Senate Majority Hands Out Committee Assignments
by Christine Stuart | Dec 24, 2012 6:21pm
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Posted to: State Capitol
Hartford Sen. John Fonfara will replace outgoing Sen. Eileen Daily of Westbrook as co-chair of the legislative committee in charge of revenue and tax policy, according to a document released Monday by Senate Democratic leadership.
His appointment, while not unexpected, ends a two year streak of both the Finance and Appropriations Committees being chaired by an all female line-up. Daily didn’t seek re-election. Rep. Patricia Widlitz of Guilford, who has been in the post for two years, is expected to remain as co-chairwoman.
Fonfara had been vice chairman of the Finance Committee for the past two years, while chairing the Energy and Technology Committee where he disagreed often with his House co-chairwoman, Rep. Vickie Nardello of Prospect. Nardello did not win re-election. It’s anticipated that Rep. Lonnie Reed of Branford, who was vice chair of the Energy Committee, will succeed her.
House Democratic leadership has yet to release its committee assignments, but Speaker-elect Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, has said he would release the information around the holidays.
Sen. Bob Duff of Norwalk will take over as co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee. He had been the vice chair of that committee. Also Sen. Toni Harp of New Haven will remain co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, which handles the spending side of the state budget. Her House co-chair is expected to remain Rep. Toni Walker, also of New Haven.
Sen. Gayle Slossberg of Milford will take over as chairwoman of the Human Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over several large state agencies such as the Department of Social Services. She had been chairwoman of the General Administration and Elections Committee for several years.
She trades spaces with Sen. Anthony Musto of Bridgeport, who will take over as co-chairman of the General Administration and Elections Committee. He had been co-chairman of the Human Services Committee,
Senator-elect Andres Ayala of Bridgeport will take over the chairmanship of the Aging Committee, previously chaired by retiring Sen. Edith Prague, and the Regulations Review Committee.
Senator-elect Cathy Osten will succeed Prague as chairwoman of the Public Employees and Labor Committee. Osten, worked for 20 years as a lieutenant in the Corrections Department, and for several of those years was a union president. She is also the First Selectwoman of Sprague.
Newly elected Meriden Senator Dante Bartholomew will chair two committees: the Select Committee on Children and the Housing Committee, taking over the later from Sen. Edwin Gomes of Bridgeport who did not win re-election. She replaces Sen. Terry Gerratana on the Select Committee on Children.
Also Sen. Carlo Leone of Stamford will take over the chairmanship of the Banks Committee from Duff. He will also maintain his chairmanship of the Select Committee on Veterans Affairs.
There are 27 regular and select committees.
Click here for a full list of the committee assignments.
