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SB 008: PRC COMMISSIONER QUALIFICATIONS

An Act Relating To The Public Regulation Commission; Providing For Qualifications For Office Of Commissioner.

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MILD SB 008
PRC COMMISSIONER QUALIFICATIONS

Legislative URL:
SB 008 on nmlegis.gov
Emergency Clause:
No
Germane:
N/A
Location:
Signed
Action:
SPREF [1] SRC/SJC-SRC [4] DNP-CS/DP-SJC [14] DNP-CS/DP [19] fl/a- PASSED/S (32-8) [30] HCPAC/HJC-HCPAC [39] w/o rec-HJC- DP/a - PASSED/H (61-0) [40] s/fld cncr [51] h/fld recede- CC [52] h/rpt adptd [44] s/rpt adptd SGND (Mar.29) Ch. 64.
Issue(s):

Companion Bills

Bills:
PRC QUALIFICATIONS

Related Legislators

Bill Sponsor:

Related Documents

Downloads:
Introduced
SRC Committee Report
SRC Committee Substitute
SJC Committee Report
SJC Committee Substitute
Senate Floor Amendment 1
Final Senate Vote
HCPAC Committee Report
HJC Committee Report
Final House Vote
Conference Committee Report 1
Conference Committee Report 2
Fiscal Impact Report
Final Version
Summary

This bill would require Public Regulation Commissioners to have a B.A. and at least seven years of work experience in:

  • an area regulated by the commission;
  • engineering;
  • finance, economics and statistics;
  • law;
  • accounting; or,
  • consumer protection and advocacy.

 

This bill is a companion bill to HB 89. It is not a companion bill to House Bill 47 on the same subject.

Update: On January 30, 2013, the Senate Rules Committee adopted a Committee Substitute for the original bill. Under the substitute, a Commissioner would need an Associate (rather than a Baccalaureate) or more advanced degree OR seven years’ work experience in one of the enumerated fields (not both the degree and the experience as the original bill requires). One potential benefit of the new language is that the requirements for holding office are more flexible, and thus more good candidates might run for office.

Update: On February 14, 2013, the SJC adopted its own Committee Substitute for the SRC substitute. The SJC substitute requires that a candidate/potential appointee have one of the following:

  • “at least three years’ experience as head, deputy head or division director of a state or local government department responsible for utilities, transportation or construction;”
  • “at least five years’ experience as a senior manager of a private-sector engineering business or a company regulated by the commission or an advocacy group whose primary interest as specified in its bylaws involves advocacy before the commission or similar regulatory entity;” or,
  • a New Mexico professional engineer, certified public accountant or attorney license.

 

It provides a process for a voter to challenge the qualifications of a candidate/potential appointee. And, it requires commissioners to take an initial ethics certificate course provided by a New Mexico public post-secondary educational institution and then at least two hours of ethics courses annually.

While the substitute has more specific requirements than the original bill, one concern could be that the language might be too specific thus narrowing the pool of potential commissioners too much.

The Senate added Floor amendments to the bill before passing it on February 20, 2013. The amendments tweak the language regarding professional qualifications so that the first two now read:

  • “at least three years’ experience as head, deputy head, division director or elected official of a state or local government department responsible for utilities, energy generation or development or management, transportation or construction;”
  • “at least five years’ experience as a senior manager of an private-sector engineering business organization or a company regulated by the commission or an advocacy group whose primary interest as specified in its bylaws involves advocacy before the commission or similar regulatory entity;” or,

 

It also requires Commissioners to take 25 hours of continuing education annually in addition to the ethics training required by the SJC Substitute. Finally, it grandfathers current Commissioners from the professional experience requirement, though they will need to comply with the continuing education requirements.

The Floor amendments might be a positive step towards ensuring the qualifications are not too restrictive and towards ensuring the Commissioners obtain the additional education needed to perform their duties well.

The HJC amendments adopted on March 10, 2013, require candidates/appointees to have at least 10 years of professional experience or 10 years of higher education resulting in a degree, or any 10-tyear combination of the two, in fields enumerated in the amendments. Candidates in office on January 1, 2013, are deemed qualified. Commissioners must take an initial ethics certificate course and complete at least 40 hours of continuing education per year.

Outcome: SB 008 passed the Senate (32-8) and the House (61-0), and was signed into law on March 29th, 2013.

Date of Summary:  1/15/13, Updated 2/6/13, 2/16/13, 2/21/13, 3/12/13 and 5/19/13