New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1, Appointed Public Regulation Commission Amendment (2020)

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New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1
Flag of New Mexico.png
Election date
November 3, 2020
Topic
Administration of government
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1, the Public Regulation Commission Amendment was on the ballot in New Mexico as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.[1] It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported changing the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) from an elected five-member commission to an appointed three-member commission.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment, thus keeping the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) as an elected five-member commission.


Election results

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

445,655 55.63%
No 355,471 44.37%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Aftermath

  
Lawsuit overview
Issue: Whether the state legislature included too many subjects in the amendment
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court
Ruling: Ruled in favor of defendants; the subjects are all related and could be presented as one measure
Plaintiff(s): Indigenous Lifeways, New Mexico Social Justice & Equity Institute, and Three Sisters CollectiveDefendant(s): NM Compilation Commission Advisory Committee
Plaintiff argument:
The amendment was unclear to voters about the effect of the measure. The amendment was also unconstitutional because commissioners must be elected, not appointed.		Defendant argument:
Unknown.

  Source: New Mexico Political Report

On August 31, 2022, Indigenous Lifeways, New Mexico Social Justice & Equity Institute, and Three Sisters Collective filed a lawsuit against the New Mexico Compilation Commission Advisory Committee with the New Mexico Supreme Court. The lawsuit argues that the text of the ballot measure was misleading to voters and that the amendment was unconstitutional because voters have a right to elect commissioners. Sarah Shore, who is representing the petitioners, said, "This was a particularly egregious instance of a ballot that misled people by omission, because it was impossible to tell from the language of this ballot which of the provisions stated represented changes from the status quo and what the change was."[2]

On April 10, 2023, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendants that the amendment contained related subjects that could all be placed in one question. The court wrote, "We conclude only that the Legislature’s choice to join the various changes together in a single-ballot measure was not irrational."[3]

Overview

What did Constitutional Amendment 1 change about the PRC?

The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) was created to oversee the regulation of public utilities, including rates and services related to transportation, pipelines, electric companies, sewers, and telecom. Voters approved a constitutional amendment, titled Amendment 6, to create the PRC in 1996. Under Amendment 6, the PRC was designed as a five-member commission, with members elected from districts.

Constitutional Amendment 1 made the PRC an appointed committee, rather than an elected committee, and decrease the number of commissioners from five to three. The PRC would change from an elected committee to an appointed committee on January 1, 2023; therefore, the last election of PRC members was in 2020. The ballot measure would create a nominating committee to develop a list of candidates, and the governor would appoint three members from the list, with the consent of the state Senate, to serve on the commission. Of the three commissioners, no more than two would be members of the same political party. Commissioners would serve six-year terms and be limited to two terms.[1]

Constitutional Amendment 1 made the New Mexico Legislature responsible for passing laws to decide the qualifications and education requirements for commissioners. The ballot measure also provided for a commissioner to be removed from the PRC for accepting anything of value from persons or entities regulated by the commission.[1]

How are members of state regulation commissions selected in other states?

As of 2019, each of the 50 states had a public regulation commission, also known as a public service commission, responsible for the regulation of utilities. Voters in eleven states, including New Mexico and neighboring Arizona, elected their state's commissioners. Of the remaining states, 28 had governor-appointed commissions and one had a legislature-appointed commission.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:[4]

“ PROPOSING TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO PROVIDE THAT THE PUBLIC

REGULATION COMMISSION CONSIST OF THREE MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR FROM A LIST OF PROFESSIONALLY QUALIFIED NOMINEES SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR BY A NOMINATING COMMITTEE AS PROVIDED BY LAW AND THAT THE COMMISSION IS REQUIRED TO REGULATE PUBLIC UTILITIES AND MAY BE REQUIRED TO REGULATE OTHER PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES.

[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST[5]

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:[4]

“ Constitutional Amendment 1 would amend Article 11, Section 1 of the Constitution of New Mexico to reduce the number of Public Regulation Commission (PRC) members to three, with no more than two members from the same political party. Members would no longer be elected, but instead would be appointed for six-year terms by the governor, with the consent of the senate, from a list of nominees submitted to the governor through a newly established Public Regulation Commission Nominating Committee. Constitutional Amendment 1 would also amend Article 11, Section 2 of the Constitution of New Mexico to narrow the scope of the PRC's constitutionally granted regulatory powers to public utilities, while still allowing the legislature to assign responsibility for the regulation of other public service companies to the commission by law.[5] ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article XI, New Mexico Constitution

Constitutional Amendment 1 amended Section 1 of Article XI of the New Mexico Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:[1]

Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.


A. The "public regulation commission" is created. Until January 1, 2023, the commission shall consist of five members elected from districts provided by law for staggered four-year terms beginning on January 1 of the year following their election; provided that those chosen at the first general election after the adoption of this section shall immediately classify themselves by lot, so that two of them shall hold office for two years and three of them for four years; and further provided that, after serving two terms, members shall be ineligible to hold office as a commission member until one full term has intervened; and provided further that commission members elected for terms beginning January 1, 2021 shall hold office for two years.

