Published 10:53 am, Wednesday, June 26, 2013
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Regulation of the insurance industry in New Mexico will be handled by an independent state office starting next month and a committee is preparing to appoint someone to run the agency.
A nine-member committee meets Wednesday in Albuquerque to name the state superintendent of insurance, who in the past has been selected by thePublic Regulation Commission.
Among the candidates are state Insurance Superintendent John Franchini and Milton Sanchez, who directs the Office of Health Care Reform in Gov. Susana Martinez's administration.
Franchini has been the state's top insurance regulator since August 2010. However, voters approved a constitutional amendment last year to remove oversight of the insurance industry from the five-member elected PRC.
The newly independent office will regulate insurance rates and policies starting in July.