Reform of PRC signed into law

SANTA FE – Changes voters mandated last year for the scandal-tainted Public Regulation Commission were signed into law Friday by Gov. Susana Martinez.

The governor approved a four-part package that included trimming the duties of the powerful utility regulatory panel and increasing the minimum qualifications for its five elected members – who until now had to be only 18, have lived in the state for a year and not be a felon.

The changes were worked out by lawmakers in the recently completed legislative session, and three of the four reform measures were required by constitutional amendments voters statewide approved in 2012.

Martinez said in a statement that reforming one of the most powerful regulatory bodies in the nation was integral to New Mexico’s efforts “to create a friendlier, more predictable, and more straightforward regulatory and business environment.”

The qualifications piece, Senate Bill 8, requires future PRC members to have at least 10 years of professional experience in an area the PRC regulates, or a combined 10 years of relevant experience and higher education resulting in a bachelor’s degree. Also required: 32 hours a year of relevant continuing education and two hours a year of ethics training.

House Bill 45 shifts insurance regulation from the PRC to an independent superintendent of insurance, appointed by a committee. House Bill 46 transfers the PRC’s corporate reporting unit to the secretary of state, which already has a business services division.

Those three bills implement constitutional amendments endorsed by voters.

The Legislature also passed, and Martinez signed, House Bill 194, which eases the regulation of taxis, shuttles, limos and moving companies.

Fred Nathan, executive director of Think New Mexico, an independent think tank that promoted the overhaul, said he was “delighted” at the enactment of the comprehensive package.

Since 2010, two PRC members have had to resign their $90,000-a-year posts because they were convicted of felonies.

The PRC oversees utilities, telecommunications, transportation, pipelines, the fire marshal and more.

— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal