New Mexico House bill authored by Rep. Ortez passes House and Senate, restructures PRC agency and creates utility oversight fund

Newly passed bill authored by State Rep. Kristina Ortez aims to restructure the Public Regulation Commission’s supporting agency, clarify its duties, and create a utility oversight fund following approval in both chambers, according to the New Mexico Legislature.

HB 70 passed both chambers as of Tuesday, Feb. 17, clearing the House by a vote of 66-0 and the Senate by a vote of 36-0.

In the House, 43 Democrats and 23 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 20 Democrats and 14 Republicans voted in favor, also with no opposing votes.

Kristina Ortez introduced the bill in the New Mexico House on Tuesday, Jan. 13 during the 57th Legislature.

Ortez graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with a BA.

Ortez, a Democrat, was elected to the New Mexico State House in 2021 to represent the state’s 42nd House district, replacing previous state representative Daniel R. Barrone.

According to the New Mexico Legislature website, the bill’s title was officially listed as: ‘PRC Support Agency’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill restructures the Public Regulation Commission’s supporting agency, clarifies its duties and ethics obligations, and creates a nonreverting utility oversight fund in the state treasury to receive utility- and pipeline-related fees, penalties and related revenues. It authorizes the commission to enforce unpaid fees and seek injunctions, revises procedures for investigations, hearings, rulemaking, records, reporting and ex parte communications, and shifts certain litigation and administrative functions from the attorney general and commission to agency staff. The bill establishes a chief of staff to manage the agency, define advocacy and advisory roles, and oversee pipeline safety and consumer complaint functions.

The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart (Democrat – District 17).

In New Mexico, the legislative process involves multiple steps: a bill is introduced in either the House or Senate, assigned to a committee for review, debated and voted on in both chambers, and, if approved, sent to the governor for signature or veto. The Legislature meets annually, commencing on the third Tuesday in January, with 60-day sessions in odd-numbered years and 30-day sessions in even-numbered years. While numerous bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully navigate the process to become law. You can read more about bills and other measures here.