A. In addition to other requirements imposed by law, in order to be elected or appointed as a commissioner, a person must be qualified for office by:

(1) having at least ten years of professional experience in an area regulated by the commission or in the energy sector and involving a scope of work that includes accounting, public or business administration, economics, finance, statistics, engineering or law; or

(2) having a total of ten years of combined professional experience as described in Paragraph (1) of this subsection and higher education resulting in at least a professional license or a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education that has been accredited by a regional or national accrediting body in an area regulated by the commission, including accounting, public or business administration, economics, finance, statistics, engineering or law.

B. As used in this section, "professional experience" means employment in which the candidate or prospective appointee for commissioner regularly made decisions requiring discretion and independent judgment and:

(1) engaged in policy analysis, research or implementation in an area regulated by the commission or in the energy sector;

(2) managed, as the head, deputy head or division director, a federal, state, tribal or local government department or division responsible for utilities, transportation or construction; or

(3) managed a business or organization regulated by the commission or in the energy sector that had five or more employees during the time it was managed by the candidate or prospective appointee.

C. A candidate for election to the office of commissioner shall certify by notarized affidavit that the candidate meets the requirements of Subsection A of this section to be filed with the declaration of candidacy. The affidavit shall be on a form provided by the secretary of state that shall permit a candidate to list with particularity the candidate's specific professional experience or higher education that meets the requirements of Subsection A of this section.

D. A voter may challenge the candidacy for election to the office of commissioner of any person seeking nomination for the reason that the person seeking nomination does not meet the requirements of Subsection A of this section or that the affidavit of the person seeking nomination does not contain sufficient information to determine if the person meets the requirements of Subsection A of this section. The challenge shall be made by filing a petition in the district court within ten days after the last day for filing a declaration of candidacy or a statement of candidacy for convention designation, which petition shall be heard in the same manner as provided in Subsection E of Section 1-8-26 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 1; 2019, ch. 212, § 210.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, revised the qualification criteria for being elected or appointed commissioner; in Subsection A, deleted Paragraph A(3); in Subsection C, after "declaration of candidacy.", added the remainder of the subsection; and in Subsection D, after "Subsection A of this section", added "or that the affidavit of the person seeking nomination does not contain sufficient information to determine if the person meets the requirements of Subsection A of this section".

Applicability. — Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 3 provided that the provisions of Laws 2013, ch. 64, § 1 apply to:

A. persons appointed to fill a public regulation commissioner vacancy after July 1, 2013; and

B. public regulation commissioners elected at the general election in 2014 and subsequent elections....