In addition to candidate races and bond issues, the 2020 General Election ballot contains two proposed Constitutional Amendments that voters will decide. After voting for all elected positions on your ballot like the office of the President, representatives for House and Senate and judges, all New Mexico ballots will feature Constitutional Amendment (CA) Question # 1 and #2. NMBC feels Constitutional Amendment #1 is most important and has vital information to help voters make an informed decision with their ballot.
NMBC has supported changing the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) from an elected body to an appointed commission since our inception in 2009. NMBC’s founder, Carla Sonntag, has worked to support this change for 16 years. Read more HERE from former PRC Commissioner, Dr. Douglass Howe.
Why change the PRC? Headlines relating to PRC’s troubled history over the last 20 years include criminal charges/arrest of then Commissioners Shirley Baca, Carole Sloan, and Jerome Block Jr., that lead the discussion. The fact that the NMPRC consistently rates as one of the worst in the nation by independent utility regulatory analysts also should cue in voters to the fact that the current ‘popularity contest’ elected structure of the PRC is not working.
Why an appointed PRC and why now? In the midst of unprecedented division between political agendas in Santa Fe, the legislation that would allow for an appointed PRC (if voters approve CA Question #1) is supported by a large majority of both Democrat and Republican legislators. Read why the time is right to vote ‘YES’ on CA Question #1 in a non-partisan Op-Ed signed by Senators Peter Wirth, Steven P. Neville and William H. Payne HERE.
