0001| HOUSE BILL 1229
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0002| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| J. "ANDY" KISSNER
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0005|
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0006|
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0007|
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0008|
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION; PROVIDING FOR AN ORDERLY
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0012| TRANSITION TO A SINGLE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION BY
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0013| TRANSFERRING REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES TO THE STATE
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0014| CORPORATION COMMISSION; AMENDING, REPEALING AND ENACTING
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0015| CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
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0016|
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0017| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0018| Section 1. [NEW MATERIAL] PURPOSE OF ACT.--The purpose
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0019| of this act is to facilitate an orderly transition from
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0020| existing separate utility regulatory agencies to a single
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0021| consolidated public regulation agency as mandated by the
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0022| adoption of Constitutional Amendment 6 at the 1996 general
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0023| election, which agency among other duties is charged with the
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0024| regulation of public utilities, including electric, natural
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0025| gas, water and sewer companies; transportation companies,
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0001| including common and contract carriers; transmission and
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0002| pipeline companies, including telephone, telegraph and
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0003| information transmission companies; among other governmental
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0004| areas of public regulation. The legislature finds that
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0005| immediate consolidation of the two existing utility regulatory
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0006| agencies is necessary to protect the public health, safety and
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0007| welfare.
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0008| Section 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DUTIES OF STATE CORPORATION
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0009| COMMISSION.--
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0010| A. The state corporation commission is responsible
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0011| for the administration, implementation and enforcement of the
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0012| provisions of the Public Utility Act and such other laws for
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0013| which authority has previously been vested in the New Mexico
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0014| public utility commission and may establish one or more
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0015| departments to assist the commission in performing its duties.
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0016| B. The state corporation commission shall report to
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0017| the legislature with recommendations as to legislation
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0018| necessary to effectively implement Constitutional Amendment 6,
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0019| and shall cooperate with any interim legislative committee or
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0020| task force charged by the legislature with studying such
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0021| implementation. The due date for the report shall be
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0022| established by such committee or task force or, if no such
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0023| committee or task force is established, by the legislative
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0024| council. The due date established shall be one that allows for
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0025| action to be taken on implementing necessary legislation during
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0001| the 1998 regular legislative session.
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0002| Section 3. [NEW MATERIAL] FINANCIAL INTEREST IN
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0003| UTILITIES PROHIBITED.--No state corporation commissioner may
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0004| own any securities or have any financial or other interest in
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0005| the business of any public utility regulated by the provisions
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0006| of the Public Utility Act, either directly or indirectly,
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0007| except as a customer of the utility's services or as a member-
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0008| owner of a rural electric cooperative.
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0009| Section 4. Section 62-3-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
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0010| Chapter 96, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
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0011| "62-3-3. DEFINITIONS, WORDS AND PHRASES.--Unless
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0012| otherwise specified, when used in the Public Utility Act:
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0013| A. "affiliated interest" means a person who
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0014| directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries,
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0015| controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a
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0016| public utility. Control includes instances where a person is
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0017| an officer, director, partner, trustee or person of similar
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0018| status or function or who owns directly or indirectly or has a
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0019| beneficial interest in ten percent or more of any class of
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0020| securities of a person;
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0021| B. "commission" means the [New Mexico public
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utility] state corporation commission;
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0023| C. "commissioners" means any member of the
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0024| commission;
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0025| D. "municipality" means any municipal corporation
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0001| organized under the laws of the state, and H class counties;
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0002| E. "person" means individuals, firms, partnerships,
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0003| companies, rural electric cooperatives organized under Laws
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0004| 1937, Chapter 100 or the Rural Electric Cooperative Act, as
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0005| amended, corporations and lessees, trustees or receivers
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0006| appointed by any court. It shall not mean any class A county
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0007| as described by Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 or any class B county
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0008| as described by Section 4-36-8 NMSA 1978. It shall not mean
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0009| any municipality as defined in this section unless the
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0010| municipality has elected to come within the terms of the Public
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0011| Utility Act as provided in Section 62-6-5 NMSA 1978. In the
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0012| absence of [such] voluntary election by [any] a
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0013| municipality to come within the provisions of the Public
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0014| Utility Act, the municipality shall be expressly excluded from
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0015| the operation of that act and from the operation of all of its
