As inauguration day grows ever nearer, more announcements of legislators roles for the upcoming session will be announced. In recent press releases, all but the Democratic Assembly members of the Joint Finance Committee have been announced, all Republican Senate Committee assignments have been announced, and two new Assembly committees have been added.
Joint Finance Committee
Some members of the much sought after Joint Finance Committee have been announced, with more announcements to be made next week. Legislators on this committee review and rewrite the Governor’s budget once it has been introduced introduced, giving those on the committee a considerable amount of influence.
The committee is made up of 12 majority members, six from the Assembly and six from the Senate, and four minority party members, two from each house. The Republican Senate and Democratic Assembly members of the committee are yet to be announced.
Republican Members
- Sen. Alberta Darling (Co-Chair)
- Rep. John Nygren (Co-Chair)
- Sen. Luther Olsen (Vice-Chair)
- Rep. Dale Kooyenga (Vice-Chair)
- Sen. Sheila Harsdorf
- Sen. Howard Marklein
- Sen. Tom Tiffany
- Sen. Leak Vukmir
- Rep. Mary Czaja
- Rep. Dean Knudson
- Rep. Amy Loudenbeck
- Rep. Michael Schraa
Democratic Members
- Sen. Lena Taylor
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach
2015-2016 Senate Standing Committee Assignments
This week, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald
announced the Republican Senate committee appointments for 2015-2016 legislation session.
Agriculture, Small Business & Tourism
Sen. Terry Moulton (Chair)
Sen. Tom Tiffany (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf
Sen. Jerry Petrowski
Sen. Devin LeMahieu
Economic Development & Commerce
Sen. Rick Gudex (Chair)
Sen. Jerry Petrowski (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Alberta Darling
Education
Sen. Luther Olsen (Chair)
Sen. Alberta Darling (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Leah Vukmir
Sen. Steve Nass
Education Reform & Government Operations
Sen. Paul Farrow (Chair)
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Steve Nass
Elections & Local Government
Sen. Devin LeMahieu (Chair)
Sen. Paul Farrow (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Van Wanggaard
Sporting Heritage, Mining & Forestry
Sen. Tom Tiffany
Sen. Roger Roth
Sen. Terry Moulton
Health & Human Services
Sen. Leah Vukmir (Chair)
Sen. Terry Moulton (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Devin LeMahieu
Insurance, Housing & Trade
Sen. Frank Lasee (Chair)
Sen. Luther Olsen (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Roger Roth
Judiciary & Public Safety
Sen. Van Wanggaard (Chair)
Sen. Leah Vukmir (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Frank Lasee
Labor & Government Reform
Sen. Steve Nass (Chair)
Sen. Van Wanggaard (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Howard Marklein
Natural Resources & Energy
Sen. Rob Cowles (Chair)
Sen. Frank Lasee (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Luther Olsen
Revenue, Financial Institutions & Rural Issues
Sen. Howard Marklein (Chair)
Sen. Paul Farrow (Vice-Chair)
Sen. Tom Tiffany
Senate Organization
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (Chair)
Sen. Mary Lazich
Sen. Paul Farrow
Transportation & Veterans Affairs
Sen. Jerry Petrowski (Chair)
Sen. Howard Marklein (Vice Chair)
Sen. Rob Cowles
Universities & Technical Colleges
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (Chair)
Sen. Steve Nass (Vice Chair)
Sen. Rick Gudex
Workforce Development, Public Works & Military Affairs
Sen. Roger Roth (Chair)
Sen. Rick Gudex (Vice Chair)
Sen. Paul Farrow
Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules
Sen. Steve Nass (Co-Chair)
Sen. Frank Lasee
Sen. Devin LeMahieu
Joint Legislative Audit Committee
Sen. Rob Cowles (Co-Chair)
Sen. Alberta Darling
Sen. Mary Lazich
Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties
Sen. Van Wanggaard (Co-Chair)
Joint Committee on Employment Relations
Sen. Mary Lazich (Co-Chair)
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald
Sen. Alberta Darling
Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (Co-Chair)
Sen. Rob Cowles
Sen. Roger Roth
Joint Committee on Legislative Organization
Sen. Mary Lazich (Co-Chair)
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald
Sen. Paul Farrow
Joint Legislative Council
Sen. Mary Lazich (Co-Chair)
Sen. Alberta Darling
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald
Sen. Rick Gudex
Sen. Terry Moulton
Sen. Jerry Petrowski
Sen. Van Wanggaard
2015-2016 Assembly Standing Committees
Speaker Robin Vos announced the new standing committees for the 2015-2016 legislative session. Two new committees have been added: the Mental Health Reform Committee and Public Benefits Reform Committee. The Mental Health Reform Committee’s creation is a result of the work done by the Speaker’s Task Force on Mental Health in 2013.
In the Forward Agenda, Assembly Republicans outlined a priority to reduce fraud and waste in state entitlement programs. “Assembly Republicans have a large number of entitlement reforms that we’d like to consider this session,” says Speaker Vos. The new Public Benefits Reform Committee aim will be to look at reform options. Committee assignments should be announced later this month.
The 2015-2016 Assembly Standing Committees are:
- Aging and Long Term Care
- Agriculture
- Campaigns and Elections
- Children and Families
- Colleges and Universities
- Constitution and Ethics
- Consumer Protection
- Corrections
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety
- Education
- Energy and Utilities
- Environment and Forestry
- Family Law
- Financial Institutions
- Health
- Housing and Real Estate
- Insurance
- Jobs and the Economy
- Judiciary
- Labor
- Mental Health Reform
- Mining and Rural Development
- Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage
- Public Benefit Reform
- Small Business Development
- State Affairs and Government Operations
- Tourism
- Transportation
- Urban and Local Affairs
- Veterans and Military Affairs
- Ways and Means
- Workforce Development