Reeves names Senate committee chairs, few major changes

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves doled out legislative power to 34 senators on Monday when he named committee chairmanships, keeping most of his same team in key spots.

“For the last four years we’ve done a great job with very strong chairmen and good working committees working to create good, strong conservative policy for the people of our state,” Republican Reeves said before the Senate clerk announced the new positions.

The 2016 session marks the start of a new four-year term.

Reeves named 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats to chair standing committees in the GOP-controlled chamber. This is the same number for Democrats as for the last term, with Republicans gaining one as chair of a new committee, Medicaid. Democrats are retaining the same chairmen with one exception. Sen. Robert Jackson now chairs the Interstate and Federal Cooperation committee after fellow Democrat Kenny Wayne Jones was defeated in November.

Republican Sens. Buck Clarke and Joey Fillingane retained leadership of the powerful "money committees," appropriations and finance.

State Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, will continue as chairman of Public Property.

“I’m excited to get to work. I feel like I have been treated fairly by the lieutenant governor, and I’m looking forward to a productive four years,” Blount said.

Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan also retained chairmanship of Judiciary B, while Republican Sen. Sean Tindell, R-Gulfport, received his first chairmanship in Judiciary A. Bryan and Tindell will each be handling hundreds of bills dealing with crime, punishment and the judicial system.

Tindell is a former assistant district attorney in south Mississippi and said the “Jud A” committee work will be in his wheelhouse. He said he learned much working on the committee with former Judiciary A Chairman Briggs Hopson III, who was appointed chairman of the Energy Committee.

Hopson said he was “very happy” with his move to Energy after chairing Judiciary A for four years, and that he had told the lieutenant governor to “put me wherever.”

“I’m not somebody who likes to be pigeonholed, and I look forward to chairing Energy because, one, it’s a new challenge and two, we have a burgeoning energy economy here in Mississippi. It’s a little down right now with oil and gas prices, but Mississippi is poised to do some really good things.”

Reeves named Republican Sen. Brice Wiggins as head of the new Medicaid committee.

“I appreciate the lieutenant governor having the faith in me to handle a committee of that magnitude,” Wiggins said after the announcements. “As many people know, Medicaid is the biggest budget item that we have in the state, and if we’re going to solve our financial issues and also set policy for health in this state, then we’re going to need to get a grasp on the Medicaid situation.”

Sen. Chris McDaniel, a founder of the Senate Conservative Coalition that has often been at odds with Reeves and the GOP leadership, was removed as chair of the Elections Committee and given the nominal Constitution Committee.

Reeves named Sen. Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven, to take McDaniel’s place.

“I think there’s a lot of work to do in our elections process in Mississippi, as I personally saw by serving on the committee here in the Senate for the contested election,” Doty said, referring to the special committee to resolve former Sen. Melanie Sojourner’s challenge of Sen. Bob Dearing’s win in November. “I’m looking forward to getting to work.”

McDaniel, who was appointed as chair of the nominal Constitution Committee, was absent on Monday.

Sen. Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula, the former Constitution chairman, said he was pleased with his committee assignments, including chairman of Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources and with the assignments of his fellow Coast delegation members. Watson said that as Environmental Protection chairman, he will be dealing with BP oil disaster recovery and settlements and other issues paramount to his home area.

Watson was far less pleased with his assignments four years ago when he felt he was being punished by Reeves for backing his opponent in his first run for lieutenant governor.

“It is a bit different from last time around,” Watson said. “But I think too much has been made of infighting. If you look at my voting record, I’ve voted 85-plus percent of the time with the leadership, except for a handful of issues were we didn’t see eye to eye. Last year, it was no secret that Common Core and a couple of other issues we didn’t see eye to eye on, but pull my voting record and you’ll see there’s much more that we do — education reform, fiscal policy for the most part … I’m excited. I think it’s great for the Coast to look at BP issues and statewide when you look at how the EPA is pushing down on states.”

Sen. Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi, was named chair of Ports and Marine Resources. Gollott is the longest serving member of the Legislature.

“I’m just glad to be here,” Gollott said.

Contact Kate Royals at (601) 360-4619 or kroyals@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @KRRoyals on Twitter.

Contact Jimmie Gates at (601) 961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.

