Waddoups named chairman of Senate Rules Committee

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mike Waddoups, R-West Jordan, may have lost his bid to become Senate president, but he'll still hold a powerful position in the 2005 Legislature.

Waddoups has been named chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which controls the flow of bills during the session. As is tradition, Senate President-elect John Valentine, R-Orem, who defeated Waddoups for the top post, won't chair any committees.

On the House side, Rep. Dave Ure, R-Kamas, who lost his bid for speaker, is not taking a highly visible appointed role — he'll stay on as House chairman of the Natural Resource budget committee.

The incoming GOP leadership announced committee assignments Thursday for the next two years. The Senate majority leaders also announced where the minority Democrats will sit, but House Democrats have not made their committee assignments, House officials said, and so where the 75 representatives will sit will be announced later.

Valentine was elected to the Senate's top post in November, along with Sens. Pete Kundson, R-Brigham City, as the new majority leader; Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, majority whip; and Beverly Ann Evans, R-Altamont, assistant majority whip.

They will sit on the all-powerful Executive Appropriations Committee with their House counterparts: Speaker-elect Greg Curtis, R-Sandy; Majority Leader Jeff Alexander, R-Provo; Whip Steve Urquhart, R-St. George; and Assistant Whip Ben Ferry, R-Corinne.

All of the new GOP leaders will serve on the Executive Appropriations Committee, which will now be co-chaired by Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, along with Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley. The rest of the executive budget committee is made up of minority Democratic leaders from the House and Senate.

In the Senate, where Republicans hold a 21-8 majority, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, will remain co-chairman of the Public Education Joint Appropriations Subcommittee. Stephenson's initial appointment several years ago as chairman was controversial, but he has since been accepted by the education community.

Since the list was released, Valentine has added himself to the public education budget committee, replacing Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George.

There are so few Senate Democrats that they can't staff all the committees, which meet at the same time. Incoming Minority Whip Ron Allen, D-Stansbury Park, will serve on two — higher education and natural resources.