OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today named Jay Balasbas to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Balasbas has been serving as senior budget assistant to the governor in the Office of Financial Management since 2012. He worked for the Washington House of Representatives in a variety of roles, including senior fiscal analyst, assistant director of policy and policy analyst. Balasbas also worked for the Department of Transportation and the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.
The three-member UTC has a mission to ensure that investor-owned utility and transportation services are safe, available, reliable and fairly priced. Regulated businesses include electric, telecommunications, natural gas and water. The commission also regulates in-state household movers, solid waste carriers, private ferries and intercity buses, as well as safety issues affecting charter buses, railroads, limousines and nonprofit senior/handicapped transportation services.
“Our UTC commissioners are involved in highly complex and crucial regulatory services, and I know Jay will do an excellent job. His extensive experience in transportation policy, the state budget and taxation will serve him well in this role,” Inslee said. “He is also highly skilled in working with stakeholders on complex policy issues. I am grateful for his service in the Office of Financial Management and the counsel he has provided my team and me over the past five years.”
Balasbas has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Seattle University.
His first day on the job will be May 1.
Photo of Jay Balasbas available here.
