The Public Regulation Commission released some comments from a recent ethics survey Tuesday, shedding some — but not much — light on agency dealings and employee feelings.

About 30 of the 127 survey responses had answers that were blacked out. In a few cases, entire pages shown to reporters were a solid sheet of black.

Several unredacted comments focused on the agency's hiring practices. Several of those who responded said the PRC has a tradition of hiring unqualified people — "political flunkies," according to one employee — because of political influence or family ties.

All of the answers were given by employees anonymously.

"Standards only apply to those who are not politically hired," one respondent wrote. "Ethics only apply to those outside the political arena."

Another wrote, "You have people in these positions that know absolutely nothing about what the job requires."

Hiring and promotional practices at the regulatory agency topped the list of employee concerns, in a summary of the results released Monday. Seventy-three employees said that was their main concern about the PRC.

In the information released Tuesday, one employee wrote, "the politicians put their own desires, needs and ambitions ahead of the good of the public or the agency. They are able to get away with stuff that ordinary employees could not and the exempt bosses suck up to protect their own jobs." The employee added that it's "not just (the) PRC" where you find such behavior.

"There are a lot of unethical employees who have been practicing a lot of unethical behavior and have gotten away with it for years," was one response. "Upper management seems to look the other way."

Others wrote about intimidation and fear of intimidation from those in positions of power. In response to a question about reporting ethical lapses, one worker said, "People do not express these concerns because they are afraid of retribution or other consequences."

The agency on Monday had released raw data from the survey. That data showed 85 percent of employees who responded said they had seen unethical behavior at the agency in the past year. About half of the respondents said they had been asked to do something they thought was unethical by a supervisor or manager.

The agency pledged employees will get training on ethics.

The survey was meant to start a discussion and make changes about ethics at the agency, where two of the commissioners face legal charges. Four of the five have faced questions about recent behavior, as have past commissioners.

As for the redacted information, at least two newspapers have filed public records requests for all of the comments submitted by employees. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government has said the answers are public information and should be released.

Others besides news media also have filed requests for the survey answers. Among them is Mark Sardella, a local energy policy analyst and engineer who said the public should know as much about the commission as possible.

The New Mexican earlier this month filed a public records request for "all and any results of the recent PRC ethics survey, included but not limited to the raw result data and any written comments turned in by employees as part of the survey."

In a written response, PRC Administrative Services Division Director Juan Rios last week denied the request for the surveys, saying some of the responses "contain comments, allegations, opinions and viewpoints which exceeded the survey's extent and varied from its scope. Some responses contain allegations of wrongdoing, violations of state policies and derogatory comments about other employees, former and current."