Senate State Affairs hears nominees for energy and endowment boards; Perez reappointment advanced to floor

The Senate State Affairs Committee received presentations from two gubernatorial nominees and advanced one reappointment to the Senate floor.

George Lynch introduced himself as the governor’s nominee to the Idaho Energy Resources Authority (IERA). Lynch described a background in energy policy and grid resilience, including service as legal counsel in the Governor's Office of Energy and Mineral Resources, work at the U.S. Department of Energy, and current work at Washington State University on regional transmission issues. “I have years of experience working on reliability and resiliency of our electric grid,” Lynch said, adding that IERA provides access to capital for municipal and cooperative utilities without financial obligations on the state or taxpayers.

Lynch told the committee he expects advanced nuclear technologies will play a “big role” in meeting future baseload needs and cited the Idaho National Laboratory as a state asset for nuclear research. He said IERA could finance projects that include nuclear or natural gas where local utilities pursue them. The committee did not vote on Lynch’s nomination at the hearing; Lynch was told the committee typically votes on such appointments at a subsequent meeting.

The committee also heard from Thomas Wilford, who introduced himself as chair of the Endowment Fund Investment Board and summarized his experience leading the Albertson Family Foundation and serving on the endowment board. Wilford said his priorities as chair included building board capacity so the board would not be dependent on any single individual. The committee did not vote on Wilford’s reappointment at the hearing; the transcript shows the committee planned to vote at its next scheduled floor consideration on Friday.

Later in the meeting the committee considered the gubernatorial reappointment of Rob Perez to the Treasurer’s Investment Advisory Board. Senator Denhartauge moved to send Perez’s reappointment to the Senate floor with a recommendation that he be confirmed; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

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What the committee recorded: Lynch and Wilford provided biographical background and described how their experience relates to the boards for which they were nominated. The committee advanced Perez’s reappointment to the Senate floor with a recommendation for confirmation; for Lynch and Wilford the committee deferred final action to a future floor consideration.