Five St. Louis reps to head committees; Hobbs will lead new infrastructure committee
Hobbs
House committee appointments are out, and five St. Louis area representatives are in.
Also, Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, has been chosen to lead a new committee, the Special Committee on Infrastructure and Transportation Funding.
Hobbs said the Transportation Committee often gets bogged down with smaller issues such as license plates, so this new committee ws created to oversee broader issues.
“The important thing is that I come into this job with no agenda other than to make sure there’s a plan in place 5 years from now and 50 years from now,” he said.
Hobbs said President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus plan will probably affect the committee’s plans, but he doesn’t yet know how or when that potential federal money will come to Missouri.
House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, chose five St. Louis area representatives to lead committees.
In one of the least shocking moves ever, Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, will return as Budget Committee chairman. Joe Smith, R-St, Charles, will also return as chairman of the Committee on Tax Reform.
Former Special Committee on Children and Families Vice-chairwoman Cynthia Davis, R-O’Fallon, will move into chairwoman of that committee. Davis has made a name for herself for her fervent opposition to abortion and contraceptives.
Walt Bivins, R-St. Louis, will head the Energy and Environment Committee; Sally Faith, R-St. Charles, will head the Fiscal Review Committee; and Tim Jones, R-Eureka, will head the Special Committee on General Laws.
Former House Speaker Rod Jetton was criticized for the large number of special committees, which allowed him to bypass House rules that said he had to consult the minority leader before appointing Democrats to committees.
Richard has said he will make some changes. Although representatives don’t debate the House rules until tomorrow, this year’s committee list includes eight special committees, down from 25 last session.
So in this republican legislature, what gets a person promoted to chair of the special committee on children and families (Cynthia Davis) is opposition to birth control and a firm conviction that government must use the power of law to make sure all women who, under any circumstances, become pregnant are forced to gestate 9 months, endure the rigors of childbirth and then make a series of permanent and agonizing choices about their and their unwanted babies’ futures regardless of any particular “breeder’s” personal moral/religious beliefs? Outstanding! I wonder if Dr. Kavorkian is available to chair the special committee on hospice and palliative care. Such leadership appointments might make for short meetings - because the answer to any problem is always the same - but not much forward-thinking public policy is likely to emerge.