B. Beginning January 1, 2023, the commission shall consist of three members. The governor shall nominate members from a list of qualified nominees submitted to the governor by the public regulation commission nominating committee, as provided by law, and by and with the consent of the senate shall appoint members to fill positions and vacancies on the commission; provided that no more than two commissioners shall be members of the same political party. Members so appointed shall serve six-year staggered terms; provided that, after serving two consecutive six-year terms, members shall be ineligible to hold office as commissioner until one full term has intervened. A person appointed to fill a vacancy on the commission shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.

C. A six-year term for a commission position shall begin on January 1 of the year following the expiration of the prior term for that position; provided that in January 2023, one member shall be appointed for an initial term of two years, one member for an initial term of four years and one member for a six-year term.

D. The legislature shall provide, by law, increased for professional qualifications for commissioners and continuing education requirements for commissioners The increased qualifications provided by this 2012 amendment shall apply to public regulation commissioners elected at the general election in 2014 and subsequent elections and to commissioners appointed to fill a vacancy at any time after July 1, 2013. No commissioner or candidate for the commission shall accept anything of value from a person or entity whose charges for services to the public are regulated by the commission. and for the creation of and procedures for the public regulation commission nominating committee.

E. A commission member may be removed for accepting anything of value from a person or entity whose charges for services to the public are regulated by the commission, malfeasance, misfeasance or neglect of duty, after a hearing before the supreme court pursuant to court rules. The supreme court's jurisdiction over the hearing is exclusive, and its decision on the removal is final.[5]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.


The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 25. The word count for the ballot title is 64, and the estimated reading time is 17 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 17, and the FRE is 18. The word count for the ballot summary is 125, and the estimated reading time is 33 seconds.


Support

Supporters

Officials

Unions

  • New Mexico National Education Association

Organizations


Arguments

  • Noah Long, director of the Western Region Climate & Clean Energy Program: "This reform would enact one of the most rigorous commission selection processes in the country. [...] Constitutional Amendment 1 will also reduce the influence of political spending. Like it or not, the PRC is a down-ballot election that many New Mexicans don’t follow closely. When we vote our values for clean energy, healthy air and water, we do so for our legislative representatives and our governor, but how many folks honestly know whether their PRC representative is qualified, independent or has any experience? Only a handful of commissioners in the last 20 years have had any energy, telecom or utility regulatory experience before running, and the commission has rarely had a pro-clean energy majority. On the other hand, the industries regulated by the PRC always pay close attention to these races, and in recent years hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent to win a handful of commission seats. [...] In New Mexico voters have shown we want clean energy leadership. Now we need an expert PRC that can implement that vision, not politicians that might second guess it."


Official arguments

  • New Mexico Legislative Council Service: "An elected commission is a political commission, and the PRC may be even more so because its members are elected to represent specific districts in the state. When elected members represent districts instead of the entire state, their focus may be on regional electoral politics rather than the interests of ratepayers throughout the state. By insulating the commission from electoral politics, the commissioners may be better able to carry out their quasi-judicial duties in an unbiased fashion. ... The proposed amendment would provide for increased vetting of commissioners through the establishment of a Public Regulation Commission Nominating Committee that evaluates potential nominees and submits their names to the governor for appointment, followed by senate confirmation of those appointees. This process would insulate the selection of commissioners from the political process and better ensure that well-qualified individuals are chosen to serve on the PRC."


Opposition

Arguments

  • Theresa Becenti-Aguilar (D) and Jeff Byrd (R), members of the Public Regulation Commission: The constitutional amendment would "make our state’s most powerful regulatory agency less representative, less responsive to the public and more susceptible to the influence of powerful special interests." Becenti-Aguilar and Byrd added, "Perhaps the special interest groups have decided that it may be easier for them to influence an appointment process rather than an election where the public has the final say. We believe that it is inappropriate for regulated entities to choose their regulators."
  • Steve Fischmann, chairman of the Public Regulation Commission: "With Amendment 1 in place, it’s not difficult to imagine utilities leveraging contributions to Gubernatorial and legislative leadership PACs to select the commissioners that regulate them. Our current elected PRC commissioners are not allowed to take direct contributions from utilities. But utilities can create their own PACs to support candidates through independently produced ads. They did just that to support my primary opponent and failed. It’s much easier to buy a seven person nominating committee than it is to influence a million New Mexico voters."


Official arguments

  • New Mexico Legislative Council Service: "Removing voters' power to directly elect commissioners dilutes the power of the electorate by transferring that decision-making authority to the Public Regulation Commission Nominating Committee, governor and senate. Electing commissioners from their respective districts allows members of the public more direct oversight of their commissioners and the decisions those commissioners make. Removing the power to elect the commissioners by district may result in reduced geographical representation because appointed commissioners could reside anywhere in the state. Even if the commissioners were appointed from different regions of the state, each commissioner would necessarily represent more persons and a larger geographic area than under the current system."


Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for New Mexico ballot measures
The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recently scheduled reports processed by Ballotpedia, which covered through January 7, 2021.


