Governor Sam Brownback is nominating a former Kansas Senate majority leader for a seat on the Kansas Corporation Commission. Brownback has chosen Republican Senator Jay Emler, from Lindsborg, to take the position being vacated by KCC Chairman Mark Sievers. Brownback says Emler will be a good fit for the commission, which regulates industries including utilities and oil drilling.
If confirmed by the Senate, Emler will resign his Senate seat and begin a four-year term on the KCC. Sievers is stepping down before his term expires.
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Governor Sam Brownback is nominating a state senator for a position on the board that regulates utilities in Kansas. Mark Sievers, the chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission, is stepping down. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, Brownback has selected Senator Jay Emler to take his place.
(SCRIPT) Emler, from Lindsborg, is a former Senate majority leader and has served in the chamber since 2001. The KCC regulates industries ranging from electricity and gas utilities to oil drilling, and they decide how much Kansas utility customers pay for the services. Governor Sam Brownback says Emler will be a good fit for the commission.
“Level headed, thoughtful, I’ve worked with him a lot on building the budgets that I have. And he’s just got a degree of experience and commitment to this state that think will be good and serve us well at the KCC,” says Brownback.
If he’s confirmed by the Senate, Emler will resign his Senate seat and start a four-year term on the KCC. Sievers is stepping down with more than a year left in his term. He has drawn some criticism recently for comments he made about the system Kansas uses to approve utility rate increases.