Email
It’s no secret that New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioners have been divided over three constitutional amendment proposals dealing with the PRC.
But differences of opinion boiled over during a public meeting Tuesday when Commissioner Ben Hall of Ruidoso blasted fellow Commissioner Jason Marks of Albuquerque for comments Marks made in support of the Nov. 6 ballot proposals.
“I assume he thinks the rest of us are not smart enough to keep the PRC running after Jan. 1,” Hall said, referring to the date on which Marks’ term on the PRC will officially end.
Moments later, Hall, who opposes the three amendments, told Marks, “If you don’t like the PRC the way it is, I suggest you resign.”
Marks, who has served two terms on the PRC and is barred from seeking re-election, said after the meeting he was offended by Hall’s remarks.
“This shouldn’t be about personalities,” he told the Journal. “It should be about the voters out there and whether they believe the amendments are good for the PRC.”
Marks was a vocal backer of the three proposed PRC amendments during this year’s legislative session.
One of the proposed amendments dealing with the PRC — there are also two non-PRC related constitutional amendments this year — would compel the Legislature to set new minimum qualifications for PRC candidates.
The other two would reshape the five-member regulatory body by shifting certain duties from the PRC to the Secretary of State’s office and removing the insurance division from the PRC and making it into a separate entity.
All three appear on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal
