A. A commissioner shall complete:
- (1) at least six hours of ethics training at a course provided in person or online by a post-secondary educational institution in the first twelve-month period after taking office and at least two hours of ethics training conducted by a post-secondary educational institution or by a provider of ethics training that is approved by the professional licensing board by which a commissioner is licensed in each subsequent twelve-month period that the commissioner serves in office; and
- (2) at least thirty-two hours of continuing education relevant to the work of the commission in each twelve-month period that the commissioner serves in office.
- B. Continuing education courses shall be endorsed by the national association of regulatory utility commissioners, by a post-secondary educational institution or by a licensing or professional association for a qualifying area of study.
- C. A commissioner shall be responsible for having the endorsing organization submit certification of completion of the hours of education required pursuant to Subsection A of this section to the chief of staff.
- D. If a commissioner fails to comply with the education requirements in Subsection A of this section by the last day of a twelve-month period, the commissioner's compensation for performing the duties of the office shall be withheld by the agency until the requirements for the preceding twelve-month period or periods have been met.
History: Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 2; § 8-8-3.2, recompiled and amended as § 62-19-6 by Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 20; 2026, ch. 64, § 6.
ANNOTATIONS
Recompilations. — Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 20 recompiled and amended former 8-8-3.2 NMSA 1978 as 62-19-6 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023.
The 2026 amendment, effective May 20, 2026, provided additional ethics training requirements for commissioners; in Subsection A, in the introductory clause, after the subsection designation, deleted "Beginning July 1, 2013", in Paragraph A(1), after the paragraph designation, deleted "an" and added "at least six hours", and after "at least" deleted "one two-hour ethics course" and added "two hours of ethics training conducted by a post-secondary educational institution or by a provider of ethics training that is approved by the professional licensing board by which a commissioner is licensed"; added new subsection designation "B" and redesignated former Subsections B and C as Subsections C and D, respectively; in Subsection B, after "regulatory utility commissioners" added "by a post-secondary educational institution"; and in Subsection D, after "withheld by the" deleted "commission" and added "agency".
The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2023, in Subsection C, deleted "As an exception to Section 8-1-1 NMSA 1978".