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0016| provisions, and no such municipality shall for any purpose be
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0017| considered a public utility;
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0018| F. "securities" means stock, stock certificates,
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0019| bonds, notes, debentures, mortgages or deeds of trust or other
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0020| evidences of indebtedness issued, executed or assumed by any
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0021| utility;
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0022| G. "public utility" or "utility" means every person
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0023| not engaged solely in interstate business and, except as stated
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0024| in Sections 62-3-4 and 62-3-4.1 NMSA 1978, that [now does or
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hereafter] may own, operate, lease or control:
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0001| (1) any plant, property or facility for the
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0002| generation, transmission or distribution, sale or furnishing to
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0003| or for the public of electricity for light, heat or power or
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0004| other uses;
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0005| (2) any plant, property or facility for the
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0006| manufacture, storage, distribution, sale or furnishing to or
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0007| for the public of natural or manufactured gas or mixed or
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0008| liquefied petroleum gas, for light, heat or power or for other
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0009| uses; but the term "public utility" or "utility" shall not
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0010| include any plant, property or facility used for or in
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0011| connection with the business of the manufacture, storage,
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0012| distribution, sale or furnishing of liquefied petroleum gas in
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0013| enclosed containers or tank truck for use by others than
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0014| consumers who receive their supply through any pipeline system
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0015| operating under municipal authority or franchise, and
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0016| distributing to the public;
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0017| (3) any plant, property or facility for the
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0018| supplying, storage, distribution or furnishing to or for the
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0019| public of water for manufacturing, municipal, domestic or other
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0020| uses; provided, however, nothing contained in this paragraph
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0021| shall be construed to apply to irrigation systems, the chief or
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0022| principal business of which is to supply water for the purpose
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0023| of irrigation;
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0024| (4) any plant, property or facility for the
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0025| production, transmission, conveyance, delivery or furnishing to
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0001| or for the public of steam for heat or power or other uses; or
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0002| (5) any plant, property or facility for the
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0003| supplying and furnishing to or for the public of sanitary
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0004| sewers for transmission and disposal of sewage produced by
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0005| manufacturing, municipal, domestic or other uses; provided that
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0006| the terms "public utility" or "utility" as used in the Public
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0007| Utility Act do not include any utility owned or operated by any
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0008| class A county as described in Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 either
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0009| directly or through a corporation owned by or under contract
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0010| with such a county;
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0011| H. "rate" means every rate, tariff, charge or other
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0012| compensation for utility service rendered or to be rendered by
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0013| any utility and every rule, regulation, practice, act,
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0014| requirement or privilege in any way relating to such rate,
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0015| tariff, charge or other compensation and any schedule or tariff
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0016| or part of a schedule or tariff thereof;
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0017| I. "service" or "service regulation" means every
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0018| rule, regulation, practice, act or requirement in any way
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0019| relating to the service or facility of a utility;
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0020| J. "Class I transaction" means the sale, lease or
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0021| provision of real property, water rights or other goods or
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0022| services by an affiliated interest to any public utility with
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0023| which it is affiliated or by a public utility to its affiliated
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0024| interest;
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0025| K. "Class II transaction" means:
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0001| (1) the formation after May 19, 1982 of a
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0002| corporate subsidiary by a public utility or a public utility
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0003| holding company by a public utility or its affiliated interest;
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0004| (2) the direct acquisition of the voting
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0005| securities or other direct ownership interests of a person by a
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0006| public utility if such acquisition would make the
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0007| utility the owner of ten percent or more of the voting
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0008| securities or other direct ownership interests of that person;
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0009| (3) the agreement by a public utility to
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0010| purchase securities or other ownership interest of a person
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0011| other than a nonprofit corporation, contribute additional
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0012| equity to, acquire additional equity interest in or pay or
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0013| guarantee any bonds, notes, debentures, deeds of trust or other
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0014| evidence of indebtedness of any such person; provided, however,
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0015| that a public utility may honor all agreements entered into by
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0016| such utility prior to May 19, 1982; or
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0017| (4) the divestiture by a public utility of any
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0018| affiliated interest that is a corporate subsidiary of the
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0019| public utility;
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0020| L. "corporate subsidiary" means any person ten
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0021| percent or more of whose voting securities or other ownership
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0022| interests are directly owned by a public utility; and
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0023| M. "public utility holding company" means an
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0024| affiliated interest that controls a public utility through the
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0025| direct or indirect ownership of voting securities of such
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0001| public utility."
