House lawmakers convened Wednesday to select their committee and seat assignments for the upcoming 93rd General Assembly, as members-elect raced quickly to snatch up coveted spots on committees controlling education and public health policy, as well as congressional redistricting.
Republicans, who are set to have a 78-seat super-majority in the 100-member House, kept control over all the chamber's standing committees, which are charged with reviewing and approving legislation before it can reach the House floor.
For the first time since 2017, the process of divvying up those committee seats was controlled by the members, who selected their assignments based on seniority.
Two years ago, House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, controlled the committee selection process, a change made in response to a short-lived effort by Democrats to use their members' seniority to gain a majority on the Revenue and Taxation Committee, despite their minority status.
After one cycle under the speaker-controlled system, however, the House voted last year to revert to the old system, while leaving the House speaker the power to make adjustments to ensure that committees are controlled by the majority party.
On Wednesday, that process played out with the senior-most Democrats and Republicans alike rushing to fill spots on the House Education and Public Health, Welfare and Labor committees.
"Public Health and Education are always the first committees to fill up, that's normal," said state Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro, the incumbent chairman of the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.
Ladyman also said a number of issues, such as seeking a new federal waiver for the state's "private option" Medicaid expansion program and the future of some emergency measures taken in response to the covid-19 pandemic, seem to have drawn lawmakers to the committee.
"I think that the pandemic has generated a lot of interest from lawmakers into what we can do to improve the health system in Arkansas," Ladyman said.
Republicans controlled 17 of the 20 seats on the Education Committee and 16 of 20 on the Public Health committee, based on Wednesday's selections.
Republicans also moved quickly to grab 18 of the 20 spots on the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, which will have oversight of the once-a-decade process of drawing new lines for the state's congressional districts.
Shepherd said the interest in those committees did not necessarily reflect what lawmaker's priorities would be once the session begins.
"Over the time that I've been here, there's always been different committees from one session to another that it seems like maybe the members move toward in the selection process," Shepherd said. "That has not necessarily translated into meaning that those committees end up with ... the most work, or even being the most contentious."
The chairmen of each committee will be selected by Shepherd, who said Wednesday he will make those decisions closer to the start of the regular legislative session on Jan. 11.
All but one of the incumbent chairmen returned to their committees Wednesday. The exception was the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, whose chairman, Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, who did not run for re-election this year.
House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough, D-Little Rock, noted that Democrats had been able to secure nine seats -- just shy of a majority -- on the Judiciary and Insurance and Commerce committees.
Those committees are influential in a number of policy areas championed by Democrats, such as advancing renters' rights and criminal justice legislation as well as opposing the loosening of restrictions on gun ownership.
"You're hearing a lot of the social justice reform, police reform, the juvenile [justice] reform and everything, I think something that that's Democrats are really interested in and want to be a part of," McCullough said. "We've got some opportunities to get in there and have some influence."
The organizational meeting was delayed by nearly a month because of a pair of contested races that left the makeup of the House unclear in the days immediately after the Nov. 3 election.
One of those races, in west Little Rock's House District 32, is in the midst of an ongoing legal challenge by state Rep. Jim Sorvillo, R-Little Rock, who lost to Democrat Ashley Hudson by a margin of 24 votes.
Hudson participated in Wednesday's session, drawing seniority rank No. 92 and picking slots on the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Aging, Children, Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs.
Another incoming freshman lawmaker, Republican Tony Furman of Benton, received a round of applause Wednesday after drawing seniority rank No. 100 from a cup, earning him the distinction of being the lowest-ranking lawmaker for the upcoming session, and the last to pick committee assignments.
With his lot, Furman was left to pick the final slots on the Public Transportation Committee and the Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs.
Lawmakers also picked their floor seats during Wednesday's organizational session.
As a result of the precautions taken because of the pandemic, each seat and desk was surrounded by plexiglass barriers, and lawmakers were reminded to remain in their seats once they had picked, so as to avoid the typical mingling around the chamber that occurs during floor sessions.