Contact Geoff Pender at (601) 961-7266 or gpender@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @GeoffPender on Twitter.

Committee chairs, vice chairs

Mississippi Senate committee leaders announced Monday by Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves for this four-year term:

Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency: Chairman John Polk, R-Hattiesburg. Vice Chairman J.P. Wilemon Jr., D-Belmont.

Agriculture: Chairman Billy Hudson, R-Hattiesburg. Vice Chairman Russell Jolly, D-Houston.

Appropriations: Chairman Eugene "Buck" Clarke, R-Hollandale. Vice Chairman Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg.

Business and Financial Institutions: Chairwoman Rita Potts Parks, R-Corinth. Vice Chairman, not yet appointed.

Constitution: Chairman Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville. Vice Chairwoman Angela Turner, D-West Point.

Corrections: Chairman Sampson Jackson, D-Preston. Vice Chairwoman Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona.

County Affairs: Chairman Chuck Younger, R-Columbus. Vice Chairman Billy Hudson, R-Hattiesburg.

Drug Policy: Chairman David Jordan, D-Greenwood. Vice Chairman Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula.

Economic Development: Chairman John Horhn, D-Jackson. Vice Chairman Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg.

Education: Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford. Vice Chairman Chris Caughman, R-Mendenhall.

Elections: Chairwoman Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven. Vice Chairman David Blount, D-Jackson.

Energy: Chairman Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg. Vice Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood.

Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources: Chairman Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula. Vice Chairman Tammy Witherspoon, D-Magnolia.

Ethics: Chairman Chris Massey, R-Nesbit. Vice Chairman Gary Jackson, R-French Camp.

Finance: Chairman Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall. Vice Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl.

Forestry: Chairman Nickey Browning, R-Pontotoc. Vice Chairman Jenifer Branning, R-Philadelpia.

Highways and Transportation: Chairman Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland. Vice Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville.

Housing: Chairman Hillman Frazier, D-Jackson. Vice Chairman Chris Massey, R-Nesbit.

Insurance: Chairman Videt Carmichael, R-Meridian. Vice Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven.

Interstate and Federal Cooperation: Chairman Robert Jackson, D-Marks. Vice Chairman Sampson Jackson, D-DeKalb.

Judiciary A: Chairman Sean Tindell, R-Gulfport. Vice Chairwoman Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven.

Judiciary B: Chairman Hob Bryan, D-Amory. Vice Chairman Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville.

Labor: Chairman Albert Butler, D-Port Gibson. Vice Chairman Sollie Norwood, D-Jackson.

Local and Private: Chairman Gary Jackson, R-French Camp. Vice Chairman David Parker, R-Olive Branch.

Medicaid: Chairman Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula. Vice Chairman Hob Bryan, D-Amory.

Municipalities: Chairman J.P. Wilemon Jr., D-Belmont. Vice Chairman Chad McMahan, R-Guntown.

Ports and Marine Resource: Chairman Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi. Vice Chairman Joseph M. "Mike" Seymour, R-Vancleave.

Public Health and Welfare: Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl. Vice Chairman Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula.

Public Property: Chairman David Blount, D-Jackson. Vice Chairman Bob Dearing, D-Natchez.

Rules: Chairman Terry Burton, R-Newton. Vice Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford.

Tourism: Chairwoman Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona. Vice Chairman Sean Tindell, R-Gulfport.

Universities and Colleges: Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood. Vice Chairman Hillman Frazier, D-Jackson.

Veterans and Military Affairs: Chairman David Parker, R-Olive Branch. Vice Chairman Philip Moran, R-Kiln.

Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks: Chairman Philip Moran, R-Kiln. Vice Chairwoman Angela Hill, R-Picayune.

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Senate officers of joint committees shared by the House and Senate:

Executive Contingent Fund: Chairman Bill Stone, D-Holly Springs. Vice Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford.

Investigate State Offices: Chairwoman Angela Hill, R-Picayune. Vice Chairman Videt Carmichael, R-Meridian.

State Library: Chairwoman Deborah Dawkins, D-Pass Christian. Vice Chairman Albert Butler, D-Port Gibson.

Enrolled Bills: Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville. Vice Chairwoman Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton.

-- The Associated Press