NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam has dropped legislation that would cut the number of Tennessee Regulatory Authority directors from four to three in order to study the issue further, according to Alexia Poe, his communications director.
The governor has also scratched his nomination of Memphian Andre K. Fowlkes as a TRA director.
“There were concerns about geographical diversity” among directors, Poe said in confirming Haslam’s decision to drop the Fowles nomination.
The TRA, which regulates utilities, already has one member from Memphis, Sarah Kyle.
Poe did not address reporters’ questions that legislative Republicans had raised concerns about Fowlkes, a Democrat who nonetheless supported Haslam in his gubernatorial bid.