Think New Mexico
Action Center
Rethink the PRC!
Reduce the PRC’s jurisdiction and enhance commissioner qualifications
New Mexico's Public Regulation Commission (PRC) touches the lives of every New Mexican who pays a gas, electric, or water bill, or buys home, auto, or health insurance. Yet the PRC has been in an almost constant state of turmoil and dysfunction since it was created in the late 1990s. Think New Mexico recommends fundamentally reforming the PRC in two ways. First, refocus the PRC's jurisdiction on its core duties of regulating utilities and telecommunications and decentralize its other responsibilities (including registering corporations, regulating insurance, overseeing the Fire Marshal, and ensuring the safety of railroad crossings) to more appropriate agencies – and deregulate the market entry and rates of buses, shuttles, taxis, ambulances, and moving companies, which the PRC currently controls. Second, increase the qualifications of PRC commissioners by requiring candidates to have either a four-year college degree or five years of relevant professional experience (currently commissioners are only required to be at least 18 years old, residents of New Mexico for at least a year, and not convicted felons).
Read more about this initiative.
Smaller Schools for New Mexico's Students!
Reduce the Dropout Rate and Save Taxpayer Dollars
The research shows that high schools with fewer than 900 students have significantly higher graduation rates, student satisfaction, and student achievement than larger schools, yet two-thirds of New Mexico's high school students currently attend schools with more than 1,000 students. Smaller schools are not only better for students, they also cost less to operate, due to the additional bureaucracy, security, and transportation costs of large schools.
Read more about this initiative.
End Pay to Play Corruption!
Ban Political Contributions from Lobbyists and Special Interests
A recent series of scandals involving government contractors and lobbyists has undermined public trust in government at a time when state and local governments face serious challenges that will require public confidence and support to solve. Most of these scandals involve "pay to play" corruption in which special interests make political contributions in order to increase their chances of receiving public dollars.
To combat pay to play corruption in New Mexico, Think New Mexico has proposed that the Legislature and Governor enact legislation prohibiting registered lobbyists and major government contractors from making political contributions to state and local elected officials. In addition to prohibiting these special interests from donating directly, Think New Mexico recommends barring them from bundling political contributions from other donors and delivering them to candidates.
Mission
Think New Mexico is best known for successful campaigns that resulted in landmark laws making full-day kindergarten accessible to every child in New Mexico and making necessary groceries more affordable with the statewide food-tax repeal. We have led successful initiatives to create a Strategic River Reserve to protect and restore New Mexico's rivers, and to establish the Individual Development Accounts Act to alleviate New Mexico's persistent poverty. We also successfully redirected millions of dollars a year out of the state lottery's excessive operating costs and into full-tuition college scholarships and reformed title insurance to lower closing costs for homebuyers and homeowners who refinance their mortgages.
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