Gov. Bev Perdue today appointed ToNola Brown-Bland of Burlington, Lorinzo Joyner of Cary and Bryan Beatty of Raleigh, to the North Carolina Utilities Commission. State law requires the confirmation of the appointment by the General Assembly.
“These three appointees have shown a strong commitment to serving the people of our state,” said Perdue. “I am confident that they will provide the leadership we need on the utilities commission to address the challenges North Carolina faces.”
ToNola Brown-Bland has more than 20 years legal experience in both the public and private sector. From December 2002 to May 2005, she worked as an attorney for the North Carolina Utilities Commission. From 2005 to present she has served as associate general counsel in the City Attorney’s Office in Greensboro. Brown-Bland received her B.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law.
Joyner has been reappointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, where she has served since 2001. Prior to her appointment to the utilities commission, she served 15 years as special deputy attorney general for the North Carolina Department of Justice. Joyner earned her bachelor’s degree in English education from North Carolina A&T State University and her J.D. for the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.
Beatty also has been reappointed to the utilities commission, having served North Carolina in this role since the beginning of 2009. Before joining the utilities commission, Beatty served as secretary for the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Beatty has nearly 20 years experience at the North Carolina Department of Justice, starting as associate attorney general for the motor vehicles section and working his way up to director of the State Bureau of Investigation. He received his B.A. in political science from State University of New York at Stony Brook and his J.D. from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.
The N.C. Utilities Commission regulates the rates and services of all public utilities in North Carolina including electric, telephone (including payphone service and shared tenant service), natural gas, water, wastewater, water resale, household goods, transportation, buses, brokers and ferryboats. The commission is the oldest regulatory body in state government. It has seven members, each serving an eight-year term. The governor appoints all the members, who must be confirmed by the General Assembly.