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Committee adopts cleanup amendment to Public Regulation Commission bill and advances measure
Summary
Senate Bill 109, a statutory cleanup for the Public Regulation Commission to align code with current operations, was amended to restore several mandatory duties and passed from committee with a due-pass recommendation after agency and stakeholder testimony.
Senate Bill 109, described by the chair of the Public Regulation Commission as housekeeping and modernization of longstanding statute language, received an amended substitute and a due-pass recommendation from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Pat O’Connell, chair of the Public Regulation Commission, told the committee the bill updates language that in some places had not been revised since the late 1990s and clarifies division responsibilities. The commission’s chair and staff indicated they assisted in drafting the clean-up text.
Amendment and debate: Committee members and the commission discussed a rules committee amendment that restored several duties as mandatory (“shall”) rather than discretionary (“may”) for divisions such as consumer relations and telecommunications. Senator Duhigg explained the amendment was intended to ensure the commission retains responsibilities that otherwise might be made optional in the PRC’s draft cleanup; commissioners indicated the amendment aligned the bill with their operational expectations. The amendment also addressed delineation of duties between the commission and the PRC chief of staff for internal operations and appointment of division directors.
Support and opposition: Utilities and regulated companies including Xcel Energy and PNM expressed support for the bill, saying it clarifies processes and streamlines the PRC’s ability to administer oversight. The commission’s chief of staff and other PRC staff answered committee questions about operations. The fiscal-impact report and attorney-general analysis raised technical questions about whether some changes affect recent practices for hearing examiners; the PRC chair said those concerns stemmed from misunderstandings about how hearing examiners are assigned and operate.
Action: After amendment and brief discussion the committee recorded a due-pass recommendation on SB 109 as amended.
What’s next: The amended PRC cleanup language, now carrying a committee due pass, will move to the Senate for additional floor consideration.
