PRC transportation division to move to NMDOT

The start of July will mean a few less duties for the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

Beginning July 1, per state law, most of the transportation division at the PRC moved over to the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

Three sections or bureaus will change from PRC to NMDOT oversight : the Applications Section, Ambulance and Railroad Bureau and the Compliance and Investigations Bureau. The bureaus’ duties have stayed largely the same.

The Applications Unit will process applications for authorities to operate as regulated motor carriers, according to the state agency. Anyone providing transportation services has to have operating authority, including limousines, taxis, shuttles, moving services and towing services. The Applications Unit will also process applications and tariffs for ambulances.

The Compliance and Investigations Bureau will split into two units.

The Compliance Unit will enforce NMDOT rules and the Motor Carrier Act through audits and file reviews. The Inspections/Investigations Unit will enforce the same regulations through motor carrier inspections and complaint investigation, and can fine or penalize as well as recommend suspension or revocation of a carrier’s operating authority.

Finally, the Ambulance and Railroad Unit will merge with an existing division at NMDOT and narrow its focus to enforcing railroad safety standards with the Federal Railroad Administration.

The change will be a result of Senate Bill 160 from the 2023 legislative session. It originally would’ve taken effect Jan. 1, 2024, but lawmakers pushed the date back to July so the transfer wouldn’t happen in the middle of a fiscal year, according to the legislation’s fiscal impact report.

Only the Pipeline Safety Bureau, the remaining sub-entity in the PRC Transportation Division, stays under the commission. The Pipeline Safety Bureau is just about the same size as the other three combined.

All of the PRC’s contractual obligations related to motor carrier regulation, railroad safety enforcement and ambulance standards will still be in effect, according to the fiscal impact report; the obligations merely transferred to NMDOT.

Additionally, any rules or orders the PRC made in the oversight areas will still be in place, until repealed or amended.

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Editor's note: 6/12 2 p.m.: This article was updated with new information on the railroad operations from NMDOT.