1. A. The commission shall:

   1. (1) administer and enforce the laws with which it is charged and has every power conferred by law;
   2. (2) appoint a chief of staff;
   3. (3) prepare an annual budget for submission to the legislature;

   4. (4) adopt rules to streamline the resolution of cases before it when appropriate by:

      1. (a) the use of hearing examiners;
      2. (b) the taking of evidence with the least delay practicable;
      3. (c) limiting repetitious testimony; and
      4. (d) adopting procedures for resolving cases in ways other than by trial-type hearings when appropriate, including consent calendars, paper hearings, conferences, settlements, mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution methods and the use of agency staff decisions;
   5. (5) provide a toll-free telephone number and publish it on the agency website; and
   6. (6) resolve all complaints regarding telecommunications providers within sixty days unless extended for good cause by an order of the commission or hearing examiner that states with specificity the reason for and length of the extension.

2. B. The commission may:

   1. (1) delegate authority as it deems necessary and appropriate, clearly delineating such delegated authority and any limitations;
   2. (2) take administrative action by issuing orders not inconsistent with law to assure implementation of and compliance with the provisions of law for which the commission is responsible and to enforce those orders by appropriate administrative action and court proceedings;
   3. (3) conduct investigations as necessary to carry out the commission's responsibilities;
   4. (4) adopt such reasonable administrative, regulatory and procedural rules as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out its powers and duties;
   5. (5) cooperate with tribal and pueblo governments on topics over which the commission and the other governments have jurisdiction and conduct joint investigations, hold joint hearings and issue joint or concurrent orders as appropriate; and
   6. (6) apply to the district court for injunctions to prevent violations of any laws that it administers or rules or orders adopted pursuant to those laws.
3. C. A majority of the commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business; provided, however, that a majority vote of the commission is needed for a final decision of the commission.

History: Laws 1998, ch. 108, § 4; § 8-8-4, recompiled as § 62-19-9 by Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 59; 2026, ch. 64, § 8.

ANNOTATIONS

Recompilations. — Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 59 recompiled former 8-8-4 NMSA 1978 as 62-19-9 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023.

The 2026 amendment, effective May 20, 2026, revised the powers and duties of the public regulation commission; in Subsection A, added new paragraph designation "(1)" and added Paragraphs A(2) through A(6); in Subsection B, deleted former Paragraph B(1) and redesignated former Paragraph B(2) as Paragraph B(1), deleted former Paragraphs B(3) and B(4) and redesignated former Paragraph B(5) as Paragraph B(2), deleted former Paragraph B(6) and redesignated former Paragraph B(7) as Paragraph B(3), and deleted former Paragraphs B(8) and B(9) and redesignated former Paragraphs B(10) through B(12) as Paragraphs B(4) through B(6) respectively; deleted former Subsection C and redesignated former Subsection D as Subsection C.

Hearings. — Where the PRC does not delegate its authority to a hearing examiner, but rather, conducts an evidentiary hearing before a full complement of commissioners, unexplained absences by commissioners should be the exception rather than the rule. The commissioners of the PRC have a constitutional and statutory obligation to participate actively and fully in the proceedings before them. Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Util. Auth. v. N.M. Pub. Regulation Comm'n, 2010-NMSC-013, 148 N.M. 21, 229 P.3d 494.

Scope of commission's enforcement authority. — Although the PRC may seek injunctions and impose an administrative fine on a telecommunications provider for any act or omission that the provider knew or should have known was a violation of any applicable law or rule or order of the PRC, the PRC's regulatory authority is not limited to those remedies since the legislature gave it discretion to enforce its orders by appropriate administrative action and court proceedings, which includes discretion to issue an order requiring a telecommunications provider to provide consumer credit or refunds in order to prevent violations of the New Mexico Telecommunications Act. Qwest Corp. v. N.M. Public Regulation Comm'n, 2006-NMSC-042, 140 N.M. 440, 143 P.3d 478.