A. The commission shall appoint a "chief of staff" who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the commission staff under the general direction of the commission. The chief of staff shall serve at the pleasure of the commission.
B. With the consent of the commission, the chief of staff shall appoint division directors. Appointments shall be made without reference to party affiliation and solely on the ground of fitness to perform the duties of their offices.
C. Each director, with the consent of the chief of staff, shall employ such professional, technical and support staff as necessary to carry out the duties of the director's division. Employees shall be hired solely on the ground of their fitness to perform the job for which they are hired. Division staff are subject to the provisions of the Personnel Act [Chapter 10, Article 9 NMSA 1978].
History: Laws 1998, ch. 108, § 5; 2000, ch. 57, § 1; 2013, ch. 74, §1; § 8-8-5, recompiled as § 62-19-11 by Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 59.
ANNOTATIONSCompiler's notes. — Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 59 recompiled former 8-8-5 NMSA 1978 as part of Chapter 62, Article 19 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023, contingent upon certification by the secretary of state that the constitution of New Mexico has been amended as proposed by a joint resolution of the first session of the fifty-fourth legislature (SJC/SRC/SJR Nos. 1 and 4, CA #1) at the general election to be held on November 3, 2020. The section number was assigned by the compiler.
The 2013 amendment, effective March 29, 2013, in Subsection C, in the third sentence, deleted "Except as provided in Subsection D of this section"; and deleted former Subsection D, which permitted the superintendent of insurance to designate division positions with the consent of the chief of staff.
The 2000 amendment, effective May 17, 2000, inserted "Except as provided in Subsection D of this section" in the last sentence of Subsection C and added Subsection D.