VaHigherEd.com

The committees of the 2008 General Assembly are coming into focus with recent announcements by the leadership of the Senate Democrats and House Republicans.

On December 5, Senate Democrats announced that Richard Saslaw of Fairfax will be majority leader, and will assume chairmanship of the Commerce and Labor Committee.  Charles Colgan of Prince William County will become chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.  He also will become president pro tempore of the Senate.  Mary Margaret Whipple of Arlington will become leader of the Senate Democratic caucus and chairman of the Rules Committee. 

Other announced Senate chairs and their committees are: 

• Patricia Ticer, Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
• Henry Marsh, Courts of Justice
• Edward Houck, Education and Health
• Mamie Locke, General Laws
• Louise Lucas, Local Government
• Janet Howell, Privileges and Elections
• Linda Puller, Rehabilitation and Social Services
• Yvonne Miller, Transportation

Refer to the Times-Dispatch  for more information.

The leadership of the House of Delegates has also made some recent decisions.  Speaker of the House William Howell has announced that Delegate Lacey Putney of Bedford will serve as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.  Putney is an independent who caucuses with the Republican party.  The vice chairman of House Appropriations will be Delegate Phillip Hamilton  of Newport News.

House Republicans have also announced that they will organize the House committees in the same manner as they did after the last election, with proportional Republican and Democratic representation.  Each committee will contain 13 Republicans and 9 Democrats.  This process is described in an article in today’s Times-Dispatch.

Posted by Ellen Davenport