Committee approves PRC oversight fund bill after amendment that preserves general fund balance

The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 143, which establishes a utility oversight fund for the Public Regulation Commission, but adopted an amendment to remove language that would have immediately routed collected utility assessment fees into that fund.

Sponsor Sen. Munoz said the measure would allow the PRC to retain fees it already collects to support its operations, set administrative and filing fees that more closely match agency costs and provide authority to enforce assessments. "This bill allows the Public Regulation Commission to use the fees that it already collects from the utilities that we oversee to fund our own operations," said Troy Acura, identified as chief of staff at the PRC.

The committee adopted Amendment 230779.1, which keeps the statutory fund but strikes the transfer language that would have populated it immediately from fee collections; sponsors said the change was technical and intended to avoid a direct general-fund hit without further review. Xcel Energy and PNM testified in support; municipal and county objections were not recorded on this measure.

The committee recorded a unanimous 10–0 do-pass vote on the bill as amended. Sponsors said the PRC's workload has grown and the fund is intended to create a sustainable mechanism for permitting and rate-review activities without short-term ad hoc appropriations.