Concord—In announcing his leadership team for the upcoming biennium today, New Hampshire House Speaker Shawn Jasper has called upon a number of veteran legislators as well as several lawmakers who will be serving in a leadership role for the first time.
“I am proud to be working with a team of leaders that represent a diverse and talented cross section of the House,” Jasper said. “We were successful in driving our agenda last session by working together. The people of New Hampshire responded by electing Republicans to once again to serve as the majority party in the House.
“They have given us another opportunity to lead, and the team that I have put together will develop an agenda from the ground up through an exchange of ideas from within our caucus. Over the next two years we will continue working together to deal with critical issues that are of importance to the future of our state,” Jasper said.
Former Speaker Gene Chandler (r-Bartlett), entering his 18th term, will serve once again as Deputy Speaker.
Veteran legislator Sherman Packard (r-Londonderry), a former Republican leader, committee chair and veteran of 13 terms, will serve as Speaker Pro Tempore under Jasper.
Rep. Dick Hinch (r-Merrimack), entering his fifth term, returns as the Majority Leader of the Republican Caucus.
His deputy majority leader will be Rep. John Graham (r-Bedford) who is returning for his 8TH term.
Serving as assistant majority leaders will be Reps. Larry Gagne (r-Manchester), Mike McCarthy (r-Nashua), David Danielson (r-Bedford) , Michael Vose (r-Epping), and Fred Doucette (r-Salem).
Rep. Kathleen Hoelzel (r- Raymond) will return as the Majority Whip. Rep. Bill Ohm (r-Nashua) will assist Rep. Hoelzel as her Deputy Whip. Serving as Assistant Majority Whips will be Reps. Claire Rouillard (r-Goffstown), Debra DeSimone (r-Atkinson), Terry Wolf (r-Bedford), and Carolyn Matthews (r-Raymond).
The Finance Committee, instrumental in forming the next biennial budget, will be chaired once again by Rep. Neal Kurk (r-Weare), who is entering his 16th term as a member of the House.
Each of the three committee divisions will be chaired by members with a strong background in finance. Lynne Ober (r-Hudson), entering her 7th term in the House, will serve as vice chair for the Finance committee and will also preside as the chair of Division I. Rep. J. Tracy Emerick (r-Hampton) will serve as vice chair for Division I. The Division II chair will be Rep. Karen Umberger (r-Kearsarge). She will be assisted by Vice Chair Ken Weyler (r-Kingston). Heading up Division III of House Finance will be Rep. Frank Byron (r-Litchfield). Serving as his vice chair will be Rep. Betsy McKinney, who is beginning her 17th term.
The Ways and Means Committee, which considers and reports all bills and resolutions relating to raising money, will be chaired once again by Rep. Norman Major (r-Plaistow), entering his 11th term in the House. Rep. Patrick Abrami (r-Stratham) will return as the committee vice chair.
Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the remaining standing committees include:
Commerce & Consumer Affairs
John Hunt (r-Rindge) Chair
Barbara Biggie (r-Milford) Vice Chair
Criminal Justice
David Welch (r-Kingston) Chair
Frank Sapareto (r-Derry) Vice Chair
Education
Rick Ladd (r-Haverhill) Chair
Terry Wolf (r-Bedford) Vice Chair
Election Law
Barbara Griffin (r-Goffstown) Chair
Yvonne Dean-Bailey (r-Northwood)
Environment & Agriculture
John T. O’Connor (r-Derry) Chair
Stephen Darrow (r-Grafton) Vice Chair
Executive Departments & Administration
Carol McGuire (r-Epsom) Chair
John Sytek (r-Salem) Vice Chair
Fish & Game
Jim Webb (r-Derry) Chair
Bob L’Heureux (r-Merrimack) Vice Chair
Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs
Frank Kotowski (r-Hooksett) Chair
Don LeBrun (r-Nashua) Vice-Chair
Judiciary
Joe Hagan (r-Chester) Chair
Claire Rouillard (r-Goffstown) Vice Chair
Labor, Industrial, & Rehabilitative Services
Stephen Schmidt (r-Wolfeboro) Chair
Anthony Pellegrino (r-Merrimack) Vice Chair
Legislative Administration
Dick Hinch (r-Merrimack) Chair
Sherman Packard (r-Londonderry) Vice Chair
Municipal & County Government
Jim Belanger (r-Hollis) Chair
Frank Sterling (r-Jaffrey) Vice Chair
Public Works & Highways
Gene Chandler (r-Bartlett) Chair
Mark McConkey (r-Freedom) Vice Chair
Resources, Recreation & Development
Chris Christensen (r-Merrimack) Chair
John Mullen (r-Middleton) Vice Chair
Science, Technology & Energy
Dick Barry (r-Merrimack) Chair
Herb Richardson (r-Lancaster) Vice Chair
State-Federal Relations & Veterans Affairs
Russ Ober (r-Hudson) Chair
Al Baldasaro (r-Londonderry) Vice Chair
Transportation
Steve Smith (r-Charlestown) Chair
Tom Walsh (r-Hooksett) Vice Chair
The committee assignments will be announced later this week.