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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Propane Heats Up in New Mexico

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Monday, August 23, 2010   

SANTA FE, N.M. - With fall and cooler temperatures around the corner, many residents are making sure their propane tanks are filled. Heating with propane in New Mexico can be an expensive hassle for those with few other options, but that could soon change. The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has released a draft a proposed rule for the state's propane industry, which is currently unregulated.

Kira Jones, director of energy initiatives with the group Prosperity Works (formerly Community Action New Mexico), which helped draft the rule, says right now no consumer protections are in place for anyone who has problems with their propane company.

"Generally, users of propane have nowhere to go if there are issues with transparency in billing, unfair pricing or minimal fills."

The proposed rule would add standards for billing, allow consumers to request smaller, more affordable amounts of propane at a time, require notice if propane service is about to be discontinued and provide for payment plans, among other measures. A few other states, including Maine and Vermont, have regulations in place for the propane industry, and others are working on similar rules.

Propane industry representatives say the new regulations are unnecessary and have offered an alternate set of rules.

The PRC draft focuses mainly on two items, Jones explains.

"A lot of this comes down to fair pricing and transparency in billing. I think those are the big-ticket items."

She says the need for the rules is clear in New Mexico, where many affected users come from vulnerable populations.

The draft rule, which is open for public comment until Aug. 30, started as a grassroots effort led by a few Ojo Caliente residents who were hearing lots of complaints about propane service in the area, Jones adds.

"One neighbor was paying a dollar more a gallon than another neighbor; people were paying the propane companies for items on a bill they didn't even know existed or didn't understand."

Lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the creation of the new rule in 2009.

The proposed rule and instructions on how to comment on it are available at www.nmprc.state.nm.us by clicking on the blue "propane" button.



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