Parole Board seeks $1.5 million to digitize records after clearing backlog of hearings

The House Appropriations & Finance Committee heard from the New Mexico Parole Board about operational improvements, staffing shortages and a request to modernize records.

Roberta Cohen, serving as executive director, told the committee the parole board eliminated an estimated backlog of roughly 280 offender parole hearings and normalized a twice‑monthly hearing schedule, noting the improvement restored compliance with statutory review intervals. Cohen said the board operates with six authorized FTE but currently has three staff on hand and conducts hearings statewide.

To speed case processing and reduce administrative error, the board requested a nonrecurring appropriation to convert roughly 1,500,000 images (about 632 banker boxes) of paper files into an electronic records system. Cohen said the board’s assessment estimated the scanning program at roughly $1.5 million; a Verizon quote for scanning and indexing was cited at $179,000 as part of the assessment.

Cohen linked the records modernization to recent New Mexico Supreme Court decisions emphasizing accurate eligibility tracking and statutory deadlines. Committee questions focused on victim participation metrics, the board’s vacancy impacts on revocation‑hearing timelines and whether scanning would prioritize cases soon to be seen; Cohen said the office would prioritize lifer files and those scheduled for upcoming hearings.

Representative House leadership moved to adopt the LFC recommendation and the committee approved it by voice vote with no opposition recorded. Cohen said the conversion would reduce administrative processing time per case by an estimated 20–25 percent and improve compliance and access for board members, victims and corrections staff.