A. The "public regulation commission nominating committee" is created and consists of seven members who are:
(1) knowledgeable about public utility regulation;
(2) not employed by or on behalf of or have a contract with a public utility that is regulated by the commission;
(3) not applicants or nominees for a position on the commission; and
(4) appointed as follows:
(a) four members appointed one each by the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority floor leader of the house of representatives, the president pro tempore of the senate and the minority floor leader of the senate, with no more than two members being from the same political party;
(b) two members appointed one each by the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources and the secretary of economic development; and
(c) one member who is a member of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo appointed by the governor.
B. A committee member shall:
(1) be a resident of New Mexico;
(2) serve a four-year term; and
(3) serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in pursuit of the member's duties on the committee pursuant to the Per Diem and Mileage Act.
C. The committee and individual members shall be subject to the Governmental Conduct Act [Chapter 10, Article 16 NMSA 1978], the Inspection of Public Records Act [Chapter 14, Article 2 NMSA 1978], the Financial Disclosure Act [10-16A-1 to 10-16A-8 NMSA 1978] and the Open Meetings Act [Chapter 10, Article 15 NMSA 1978].
D. Administrative support shall be provided to the committee by the staff of the commission.
E. Initial appointments to the committee shall be made by the appointing authorities prior to July 1, 2022. Subsequent appointments shall be made no later than thirty days before the end of a term.
F. The first meeting of the appointed members of the committee shall be held prior to September 1, 2022. The committee shall select one member to be chair and one member to be secretary. Following the first meeting, the committee shall meet as often as necessary in order to submit a list to the governor of no fewer than five qualified nominees for appointment to the commission for the terms beginning January 1, 2023. The list shall be developed to provide geographical diversity, and nominees on the list shall be from at least three different counties of the state.
G. Subsequent to January 1, 2023, the committee shall meet at least ninety days prior to the date on which the term of a commissioner ends and as often as necessary thereafter in order to submit a list to the governor, at least thirty days prior to the beginning of the new term, of no fewer than two qualified nominees from diverse geographical areas of the state for appointment to the commission for each commissioner position term that is ending.
H. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in a commissioner position, the committee shall meet within thirty days of the date of the beginning of the vacancy and as often as necessary thereafter in order to submit a list to the governor, within sixty days of the first meeting after the vacancy occurs, of no fewer than two qualified nominees from diverse geographical areas of the state for appointment to the commission to fill the remainder of the term of each commissioner position that is vacant.
I. If a position on the committee becomes vacant during a term, a successor shall be selected in the same manner as the original appointment for that position and shall serve for the remainder of the term of the position vacated.
J. The committee shall actively solicit, accept and evaluate applications from qualified individuals for a position on the commission and may require an applicant to submit any information it deems relevant to the consideration of the individual's application.
K. The committee shall select nominees for submission to the governor who, in the committee's judgment, are best qualified to serve as a member of the commission.
L. A majority vote of all members of the committee in favor of a person is required for that person to be included on the list of qualified nominees submitted to the governor.
History: Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 18.
ANNOTATIONSContingent effective date. — Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 18 enacted a new section of the Public Regulation Commission Act, effective January 1, 2022, 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 (Laws 2019, 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.