House majority reorganizes -- again

ANCHORAGE -- The House Majority met Friday to reorganize and confirm leadership positions for the upcoming 24th Legislature.

Twenty-five members of the majority caucus participated in yesterday's meeting. Rep.-elect Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Kodiak, who is out of the country, and Rep. Pete Kott, R-Eagle River, did not participate.

Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, said he attended via teleconference from an education conference in New Orleans, La. While the reorganization resulted in changes in committee assignments for some of the representatives involved in a so-called coup attempt that happened Nov. 13, Gatto said more changes may be ahead. Because Kott did not attend the meeting, his chairmanship of the Legislative Council Committee is still up in the air, Gatto said -- and it's a seat from which Kott could be removed, if that's what Republican party leaders choose.

"It's over, but it's not," Gatto said, adding that committee organizations won't truly be final until the Legislature is sworn in Jan. 10.

Primary leadership positions remained the same, with Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, set to serve as House Speaker. Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, will maintain his role as majority leader; Rep. Norm Rokeberg, R-Anchorage, will continue to chair the House Rules Committee and Rep. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, will continue chairing the House Judiciary Committee and was elevated to a leadership position.

Notable changes to committee chairmanships were Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, R-Juneau, who was named chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom, R-Anchorage/Eagle River, who will serve as chair of the House Special Committee on Economic Development, Trade and Tourism.

Rep. Vic Kohring, R-Wasilla, is set to chair the House Committee on Oil and Gas, a position Dahlstrom held before joining the reorganization attempt. Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, kept his position as a member of the House Finance Committee, but lost his chairmanship of the House Special Committee on Ways and Means.

Kohring, in a press release issued Sunday, said he's looking forward to a second term as the Oil and Gas Committee's chairman.

"The committee worked very hard the last two years and I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead in terms of Alaska's future oil and gas potential," Kohring said. "We were able to pass key legislation in the 23rd Legislature that will help spur further oil and gas development in Alaska, such as the Stranded Gas Act and drilling incentives."

Kohring said natural gas pipeline construction will be the focus of the committee. Kohring also chairs the special committees on Transportation and Economic Development, Trade and Tourism.

Newly elected Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Big Lake, was selected as the chair for the House Special Committee on Education and Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, was selected as the co-chair of the House Transportation Committee and vice-chair of the Special Committee on Education. Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Butte/Chugiak, is the vice chair of the House Finance Committee.

In the Senate, which organized earlier this month, Sen. Lyda Green, R-Mat-Su, retained her position as co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee and newly appointed Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Rural Mat-Su/Chugiak, was selected to chair the Senate Transportation Committee.

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.