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0002| Section 5. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF
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0003| APPROPRIATIONS, EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES, RECORDS, PERSONNEL, MONEY
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0004| AND CONTRACT--CONTINUATION OF PROCEEDINGS--REFERENCES IN LAW.--
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0005| A. On the effective date of this act, all
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0006| contracts, projects, powers and duties, personnel,
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0007| appropriations, money, records, property, equipment and
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0008| supplies of the New Mexico public utility commission are
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0009| transferred to the state corporation commission for performance
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0010| of the duties transferred to it pursuant to this act, except
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0011| appropriations for salaries and expenses of the New Mexico
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0012| public utility commissioners and the New Mexico public utility
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0013| commission executive director, which shall revert to the
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0014| general fund. After the effective date of this act and for the
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0015| remainder of fiscal year 1997, the budget of the New Mexico
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0016| public utility commission shall be the budget of the state
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0017| corporation commission for performances of the duties
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0018| transferred to it pursuant to this act subject to such
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0019| transfers as may be required by the state corporation
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0020| commission, except budget for salaries and expenses of the New
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0021| Mexico public utility commissioners and the New Mexico public
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0022| commission executive director, which shall revert to the
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0023| general fund.
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0024| B. All existing contracts and agreements in effect
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0025| as to the New Mexico public utility commission shall be binding
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0001| upon the state corporation commission.
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0002| C. All suits and proceedings by or against the New
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0003| Mexico public utility commission shall, on the effective date
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0004| of this act, be continued by or against the state corporation
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0005| commission.
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0006| D. All references in law to the New Mexico public
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0007| utility commission shall be construed as references to the
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0008| state corporation commission.
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0009| Section 6. REPEAL.--Sections 62-5-1 through 62-5-11 NMSA
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0010| 1978 (being Laws 1941, Chapter 84, Section 3, Laws 1977,
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0011| Chapter 255, Section 121 and Laws 1941, Chapter 84, Sections 4
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0012| through 8 and 10 through 13, as amended) are repealed.
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0013| Section 7. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public
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0014| health, safety and welfare that this act take effect
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0015| immediately.
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0016| State of New Mexico
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0017| House of Representatives
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0018|
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0019| FORTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
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0020| FIRST SESSION, 1997
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0021|
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0022|
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0023| March 6, 1997
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0024|
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0025|
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0001| Mr. Speaker:
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0002|
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0003| Your GOVERNMENT AND URBAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, to
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0004| whom has been referred
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0005|
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0006| HOUSE BILL 1229
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0007|
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0008| has had it under consideration and reports same WITHOUT
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0009| RECOMMENDATION, and thence referred to the ENERGY AND
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0010| NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE.
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0011|
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0012| Respectfully submitted,
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0013|
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0014|
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0015|
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0016|
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0017|
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0018| Lynda M. Lovejoy, Chairwoman
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0019|
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0020|
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0021| Adopted Not Adopted
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0022|
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0023| (Chief Clerk) (Chief Clerk)
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0024|
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0025| Date
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0001|
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0002| The roll call vote was 5 For 2 Against
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0003| Yes: 5
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0004| No: Pearce, Saavedra
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0005| Excused: Hobbs
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0006| Absent: None
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0010| G:\BILLTEXT\BILLW_97\H1229
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