Except as provided for herein, before any rule, regulation or order, including revocation, change, renewal or extension thereof, shall be made under the provisions of this act, a public hearing shall be held at such time, place and manner as may be prescribed by the division. The division shall first give reasonable notice of such hearing (in no case less than ten days, except in an emergency) and at any such hearing any person having an interest in the subject matter of the hearing shall be entitled to be heard. In case an emergency is found to exist by the division which in its judgment requires the making of a rule, regulation or order without first having a hearing, such emergency rule, regulation or order shall have the same validity as if a hearing with respect to the same had been held after due notice. The emergency rule, regulation or order permitted by this section shall remain in force no longer than fifteen days from its effective date, and, in any event, it shall expire when the rule, regulation or order made after due notice and hearing with respect to the subject matter of such emergency rule, regulation or order becomes effective.

History: Laws 1935, ch. 72, § 15; 1941 Comp., § 69-221; Laws 1949, ch. 168, § 17; 1953 Comp., § 65-3-20; Laws 1977, ch. 255, § 58.

Compiler's notes. — The term "this act," referred to in this section, means Laws 1935, ch. 72, §§ 1 to 24, which appear as 70-2-2 to 70-2-4, 70-2-6 to 70-2-11, 70-2-15, 70-2-16, 70-2-21 to 70-2-25, 70-2-27 to 70-2-30, and 70-2-33 NMSA 1978.

Notice of proceedings. — Commission's order increasing spacing requirements for deep wildcat gas wells in certain areas of the state was invalid as to individual holders of working interests and operating rights affected thereby because the holders were not afforded reasonable notice of the proceedings as required by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Act and its implementing regulations. Johnson v. N.M. Oil Conservation Comm'n, 1999-NMSC-021, 127 N.M. 120, 978 P.2d 327.

Reasonable notice mandate. — The reasonable notice mandate of this section should circumscribe whatever rules are promulgated for the purpose of notifying interested persons, so where the New Mexico oil conservation commission's notice for promulgating a new rule was issued on behalf of the state of New Mexico, was given under the commission's seal, was signed by the chairman of the commission, stated the date, time, and place of the hearing, and gave the date by which written comments were required to be submitted, was published in the Albuquerque Journal, on the commission docket, which was mailed electronically to those who requested it, in the New Mexico Register, and on the oil conservation division's website, and all notices were timely, the commission satisfied all notice requirements prescribed by statute and regulation. Earthworks' Oil & Gas Accountability Project v. N.M. Oil Conservation Comm'n, 2016-NMCA-055, cert. denied.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 2 Am. Jur. 2d Administrative Law § 294 et seq.

73 C.J.S. Public Administrative Law and Procedure §§ 103 to 106.