LANSING – Chairs of some of the more prominent committees in the House, including the Regulatory Reform and Commerce committees, will not be returning next term and replacements are unclear as the Committee on Committees works to make recommendations to House Speaker-elect Kevin Cotter.

Rep. Al Pscholka (R-Stevensville) has already been named chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Current chair Rep. Joe Haveman (R-Holland) is term limited and will not be returning to the House.

Rep. Frank Foster (R-Petoskey), who currently leads the Commerce Committee, will not be returning to the Legislature after losing his primary in August, and the vice chair of that committee, Rep. Dale Zorn (R-Ida), will be serving in the Senate.

Rep. Hugh Crawford (R-Novi), who chairs the Regulatory Reform Committee, is term limited and will not be returning. Rep. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) is the vice chair of that committee.

Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant) said it is important to him that committee members, including chairs, are not just interested in a particular committee, but passionate about the subject.

“From my experience, it’s human nature: You’re going to dig deeper if you have a passion,” he said.

Rep. Bruce Rendon (R-Lake City) is leading the Committee on Committees and will make recommendations to Mr. Cotter. He said the committee will get started next week and put together a time frame on when it will get recommendations to Cotter.

“We want to hit the ground running,” Rendon said. “That is the will of Representative Cotter, speaker-elect, and we will fulfill that.”

He said questionnaires have gone out to members and the committee is treating everyone the same, even current committee chairs.

“We will take everybody under consideration,” he said. “We have a very talented group in this caucus, not just the existing members.”

The House Energy and Technology Committee is also a big lift, and current chair Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton) will serve as majority floor leader next term, so it is unclear if he will continue the post. Nesbitt could not be reached for comment.

The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake), will be serving in the Senate next term. Shirkey also chairs the recently-created Michigan Competitiveness Committee, and it is unclear if that committee will remain intact.

For key Appropriations Subcommittees, Rep. Matt Lori (R-Constantine) is leaving he House and will no longer chair the Community Health Subcommittee; Rep. Greg MacMaster (R-Kewadin) will no longer be in the House to chair the Corrections Subcommittee; Rep. Peter MacGregor (R-Cannon Township) will no longer chair the Human Services Committee, as he will be in the Senate; and Rep. Bill Rogers (R-Brighton) is term limited and will no longer chair the K-12 School Aid Subcommittee.

And three of the four Republicans on the Higher Education Subcommittee will likely no longer serve on the committee. Pscholka, the current chair, will be working as the Appropriations chair; Rep. John Walsh (R-Livonia), the vice chair, is term-limited; and MacGregor will be in the Senate. Rep. Rob VerHeulen will be the only remaining Republican who is currently on the committee.

Rep. Kevin Daley (R-Lum) and Rep. Cindy Denby (R-Handy Township), the chair and vice chair of the Agriculture Committee, will not be returning to the House next term.

On the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Cotter will likely no longer chair the committee because of his responsibilities as speaker. Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township), a former assistant prosecuting attorney in Wayne County, is the vice chair.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will also be losing its chair, as Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) will no longer be in the House. Rep. Ben Glardon (R-Owosso) is the vice chair.

It is unclear if Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto) will continue to chair the House Education Committee. She could not be reached Wednesday, but all expectations are she will pursue other interests next term. It was well-known that chairing Education this term was not her preference, but she did so at the behest of others.

Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R-Coldwater) is term limited and will not be returning to chair the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee. Rep. Thomas Hooker (R-Byron Center) is the vice chair and would make sense as a successor given his interest in the issues that usually fall to that committee.

Rep. Gail Haines (R-Lake Angelus) is also exiting the House and will no longer lead the Health Policy Committee. The committee has some of the most complex issues before it and will surely be heavily sought-after. The vice chair is Rep. Mike Callton (R-Nashville), but his chances of ascending to the chair’s post are unclear.

Rep. Jeff Farrington (R-Utica), chair of the House Tax Policy Committee, returns to the House next term. He initially was a supporter of Pscholka for House Republican leader, but switched late to Cotter. It’s unclear how those dynamics will affect, if at all, his chances of continuing as Tax Policy chair, one of the most plumb posts.

Rep. Pete Lund (R-Shelby Township) is term limited and will no longer chair the Government Operations and Insurance committees.

The Oversight Committee will also lose its chair, with Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills), who is term limited. Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township) is the vice chair.

It is unclear if the Tourism Committee, which Rep. Peter Pettalia (R-Presque Isle) chairs, will remain a committee. The Financial Liability Reform Committee may remain, though, since Cotter has said unfunded liabilities are an issue he would like to tackle. Rep. Earl Poleski (R-Jackson) chairs that committee.

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