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Idaho Senate selects new committee leaders for 2023 legislative session

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Idaho Senate selects new committee leaders for 2023 legislative session

Dec 01, 2022 | 5:13 pm ET
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
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Idaho Senate selects new committee leaders for 2023 legislative session
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The Senate in session at the Idaho Capitol on April 6, 2021. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

The Idaho Senate chose its committee assignments during Thursday’s organizational session at the Idaho Capitol, with nearly all new chairmen leading committees.

The organizational session takes place in December before a new legislative session begins in January, and with many new legislators and new leadership, the committee rosters look much different than they did during the 2022 legislative session.

One chairman seat remains the same with Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, as the leader of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. Sen. Lori Den Hartog, who challenged President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, for his leadership position and lost, also lost her ranking as chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, a spot she held for two years.

Committees meet on designated days and times throughout the week during the legislative session and represent the first group of legislators that will hear specific pieces of legislation to determine whether the bills make it to the full Senate or House floor for a vote. Committee chairmen sometimes play a powerful role in deciding whether some bills are heard at all during the session.  

The House of Representatives adjourned on Thursday afternoon to continue the process of selecting its committees and will reconvene Friday morning.

The committee assignments as posted outside of Winder’s office Thursday are as follows, with an asterisk to indicate legislators who are brand new to the Idaho Legislature:

Finance (also known as the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee)

Chairman: Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Meridian

Vice chairman: Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene*

Members: Sens. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton; David Lent, R-Idaho Falls; Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls; Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree; Scott Herndon, R-Sagle*; Brian Lenney, R-Nampa*; Ben Adams, R-Nampa; Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise; and Rick Just, D-Boise*.

 

State Affairs:

Chairman: Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon

Vice chairman: Sen. Treg Bernt, R-Meridian*

Members: Sens. Chuck Winder, R-Boise; Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert; Abby Lee, R-Fruitland; Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs; Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene*; Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; and James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.

 

Education:

Chairman: Sen. David Lent, R-Idaho Falls

Vice chairman: Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene*

Members: Sens. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian; Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton; Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins*; Scott Herndon, R-Sagle*; Brian Lenney, R-Nampa*; Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise; and Carrie Semmelroth, D-Boise.

 

Local Government and Taxation:

Chairman: Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg

Vice chairman: Sen. Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home*

Members: Sens. C. Scott Grow, R-Meridian; Ben Adams, R-Nampa; Treg Bernt, R-Meridian*; Chris Trakel, R-Caldwell*; Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls; Ali Rabe, D-Boise; and Rick Just, D-Boise*.

 

Health and Welfare:

Chairwoman: Sen. Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree

Vice chairman: Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls*

Members: Sens. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland; Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs; Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene*; Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; and Ron Taylor, D-Hailey*.

 

Transportation:

Chairman: Sen. Doug Okuniewicz; R-Hayden

Vice chairwoman: Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian

Members: Sens. Chuck Winder, R-Boise; Phil Hart, R-Kellogg; Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins*; Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene*; Chris Trakel, R-Caldwell*; Ali Rabe, D-Boise; and Rick Just, D-Boise*.

 

Judiciary and Rules:

Chairman: Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa

Vice chairman: Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola

Members: Sens. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland; Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert; Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg; Phil Hart, R-Kellogg; Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls; Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; and James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.

 

Agricultural Affairs:

Chairwoman: Sen. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls

Vice chairman: Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton

Members: Sens. Dan Foreman, R-Viola; Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls*; Phil Hart, R-Kellogg; Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home; Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins*; Carrie Semmelroth, D-Boise; and Ron Taylor, D-Hailey*.

 

Commerce and Human Resources:

Chairman: Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls

Vice chairman: Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa*

Members: Sens. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa; Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon; Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg; Dan Foreman, R-Viola; Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls; Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise; and James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.

 

Resources and Environment:

Chairman: Sen. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton

Vice chairman: Sen. Ben Adams, R-Nampa

Members: Sens. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon; Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian; Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs; Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden; Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home*; Carrie Semmelroth, D-Boise; and Ron Taylor, D-Hailey*.