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Committee confirms a slate of governor’s appointees to professional and finance boards
Summary
The Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee confirmed multiple governor-appointed board candidates by voice vote, including nominees for professional-engineering, electrical, plumbing, realty regulation and architects boards, plus several facility finance authority seats.
The committee considered and approved a series of governor's appointment resolutions for multiple licensing boards and finance authorities.
Among the confirmations, the committee voted to confirm five nominees to the Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (SR 28), two nominees to the State Electrical Board (SR 41), one to the Board of Realty Regulation (SR 44), multiple nominees to the Board of Plumbers (SR 52), and nominees to the Board of Architects and Landscape Architects (SR 8). The committee also considered and approved several Montana Facility Finance Authority appointees (SR 54–57) and additional resolutions tied to licensing-board confirmations.
Candidates attended and introduced themselves; proponent testimony included staff from the Department of Labor and Industry and the governor’s appointments advisor. Department officials emphasized the importance of board expertise for licensing, discipline, and rulemaking. For the electrical and plumbing boards, witnesses described apprenticeship and workforce concerns and the importance of retaining experienced practitioners on boards.
Committee members asked standard confirmation questions about experience, committee service and geographic representation. All the listed resolutions were approved in committee, mostly by voice vote or unanimous consent, and will proceed for final consideration according to legislative rules.
Confirmed or advanced appointees mentioned in the hearing (not exhaustive) include Anders Fiske, Amy Galt, Wallace Gladstone, Shane Jackola and Dan Staley (engineers/surveyors); Clay Ledbetter and Lynn St. Thomas (electrical board); Patty Dundas (realty regulation); Quentin Queer, Michael Daines, Nathan Dale and others (plumbers); and Steven Small, Dale Nelson, Annette Marchese and others (architects and landscape architects).
