New Mexico lawmaker resigns from committee, avoids ethics hearing

SANTA FE — Outgoing New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf, who appointed himself to the Public Regulation Commission nominating committee, has avoided an ethics hearing by resigning.

The State Ethics Commission was scheduled to hold a public hearing last Friday after a lawmaker complained about Egolf’s self-appointment.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Monday that the hearing was cancelled after Egolf resigned.

Rep. Miguel García filed a complaint about four months ago, saying Egolf had violated the law and the state Constitution with his self-appointment.

But Egolf wrote in his resignation letter that “it has been my plan for some time to step aside after the Committee completed its first round of work and to leave the position that I currently hold on the Committee open to be filled by the next Speaker of the House.”

A constitutional amendment approved in 2020 changes the PRC from a five-member elected body representing districts around the state to a three-person panel appointed by the governor and confirmed by the New Mexico Senate.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will have nine candidates to choose from as she fills the powerful regulatory commission that oversees utility rates and will help chart the state’s course toward more renewable energy development.

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