Executive Watch: Regan Wins Senate Committee Endorsement

It’s no longer amateur hour in the state executive branch. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Michael Regan showed us last week how an experienced professional administrator works with legislators to hold respectful genuine conversation and defuse tensions.

Regan won a unanimous recommendation for confirmation as DEQ Secretary from the NC Senate Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee. Regan spent most of the committee hearing responding to committee members’ questions in a way that emphasized his commitment to transparent process, outreach to stakeholders on all sides of an issue, and genuine citizen involvement.

Legislative process observers noted that Regan had already spent considerable time in individual meetings with Senators, discussing their concerns, and it showed. (That open approach stood in marked contrast to the previous governor’s two appointees to the chair Regan now fills.)

Regan’s professional experience includes almost ten years working on “flexible regulatory approaches” in air pollution control for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clinton and Bush administrations. Following that, he worked with the Environmental Defense Fund, and then as a private consultant, before being tapped by Gov. Cooper to be the head of NC DEQ.

Regan’s nomination goes next to consideration by the Senate Select Committee on Nominations. If approved there, it will go to the full Senate for a final vote. While there is no guarantee that no snag will develop, the process thus far bodes well for a smoother confirmation path than many had anticipated.

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