Friday, February 14, 2025

Good Friday morning. Are you feeling the love yet?

Get in touch: greg@gregcox.law

"This process is much more than filling seats." Speaker Dustin Burrows made committee appointments yesterday. Here are links to the full lists: by committee and by member. (Hint: it's more fun to read the member list.) "This process is much more than filling seats," Burrows said in a statement. "[I]t's about structuring the House in a way that allows each member to contribute their expertise where it truly makes a difference." While it may well be more than filling seats, the filling seats part is no joke. For one, consider the sheer volume of assignments. The Speaker must assign 149 members to 404 seats across 30 committees. That alone is a heavy, politically-sensitive lift. Then consider the many restrictions on these assignments from the House Rules.

• The speaker appoints the chair and vice-chair of each committee.
• Remaining number of seats are divided between speaker appointments and the seniority system. So in an 11-member committee, the speaker selects the chair and vice-chair. Nine seats left. Divide by two and round down. Four seats go to the seniority system and the speaker appoints five.
• In the seniority system, each member lists their preferred committees. Seniority seats are then filled based on those lists with preference going to the most senior members.
• The seniority system does not apply to procedural committees: both Calendars committees, Administration, Rules & Resolutions, General Investigating & Ethics, and Redistricting.
• A member may not serve on more than two substantive committees.
• The chairs of Appropriations and State Affairs may not serve on any other substantive committees.