After winning back control of both the Minnesota House and Senate, the DFL has spent the last two weeks organizing its caucus and choosing leaders.
Last week, House and Senate DFLers elected previous minority leaders Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. Paul Thissen to roles as Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House. Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL-Cottage Grove, was elected as Assistant Senate Majority Leader and Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, was elected as House Majority Leader.
This week, the DFL chose committee chairs and assignments for both the House and Senate.
Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, who represents the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus, will chair the Capital Investment Committee in the House. The Capital Investment Committee drafts the final proposed bonding bill to be voted on by the House and merged with the governor’s and Senate’s proposed bills. The bonding bill, which is typically passed in even years, determines funding the University of Minnesota will receive for projects and upkeep of University buildings.
The University's Minneapolis campus representative, Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, will head the Legacy committee, and the higher education committees will be chaired by Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, and Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona.
Here are the full lists of Senate and House committee chairs:
Senate committee chairs
Rules and Administration: Sen. Tom Bakk
Subcommittee on Elections: Sen. Katie Sieben
Capital Investment: Sen. LeRoy Stumpf
Taxes: Sen. Rod Skoe
Tax Reform Division: Sen. Ann Rest
Finance: Sen. Dick Cohen
E-12 Division: Sen. Chuck Wiger
Environment, Economic Development, & Ag Division: Sen. David Tomassoni
Health and Human Services Division: Sen. Tony Lourey
Higher Ed and Workforce Development Division: Sen. Terri Bonoff
State Departments and Veterans Division: Sen. Tom Saxhaug
Transportation and Public Safety Division: Sen. Scott Dibble
Commerce: Sen. Jim Metzen
Education: Sen. Patricia Torres Ray
Environment & Energy: Sen. John Marty
Health, Human Services & Housing: Sen. Kathy Sheran
Jobs, Agriculture, and Rural Development: Sen. Dan Sparks
Judiciary: Sen. Ron Latz
State & Local Government: Sen. Sandy Pappas.
House committee chairs
Ways and Means: Rep. Lyndon Carlson
Taxes: Rep. Ann Lenczewski
Property Tax Division: Rep. Jim Davnie
Higher Education Finance and Policy: Rep. Gene Pelowski
Education Finance: Rep. Paul Marquart
Education Policy: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Health and Human Services Finance: Rep. Tom Huntley
Health and Human Services Policy: Rep. Tina Liebling
Capital Investment: Rep. Alice Hausman
Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Finance: Rep. Jean Wagenius
Environment and Natural Resources Policy: Rep. David Dill
Agriculture Policy: Rep. Jeanne Poppe
Energy Policy: Rep. Melissa Hortman
Transportation Finance: Rep. Frank Hornstein
Transportation Policy: Rep. Ron Erhardt
Judiciary Finance and Policy: Rep. Debra Hilstrom
Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy: Rep. Joe Atkins
Jobs and Economic Development Finance and Policy: Rep. Tim Mahoney
Labor, Workplace, and Regulated Industries: Rep. Sheldon Johnson
State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs: Rep. Mary Murphy
Legacy: Rep. Phyllis Kahn
Housing Finance and Policy: Rep. Karen Clark
Government Operations: Rep. Michael Nelson
Elections: Rep. Steve Simon
Public Safety Finance and Policy: Rep. Michael Paymar
Early Childhood and Youth Development Policy: Rep. Joe Mullery
Civil Law: Rep. John Lesch
Rules and Legislative Administration: Rep. Erin Murphy