House Leadership Team

by Kathleen Randall
House Speaker-designate Jim Tucker, a Republican, chose a mixture of returning and new representatives as the team to help him run the business of the House in the 2008-2012 term.

Announcing his choice for committee chair and vice chair positions, Rep. Tucker said he "looked first for experience and talent in determining selections. I was fortunate to have a wealth of talent to choose from for these chairmanships and vice chairmanships." Tucker also said he was pleased with the geographical, political, and racial balance of "this very talented team of leaders." Of the 16 chairpersons, eight are Republican, seven Democratic, and one Independent. Geographically, four chairpersons hail from north Louisiana, three from New Orleans, three from southwest Louisiana, two from Baton Rouge, and three from south Louisiana. The North Shore is also represented, with one chairperson.

One committee change was also made. The House Natural Resources Committee will assume the responsibilities and jurisdiction over the subject matter currently referred to the Environment Committee.

Chairing the budget-writing Appropriations Committee is Representative Jim Fannin, from Jonesboro. His first term, 2004-2008, saw him serve as chair of the Louisiana Legislative Rural Caucus and as chair of the House Committee on Transportation, Highways, and Public Works during 2007. Representative Eddie Lambert of Gonzales will serve as vice-chair; during his first term of 2004-2008, he served on the House committees on Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs; Natural Resources; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works.

To lead the Ways and Means Committee, Tucker appointed Representative Hunter Greene as chair and Representative Jane Smith as vice chair. Greene was elected in 2005 in a special election in Baton Rouge and served on the committees on House and Governmental Affairs; Judiciary; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works. Representative Smith is a third-term member from Bossier City, currently serves as chair of the Legislative Republican Delegation, and in her most recent term was a member of the committees on Criminal Justice and Ways and Means.

For the Commerce Committee, Representative Jeff Arnold will be chair and Representative Wayne Waddell will be vice chair. Representative Arnold, from Algiers, came to the House via a vacancy election in 2002, and has been a member of the committees on House and Governmental Affairs, Retirement, and Ways and Means and the Legislative Budgetary Control Council. Representative Waddell, elected in a special election in Shreveport in 1997, currently serves as vice chair of the Legislative Rural Caucus and has been a member of the
committees on Commerce, Health and Welfare, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay.

Representative Nita Hutter of Chalmette will chair the Committee on Transportation, Highways, and Public Works, with Representative Hollis Downs from Ruston as vice chair.
Representative Hutter will be in her third term, currently serves as chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus, and most recently did service on the committees on Health and Welfare; Transportation, Highways, and Public Works; and the Special Committee on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control. Representative Downs is starting his second term and most recently served as a member of the committees on Education; Agriculture; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works (for which he was vice chair).

The House Committee on Education will have Representative Don Trahan for chair and Representative Austin Badon as vice chair. Representative Trahan is starting his second term, representing part of Lafayette. Recently he was a member of the committees on Commerce, Education, and Retirement; and he currently serves as vice chair of the Acadiana Legislative Delegation. Representative Austin Badon, from New Orleans, began his legislative service in 2004 and served on the committees on Education, Labor, Ways and Means, and Capital Outlay.

Tucker designated Representative Tim Burns, from Mandeville, as chair of the Civil Law Committee and Representative Nick Lorusso of Metairie as vice chair. Representative Burns, elected in 2003, has served on the committees on Health and Welfare; Judiciary; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works as well as the Select Committee on Technology. Representative Lorusso was elected to fill a vacancy in 2007 and served on the Criminal Justice and Civil Law committees.

Representative Ernest Wooton will chair the Criminal Justice Committee, with Representative Damon Baldone serving as vice chair. Representative Wooton, from Belle Chasse, is serving his third term; in his previous term he was vice chair of the Environment Committee and served on the committees on Criminal Justice and the Special Committee on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control and the Homeland Security Committee. Representative Baldone was elected from Houma to a vacancy in 2001 and recently was vice chair of the Committee on Capital Outlay and a member of the Criminal Justice and Ways and Means committees.

