The Public Services Commissioner is a state level position in all 50 states. The duties of the position vary from state to state, but their general role is regulation of essential utility services such as energy, telecommunications, and water.
As it currently stands, there are only three ways in which an individual is able to be selected to assume the role of State Public Services Commissioner - by being publicly elected by the people of the state through the primary/general election processes, being appointed by the governor, or being elected by the state legislature.
And while the vast majority of the states that do have the statewide governmental position authorize the governor to appoint an individual to the office, there are at least eleven others who have opted to have public voters select the office holders. These states include Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The one remaining state, Virginia, empowers its state legislature to choose the office holder for the statewide position.
The current party breakdown of State Public Services Commissioner based on whether they are elected (either by the general public or the state legislature) or appointed by the governor of an individual state shows that:
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- Governors in the other 39 states are authorized to appoint individuals as Public Service Commissioners.
- 24 are Democrats. These states include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.
- The other 14 are Republican appointees. These states include Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Vermont.
- The statewide position in Virginia, the only one that is decided by a state legislative vote, is Democratic.
Current appointed public services commissioners
Current elected public services commissioners
External links
| Public Services Commissioners |
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| | Elected (by voters) | | | | Appointed (by gov.) | | | | Elected (by state leg.) | | | | Elections | | | | Other | |
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Democratic
Republican
