2011 Legislature coming into focus

Legislative leaders today released the names of lawmakers who will serve as presiding officers of 2011 session committees.

These are the men and women who will more-or-less set the committee agendas for the coming session. All committee chairs are Republicans.

Rather than re-type the whole list, here’s the information I received from the Legislative Information Office earlier today:

SENATE
Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey, chair of the Senate Committee on Committees, announced the following presiding officer appointments in the Senate:

Committee                                         Presiding Officer
Finance and Claims                             Dave Lewis, R-Helena
Business and Labor                             Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman
Judiciary                                            Jim Shockley, R-Victor
State Administration                            Jim Shockley, R-Victor
Taxation                                             Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell
Education & Cultural Resources           Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek
Public Health                                      Terry Murphy, R-Cardwell
Natural Resources                               Debby Barrett, R-Dillon
Ag, Livestock and Irrigation                 Don Steinbeisser, R-Sidney
Highways and Transportation         Llew Jones, R-Conrad
Fish and Game                                        John Brenden, R-Scobey
Local Government                               Jon Sonju, R-Kalispell
Energy                                                      Alan Olson, R-Roundup
Rules                                                          Jeff Essmann, R-Billings
Legislative Administration              Taylor Brown, R-Huntley
Ethics                                                        not yet named

HOUSE
Rep. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, speaker-elect of the House of Representatives, along with Rep. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, majority leader-elect, named the following representatives as presiding officers of House committees:

Appropriations                                  Walter McNutt, R-Sidney
Judiciary                                               Ken Peterson, R-Billings
Taxation                                                 Mark Blasdel, R-Somers
Business and Labor                           Elsie Arntzen, R-Billings
State Administration                        Pat Ingraham, R-Thompson Falls
Education                                              Scott Reichner, R-Bigfork
Natural Resources                              Gordon Hendrick, R-Superior
Federal Relations, Energy, and     Harry Klock, R-Harlowton Telecommunications             
Transportation                                    Gordon Vance, R-Bozeman
Agriculture                                            Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel
Human Services                                  David Howard, R-Park City
Fish, Wildlife and Parks                    Ted Washburn, R-Bozeman
Local Government                             Gary MacLaren, R-Victor
Ethics                                                        Keith Regier, R-Kalispell
Rules                                                       Michael More, R-Gallatin Gateway

A full list of members of the session committees will likely be released next week.