighs the City's concern that fewer people will apply, and, thus, disclosure is required."

Martinez, who has served multiple terms as district attorney in Las Cruces, said during her campaign that she would strive for the same type of transparency as governor that she provided as a district attorney.

Martinez won't be sworn in as governor until Jan. 1, and Diaz maintains her transition team isn't spending any public money, even though it is using office space on the third floor of the state Capitol. All résumés are being accepted electronically via a website, www.martineztransition.com, which includes a disclaimer that the site is paid for by Martinez's election campaign.

"The transition is not subject to IPRA," a senior member of the transition stated in responding to a reporter's request. "The Web site and all matters relating to screening and hiring are being done outside of government with no government resources. Even if IPRA applied, there is an exception for personnel matters, as there should be."

The state's leading open-records watchdog acknowledges some ambiguity on the issue of who is in charge of certain records during a transition between administrations, and efforts to get clarification from the state Attorney General's Office on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.

"There's no question that applications for the position of state police chief are public records," Foundation for Open Government Director Sarah Welsh wrote in an e-mail. "The unique nature of the transition team raises some questions about who the custodian of those public records might be, but custodian is defined (in the IPRA law) pretty broadly as 'any person responsible for the maintenance, care or keeping of a public body's public records.' The transition team may or may not be a public body, but it can still be holding public records."

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3076 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at SantaFeCrime.com">SantaFeCrime.com.