SB0077

SENATE BILL 77

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Timothy M. Keller

AN ACT

RELATING TO EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION; REORGANIZING THE UNITS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION; CHANGING POWERS AND DUTIES; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. Section 8-8-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

"8-8-6. COMMISSION--DIVISIONS.--The commission shall include the following organizational units:

A. the administrative services division;

B. the [consumer relations] business services division;

C. the insurance division; and

D. [the legal division;

E. the transportation division;

F.] the utility division [and

G. the fire marshal division]."

SECTION 2. Section 8-8-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"8-8-7. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIVISION--CHIEF

CLERK.--

A. The administrative services division of the commission consists of the legal services bureau and such other bureaus as the director of the division determines for the orderly conduct of business.

[A.] B. The director of the administrative services division [of the commission] shall record the judgments, rules, orders and other proceedings of the commission and make a complete index to the judgments, rules, orders and other proceedings; issue and attest all processes issuing from the commission and affix the seal of the commission to them; and preserve the seal and other property belonging to the commission.

[B.] C. The administrative services division [includes the "corporations bureau" and] shall perform the following functions:

(1) case docketing;

(2) budget and accounting;

(3) personnel services;

(4) procurement; [and]

(5) information systems services;

[C. The corporations bureau shall perform the functions of the corporations department of the former state corporation commission] and

(6) legal services for the commission." SECTION 3. Section 8-8-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 8) is amended to read:

"8-8-8. [CONSUMER RELATIONS] BUSINESS SERVICES DIVISION.--

A. The business services division of the commission consists of the corporations bureau, the transportation bureau and such other bureaus as the director of the division determines for the orderly conduct of business.

[A.] B. The [consumer relations] business services division shall:

(1) receive and investigate nondocketed consumer complaints and assist consumers in resolving, in a fair and timely manner, complaints against a person under the authority of the commission, including mediation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution; provided, however, that assistance pursuant to this paragraph does not include legal representation of a private complainant in an adjudicatory proceeding;

(2) work with the consumer protection division of the attorney general's office, the governor's constituent services office and other state agencies as needed to ensure fair and timely resolution of complaints;

(3) advise the commission on how to maximize public input into commission proceedings, including ways to eliminate language, disability and other barriers;

(4) identify, research and advise the commission on consumer issues;

(5) assist the commission in the development and implementation of consumer policies and programs; and

(6) perform such other duties as prescribed by the commission.

[B.] C. All complaints received by the business services division with regard to quality or quantity of service provided by a regulated entity or its competitors shall be recorded by the division for the purpose of determining general concerns of consumers. A report of consumer complaints and their status shall be included in the commission's annual report."

SECTION 4. Section 8-8-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:

"8-8-9. INSURANCE DIVISION.--

A. The director of the insurance division of the commission is the "superintendent of insurance" and shall have all the powers and duties prescribed to the director in the New Mexico Insurance Code.

B. The insurance division shall consist of the fire marshal bureau and such other bureaus as the superintendent of insurance determines for the orderly conduct of business."

SECTION 5. Section 8-8-9.3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 161, Section 4) is amended to read:

"8-8-9.3. FIRE MARSHAL [DIVISION] BUREAU.--The fire marshal [division] bureau of the insurance division of the commission includes the following:

A. the firefighter training academy [bureau] section;

B. the fire service support [bureau] section;

C. the fire investigations [bureau] section; and

D. the fire code enforcement [bureau] section."

SECTION 6. Section 8-8-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 10) is amended to read:

"8-8-10. LEGAL [DIVISION] SERVICES BUREAU.--

A. The commission shall set minimum requirements for the director of the legal [division] services bureau of the administrative services division, including membership in the New Mexico bar and administrative and supervisory experience.

B. The legal [division] services bureau shall:

(1) provide legal counsel for the commission in matters not involving advice on contested proceedings before the commission; and

(2) provide legal counsel to all divisions, including the legal component of the staff that represents the public interest in matters before the commission."

SECTION 7. Section 8-8-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 11) is amended to read:

"8-8-11. TRANSPORTATION [DIVISION] BUREAU.--The transportation [division] bureau of the business services division shall serve as staff to the commission for the following functions, as provided by law:

A. motor carrier regulation and enforcement;

B. railroad safety enforcement;

C. pipeline safety; and

D. ambulance standards."

SECTION 8. Section 10-11A-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 263, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

"10-11A-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act:

A. "association" means the public employees retirement association;

B. "board" means the retirement board of the association;

C. "fire department" means a fire department with volunteer members that is certified by the fire marshal [division] bureau of the insurance division of the public regulation commission;

D. "fund" means the volunteer firefighters retirement fund; and

E. "member" means a volunteer nonsalaried firefighter who is listed as an active member on the rolls of a fire department and whose first year of service credit was accumulated during or after the year the member attained the age of sixteen. A volunteer firefighter who receives reimbursement for personal out-of-pocket costs shall not be considered a salaried firefighter."

SECTION 9. Section 10-11A-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 263, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

"10-11A-6. DETERMINATION OF SERVICE CREDIT.--

A. A member may claim one year of service credit for each year in which a fire department certifies that the member:

(1) attended fifty percent of all scheduled fire drills for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend;

(2) attended fifty percent of all scheduled business meetings for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend; and

(3) participated in at least fifty percent of all emergency response calls for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend.

B. The chief of each fire department shall submit to the association by March 31 of each year documentation of the qualifications of each member for the preceding calendar year; provided that the chief shall:

(1) submit the documentation on forms provided by the association;

(2) acknowledge the truth of the records under oath before a notary public; and

(3) have the notarized forms signed by the mayor, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to an incorporated municipality, or the chair of the county commission, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to a county fire district.

C. For service credit that has been earned, but not credited pursuant to Subsection B of this section, a member may post or adjust service credit earned for one or more calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 1979; provided that the member shall:

(1) file with the association a completed "Corrected Qualification Record" or "Adjusted Qualification Record" as prescribed by the board;

(2) acknowledge the truth of the records under oath before a notary public; and

D. The association may request the fire marshal [division] bureau of the insurance division of the public regulation commission to verify member qualifications submitted to the association."

SECTION 10. Section 59A-52-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 947, as amended) is amended to read:

"59A-52-1. STATE FIRE MARSHAL CREATED.--The position of "state fire marshal" is created as the [director] chief of the fire marshal [division under] bureau of the insurance division of the public regulation commission."

SECTION 11. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL AND PROPERTY--CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS--STATUTORY REFERENCES.--

A. On the effective date of this act, contractual obligations of the following units of the public regulation commission shall be binding as follows:

(1) those of the consumer relations division shall be binding on the business services division;

(2) those of the legal division shall be binding on the administrative services division;

(3) those of the transportation division shall be binding on the business services division; and

(4) those of the state fire marshal and the fire marshal division shall be binding on the insurance division.

B. On the effective date of this act, all references in the law to the following units of the public regulation commission shall be deemed to be references as follows:

(1) those of the consumer relations division shall be deemed to be references to the business services division;

(2) those of the legal division shall be deemed to be references to the administrative services division;

(3) those of the transportation division shall be deemed to be references to the business services division; and

(4) those of the state fire marshal and the fire marshal division shall be deemed to be references to the insurance division.

SECTION 12. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2012.

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