While a defiant Jerome Block Jr. said he will remain on the Public Regulation Commission, a number of what-ifs loom should he change his mind or be forced to step down.

He hasn't been convicted, let alone arraigned, and at least a couple of his fellow commissioners are in wait-and-see mode.

"This is an issue that the commissioners are concerned about, but at the same time they have to let the legal process continue," PRC spokesman Paul Carbajal said.

A Republican state lawmaker said Wednesday that he will consider introducing impeachment proceedings against Block if the commissioner is still in office in late August or early September, when the Legislature is expected to convene for a special session.

"We have to look at it," said Rep. Larry Larrañaga of Albuquerque. "We are all given a rap for being politicians, and we all get painted with the same broad brush."

In 2005, Larrañaga introduced similar impeachment proceedings against then-state Treasurer Michael Vigil, who resigned just as lawmakers were preparing articles of impeachment.

In the Block case, he said, "I might just do it, but we'll see where the process is when we return."

Should Block's seat become vacant before his term ends, it would be up to the governor to pick a replacement. The appointment would be "for a term ending December 31 after the next general election, at which election a person shall be elected to fill any remained of the unexpired term," a state statute says.

Block Jr. would lose his seat if convicted of a felony, according to state law, because a felony conviction removes a person's right to vote and officeholders must be registered to vote.

Gov. Bill Richardson's office declined to comment Wednesday on Block's indictment.

At the PRC, Carbajal said, "At some point, there will be some kind of looking at the situation and doing what's best for the integrity of the commission."

What could come from that remains murky.

Carbajal said the Office of the General Counsel, the PRC's legal department, can recommend action against a commissioner who violates a law that the commission governs. But in this case, the office "has no reason" to believe Block violated any such law. The PRC's job is to regulate utilities, telecommunications, insurance and other industries.

The PRC adopted an ethics code in 2006, after prior scandals involving former commissioners David King, E. Shirley Baca and Eric Serna.