THINK NEW MEXICO - New Mexico's Public Regulation Commission (PRC) touches the lives of every New Mexican who pays a gas, electric, or water bill, or buys home, auto, or health insurance, yet the agency has been in an almost constant state of turmoil since it was created in the late 1990s as a merger of the former State Corporation Commission and Public Utility Commission.
The PRC suffers from two fundamental problems. First, it has a broader jurisdiction than any state utility regulatory agency in the nation. The PRC is responsible not only for regulating the rates and service of electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities, as well as telecommunications, but also for appointing the Superintendent of Insurance, who approves rates and policies of health, life, property, auto, and title insurance; controlling the market entry and rates of buses, shuttles, taxis, ambulances, and moving companies; registering for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and LLCs; regulating the safety of oil, gas, and hazardous liquid pipelines; regulating underground excavations that may affect buried pipes or cables; ensuring the safety of railroad crossings; and appointing the State Fire Marshal. The second problem is that the only qualifications required for PRC commissioners are that they must be (1) at least 18 years old, (2) residents of New Mexico for at least a year, and (3) not convicted felons. As a result, New Mexico's PRC commissioners have tended to be less qualified than their peers in other states. For example, while only 11% of utility commissioners nationwide have less than a college degree, a full 44% of New Mexico's PRC commissioners had not completed college when they were elected. Read full report here:
News New Mexico
Think Tank: PRC Needs Major Reforms
THINK NEW MEXICO - New Mexico's Public Regulation Commission (PRC) touches the lives of every New Mexican who pays a gas, electric, or water bill, or buys home, auto, or health insurance, yet the agency has been in an almost constant state of turmoil since it was created in the late 1990s as a merger of the former State Corporation Commission and Public Utility Commission. 
The PRC suffers from two fundamental problems. First, it has a broader jurisdiction than any state utility regulatory agency in the nation. The PRC is responsible not only for regulating the rates and service of electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities, as well as telecommunications, but also for appointing the Superintendent of Insurance, who approves rates and policies of health, life, property, auto, and title insurance; controlling the market entry and rates of buses, shuttles, taxis, ambulances, and moving companies; registering for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and LLCs; regulating the safety of oil, gas, and hazardous liquid pipelines; regulating underground excavations that may affect buried pipes or cables; ensuring the safety of railroad crossings; and appointing the State Fire Marshal. The second problem is that the only qualifications required for PRC commissioners are that they must be (1) at least 18 years old, (2) residents of New Mexico for at least a year, and (3) not convicted felons. As a result, New Mexico's PRC commissioners have tended to be less qualified than their peers in other states. For example, while only 11% of utility commissioners nationwide have less than a college degree, a full 44% of New Mexico's PRC commissioners had not completed college when they were elected. Read full report here: News New Mexico
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