WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama nominated Arkansas Public Service Commission Chairman Colette Honorable to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday.
Honorable, 44, has led the state commission since 2011 and was first appointed in 2007. She is also president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
Honorable was nominated to replace Commissioner John Norris, who resigned earlier this month -- almost three years before his term expired -- to take a position with the U.S. Agriculture Department.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates transmission of electricity, natural gas and oil. It also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas terminals and interstate natural-gas pipelines as well as licensing hydropower projects.
Honorable declined to comment when reached late Thursday. Nominees often are instructed not to speak with the media while under consideration. The nomination will go to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee before heading to the full Senate for confirmation.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said in a statement that he strongly supports the nomination and that "there is no one more qualified for this position than Colette Honorable."
In 2011, Pryor submitted Honorable's name to the White House for a federal judgeship in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Honorable became Pryor's assistant attorney general in 1999.
"Colette is a longtime advocate for clean energy and an avid supporter of consumer protection," he said. "As a FERC commissioner, these qualities will serve our nation well as demand for efficient, reliable and affordable energy services continues to rise."
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., was out of the country at his daughter's wedding and could not be reached, a staff member said.
Charles Gray, executive director of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, congratulated Honorable in a news release.
"This is a bittersweet moment for [the association]. President Honorable has gone above and beyond in her service since joining the Association in 2008. If confirmed, we will miss her enthusiasm, dedication, and leadership she has brought from Day One. At the same time, we are grateful that President Obama nominated another State commissioner who understands how energy and utility issues impact retail consumers," Gray said.
If she is confirmed by the Senate, the federal commission will have two past association presidents serving at the same time, he said.
Honorable served as Arkansas Workforce Investment Board executive director in 2007 before Gov. Mike Beebe appointed her to the state commission. When Beebe was attorney general, Honorable worked as his chief of staff from 2006 to 2007 and as assistant attorney general for civil litigation from 2004 to 2006.
She also worked as an associate at Cauley Geller Bowman and Rudman LLP in Little Rock from 2003 to 2004. Honorable was an assistant city attorney in North Little Rock from 2003 to 2004, an assistant public defender from 1998 to 1999, a judicial law clerk at the Arkansas Court of Appeals from 1997 to 1998 and a staff attorney at the Center for Arkansas Legal Services from 1995 to 1996.
Honorable has a bachelor's degree from Memphis State University and a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law.
Metro on 08/29/2014