Why is Gov. McKee’s PUC nominee stuck in legislative limbo?

Noticeably absent from the novel-length legislative agendas of the General Assembly’s final days of session: confirmation, or even a preliminary vetting, of Gov. Dan McKee’s nominee to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.

That’s because the Rhode Island Senate does not intend to appoint Donna Sams to the three-member utility panel, at least not this year, Greg Paré, a spokesperson for Senate President Valarie Lawson, confirmed Wednesday.

The three current commissioners have relevant experience. Anthony, who Sams was intended to replace, has earned regional acclaim and national attention for her professional and educational expertise. Anthony earned a doctorate in environmental and natural resource economics from the University of Rhode Island and worked as the Rhode Island director for Acadia Center, leading grid modernization and utility reform, before she was appointed to the commission by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2017.

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