Third term Representative Kay Katz, who is from Monroe, will chair the Health and Welfare Committee. In her previous term she was a member of the committees on Health and Welfare; Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works.
Metairie Representative John Labruzzo will serve as vice chair. Elected in 2003, he served as a member of the committees on Health and Welfare, Environment, and Judiciary.

The Committee on House and Governmental Affairs will be chaired by Representative
Rick Gallot of Ruston, and Representative Mert Smiley of St. Amant will be the vice chair. Representative Gallot was vice chair of House and Governmental Affairs in the 2004-2008 term, his second term, and also served on the committees on Judiciary and Civil Law. Having been elected in 2003, Representative Smiley served on House and Governmental Affairs as well as on Judiciary and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works.

Lake Charles Representative Chuck Kleckley was elected to fill a vacancy in 2005; he will chair the committee on Insurance. Representative Tom McVea of St. Francisville will be vice chair. Representative Kleckley served on the committees on Commerce, Insurance, and Retirement. Representative McVea has been serving since 2000 and recently served on the committees on Appropriations and Insurance.

For the newly-renamed Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, Tucker appointed Representative Gordon Dove as chair and Representative Karen St. Germain as vice chair. Representative Dove, elected from Houma in 2003, served on the committees on Natural Resources; Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works and the Special Committee on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control. Representative St. Germain, also elected in 2003, has served on the committees on Natural Resources; Agriculture; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works and the Special Committee on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control. She chairs the Democratic Caucus and is vice chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus.

Representative Andy Anders of Vidalia was elected to fill a vacancy in 2006. He will chair the committee on Agriculture, and Representative Harold Ritchie of Bogalusa will be vice chair.
Representative Anders served on the committees on Agriculture, Commerce, and Insurance. Representative Ritchie was elected in 2003 and served on the committees on Education; Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs; and Ways and Means, as well as the Capital Outlay Committee.

Representative Cedric Richmond, New Orleans, has been appointed chair of the Judiciary Committee. He was elected in 1999 and recently served on the committees on Insurance, Judiciary, and Ways and Means, as well as the Capital Outlay Committee. He also served as vice chair of the Legislative Audit Advisory Council. First-term Representative Neil Abramson, also of New Orleans, received the vice chair appointment.

Tucker appointed Baton Rouge Representative Avon Honey as chair of the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee and appointed a fellow Baton Rougean, first-term Representative Erich Ponti, as vice chair. Representative Honey was elected to fill a vacancy in 2002 and recently served as vice chair of the Education Committee as well as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, the Capital Outlay Committee, and the House Executive Committee.

Representative J.P. Morrell, who was initially elected to fill a New Orleans vacancy in 2006, will chair the Municipal and Parochial Affairs Committee. Representative Regina Barrow, also first elected to fill a vacancy, in Baton Rouge in 2005, will be vice chair. Representative Morrell served on the committees on Civil Law, Insurance, and Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs. Representative Barrow served on the committees on Commerce, Education, and Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs.

The Committee on Retirement will have Lafayette Representative Joel Robideaux as chair and Minden Representative Jean Doerge as vice chair. Representative Robideaux filled a vacancy in 2004 and served on the committees on Retirement, Civil Law, and Natural Resources. Representative Doerge's House service began with a vacancy election in 1998; she recently has been a member of the committees on Retirement, Appropriations, Health and Welfare, and the House Executive Committee.

Representative Karen Carter Peterson, a Democrat from New Orleans who is starting her third term, is expected to be elected, unopposed, by her fellow members to the position of Speaker Pro Tempore on Inauguration Day, January 14. Tucker said he is supporting her bid for the position. "Karen has been an outstanding leader and will do a tremendous job as pro-tem," Tucker said. Representative Peterson served as chair of the House Committee on Insurance and as a member of the House Executive Committee in the 2004-2008 term.

Speaker-designate Tucker was elected to District 86 on the West Bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes in a 2001 special election to fill a vacancy. During his second term, 2004-2008, he served as a member of the House committees on Insurance; Retirement; and Transportation, Highways, and Public Works and as House chair of the Republican Legislative Delegation. It's expected that the House will elect him as Speaker unanimously on Monday, January 14.