Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, appears before Senate Rules Committee arguing in favor of Senate Bill 8, establishing qualifications for the PRC
In the race to increase minimal qualifications for the Public Regulation Commission, a bill that critics say is a watered-down version passed through the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday (Jan. 30).
Senate Bill 8 is one of three bills before the Legislature in this 60-day session to implement the will of New Mexico voters who, in the November election, turned out with 81 percent approval to direct the Legislature to come up with basic requirements for candidates for the PRC.
The vote calls for amending the state Constitution in the wake of a series of scandals, arrests and lawsuits that have embarrassed the PRC throughout its short history. It’s the Legislature’s job now to determine specifics of those “increased qualifications.”
“The purpose of (SB8) is to try to strike a balance between requiring a degree … and relevant areas of study or work,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, said.
But Sen. Keller’s bill on Wednesday was a substitute bill that, among other things, changed requiring PRC candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree AND relevant work experience to have candidates have at least an associate’s degree OR relevant work experience.
“I can’t support this change,” Sen. Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants, said. “I don’t think we should be lowering the bar; we should be raising the bar.”
But Keller said a bachelor’s degree requirement would “disenfranchise half our state” from running for the PRC. “We have to look at the majority of our population … we’re going to skew it on racial lines; we’re going to skew it along demographic lines.”
Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, agreed with Keller, saying, “I think a person with an associate’s degree can be as qualified as anyone else.”
Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said she doesn’t like the idea of practically any higher educational requirements for elective office. “We set the bar so dang high,” she said, adding, “You cannot legislate behavior.”
A former PRC commissioner, Doug Howe, told the committee he supports more rigorous standards, saying that too often PRC commissioners are “winging it on their own” and pointing out that the state Supreme Court has reversed two-thirds of PRC decisions that have been argued before it.
“The commission has a history of making non-fact based opinions,” Howe said.
In the end, the Senate Rules Committee passed SB8 on a 7-3 vote. Voting in favor were Democrats Michael Sanchez, Jacob Candelaria, Lopez, Daniel Ivey-Soto, Gerald Ortiz Y Pino and Republicans Sander Rue and Stuart Ingle.
Voting no were Republicans Cliff Pirtle and Mark Moores and Democrat Clemente Sanchez.
“It is a watered-down version of what’s been proposed,” Howe said after the vote, although he said he was “gratified by the length and the depth of discussion” in Senate Rules.
“But this legislative session has quite a few weeks left to run,” Howe said. “There will be a lot more discussion, there will be a lot more attempts at compromise.”
SB8 now moves on to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Two other bills with more robust qualifications are in the hopper in the House of Representatives. House Bill 47 is sponsored by Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, and House Bill 89, sponsored by Keller and Rep. Paul Bandy, R-Aztec.