There was one ballot measure committee—Vote Yes to Reform the New Mexico PRC—registered in support of Constitutional Amendment 1. It reported $745,000.00 in contributions. Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in opposition to the measure.[6]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $745,000.00 $0.00 $745,000.00 $689,601.87 $689,601.87
Oppose $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Support

The following chart contains contributions and expenditures made in support of the measure:[6]

Committees in support of Constitutional Amendment 1
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Vote Yes to Reform the New Mexico PRC $745,000.00 $0.00 $745,000.00 $689,601.87 $689,601.87
Total $745,000.00 $0.00 $745,000.00 $689,601.87 $689,601.87

Top donors

The following chart contains the top donors to the committee:

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions
America Votes $310,000.00 $0.00 $310,000.00
League of Conservation Voters $300,000.00 $0.00 $300,000.00
NEA Special Account $100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00
EDF Action Votes $15,000.00 $0.00 $15,000.00
NRDC Action Fund $15,000.00 $0.00 $15,000.00

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in opposition to the ballot measure.

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Media editorials

See also: 2020 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

  • Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board: "Approval recommended: This proposed constitutional amendment is the result of good bipartisan work by state lawmakers seeking to depoliticize the PRC and make it more professional. ... If approved by voters by a simple majority, this year will mark the last time PRC commissioners are elected, and few will notice the loss. While important to daily lives, they have been low-information, down-ballot races. And while the most recent commissioners and candidates have been more qualified, the PRC has had numerous scandals, running from felony convictions to violence from extramarital affairs to embezzlement to fuel a drug habit. ... Adoption of the amendment would put us with the vast majority of states that have appointed utility regulators."


Opposition

If you are aware of a media editorial board position in opposition to the measure, please email the editorial link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Party control of commission

The ballot measure would make the PRC a three-member commission, with no more than two commissioners of the same political party. As of 2019, voters elected five commissioners from districts to the PRC, with no limitations on party affiliation. The following chart illustrates party control of the commission from 2008 through 2019:

Year 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
District 1 D D D D D D D D D D D D
District 2 R R R R R R R R R R R R
District 3 D D D D I D D D D D D D
District 4 D D D D D D D D D D D D
District 5 D D D R R R R D D D D D

State regulation commissions

See also: Public Service Commissioner (state executive office)

As of 2020, each of the 50 states had a public regulation commission, also known as a public service commission, responsible for the regulation of utilities. Voters in eleven states, including New Mexico, elected their state's commissioners. Of the remaining states, 37 had governor-appointed commissions and two had a legislature-appointed commission.

The following map illustrates the current election method of public commissions in each state and may not match the numbers stated above, which were accurate going into the 2020:

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2018, the state legislature referred 55 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 47 and rejected eight of the referred amendments. Most of the amendments (53 of 55) were referred to the ballot for general elections during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on an even-year ballot was four. The approval rate at the ballot box was 85.5 percent during the 22-year period from 1996 through 2018. The rejection rate was 14.5 percent. Two referred amendments were on the ballot in 2018.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2018
Years Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Annual average Annual median Annual minimum Annual maximum
Even years 53 45 84.91% 8 15.09% 4.42 5.00 1 9
Odd years 2 2 100.00% 0 0.00% 0.18 0.00 0 2
All
years		 55 47 85.45% 8 14.55% 2.29 1.50 0 9

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the New Mexico Constitution

In New Mexico, both chambers of the New Mexico State Legislature need to approve a constitutional amendment by a simple majority during one legislative session to refer the amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

Sen. William Payne (R-20) and Sen. Peter Wirth (D-25) sponsored the constitutional amendment as Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1) during the 2019 legislative session.[1]

On March 2, 2019, the New Mexico Senate approved SJR 1, with 36 senators supporting the amendment, five senators opposing the amendment, and one senator not voting. On March 14, 2019, the New Mexico House of Representatives approved SJR 1, with 59 members supporting the amendment, eight members opposing the amendment, and three members not voting[1] With approval in both chambers of the legislature, the constitutional amendment was referred to the ballot for the election on November 3, 2020.

Vote in the New Mexico Senate
March 2, 2019
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 22  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total3651
Total percent85.71%11.91%2.38%
Democrat2240
Republican1411
Vote in the New Mexico House of Representatives
March 14, 2019
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 36  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total5983
Total percent84.29%11.43%4.28%
Democrat3763
Republican2220

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in New Mexico

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in New Mexico.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 New Mexico State Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 1," accessed March 5, 2019
  2. ↑ New Mexico Political Report, "Native American groups challenge changes to the PRC, say ballot wording caused confusion," September 13, 2022
  3. ↑ New Mexico Political Report, "State Supreme Court rejects challenge to PRC overhaul," April 11, 2023
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "2020 General Election Voter Guide," accessed September 29, 2020
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Information System," accessed April 13, 2020
  7. ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 12.1", accessed April 28, 2023
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, “Voter Registration Information,” accessed April 28, 2023
  9. ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 1-4-5.2", accessed April 28, 2023
  10. ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Lujan Grisham enacts same-day, automated voter registration," March 27, 2019
  11. ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 1-4-5.7", accessed April 28, 2023
  12. ↑ The NM Political Report, “Gov. signs same-day voter registration bill,” March 27, 2019
  13. ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Voting," accessed April 28, 2023
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