2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 62 - Electric, Gas and Water Utilities › Article 19 - Public Regulation Commission › Section 62-19-5 - Qualifications of commissioners.

A. Commissioners shall be persons who are independent of the industries regulated by the commission and shall possess demonstrated competence.
B. In order to be appointed as a commissioner, a person must be qualified for office by:
(1) having a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education that has been accredited by a regional or national accrediting body and at least ten years of professional experience in an area regulated by the commission or in the energy sector and involving a scope of work that includes accounting, public or business administration, economics, finance, statistics, policy, engineering or law; or
(2) having higher education resulting in at least a professional license or a post-graduate degree from an institution of higher education that has been accredited by a regional or national accrediting body in a field related to an area regulated by the commission, including accounting, public or business administration, economics, finance, statistics, policy, engineering or law, and at least ten years of professional experience within the person's field.
C. A commissioner shall not have a financial interest in a public utility in this state or elsewhere and shall not have been employed by a commission-regulated entity at any time during the two years prior to appointment to the commission.
D. Commissioners shall give their entire time to the business of the commission and shall not pursue any other business or vocation or hold any other office for profit.
E. As used in this section, "professional experience" means employment in which the prospective appointee for commissioner regularly made decisions requiring discretion and independent judgment and:
(1) engaged in policy analysis, research, consumer advocacy or implementation in an area regulated by the commission or in the energy sector;
(2) managed, as the head, deputy head or division director, a federal, state, tribal or local government department or division responsible for utilities, energy policy, transportation or construction; or
(3) managed a business or organization regulated by the commission or in the energy sector that had five or more employees during the time it was managed by the prospective appointee.
History:
Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 1; 2019, ch. 212, § 210; § 8-8-3.1, recompiled and amended as § 62-19-5 by Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 19.
ANNOTATIONS
Recompilations.
— Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 19 recompiled and amended former 8-8-3.1 NMSA 1978 as 62-19-5 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023.
The 2020 amendment,
effective January 1, 2023, removed "elected" and "candidate" from the requirements for a public regulation commissioner, removed certain references to election related activity, required commissioners to have a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education or a post-graduate degree in a field related to an area regulated by the commission, including policy, required at least ten years of professional experience within the person's field, prohibited a commissioner from having a financial interest in a public utility, from having been employed by a commission-regulated entity at any time during the two years prior to appointment to the commission, and from pursuing any other business or holding any other office; in Subsection A, deleted "In addition to other requirements imposed by law" and added new language in the subsection; added subsection designation "B."; in Subsection B, in the introductory clause, after "to be", deleted "elected or", in Paragraph B(1), after "having", added "a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education that has been accredited by a regional or national accrediting body and", in Paragraph B(2), after "having", deleted " a total of ten years of combined professional experience as described in Paragraph (1) of this subsection and", after "professional license or a", deleted "baccalaureate" and added "post-graduate", after "accrediting body in", added "a field related to", after "statistics", added "policy", and after "engineering or law", added "and at least ten years of professional experience within the person's field"; added new Subsections C and D and redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection E; in Subsection E, in the introductory clause, after "which the", deleted "candidate or", in Paragraph E(1), after "research", added "consumer advocacy", in Paragraph E(2), after "utilities", added "energy policy", and in Paragraph E(3), after "managed by the", deleted "candidate or"; and deleted former Subsections C and D.
The 2019 amendment,
effective April 3, 2019, revised the qualification criteria for being elected or appointed commissioner; in Subsection A, deleted Paragraph A(3); in Subsection C, after "declaration of candidacy.", added the remainder of the subsection; and in Subsection D, after "Subsection A of this section", added "or that the affidavit of the person seeking nomination does not contain sufficient information to determine if the person meets the requirements of Subsection A of this section".
Applicability.
— Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 3 provided that the provisions of Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 1 apply to:
A. persons appointed to fill a public regulation commissioner vacancy after July 1, 2013; and
B. public regulation commissioners elected at the general election in 2014 and subsequent elections.