Hansen names Nevada Assembly chairs
CARSON CITY — Assembly Speaker designee Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, on Saturday named the chairs of the committees for the 2015 session, picking Majority Leader Paul Anderson, R-Las Vegas, to helm the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Hansen, who was unanimously supported for speaker after a lengthy Assembly GOP caucus meeting Friday, also named Wes Duncan, R-Las Vegas, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, who served as minority leader before the GOP took control of the Assembly on Tuesday, did not get named as a chairman to any of the committees.
Other chair appointments are:
— Randy Kirner of Reno, Commerce and Labor
— Melissa Woodbury of Las Vegas, Education
— John Hambrick of Las Vegas, Government Affairs
— James Oscarson of Pahrump, Health and Human Services
— Lynn Stewart of Henderson, Legislative Operations and Elections
— John Ellison of Elko, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining
— Michele Fiore of Las Vegas, Taxation
— Jim Wheeler of Minden, Transportation
Hansen will formally take over as speaker when the 2015 legislative session begins in February.
Republicans became the majority in the Assembly on Tuesday when voters turned out six Democratic incumbents and filled four empty seats previously held by Democrats with GOP candidates.
The pickup of 10 seats turned the 15-member GOP minority into a 25-member majority for the first time since 1985.
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.
