MONTGOMERY — A pair of North Alabama legislators have been selected to serve as committee chairs in the State Legislature, Speaker Nominee Nathaniel Ledbetter announced today.
State Rep. Randall Shedd was named to head the Transportation, Utilities, and Infrastructure Committee; and State Rep. Danny Crawford will chair the Agriculture and Forestry Committee.
The posts are contingent on Ledbetter’s election to lead the body during an organizational session in January. Because Republicans hold a 77-member supermajority in the Alabama House, Ledbetter’s selection as the GOP Speaker is considered by many to be tantamount to election.
Other lawmakers named today by Ledbetter were State Rep. Jim Carns (R-Vestavia Hills) as chair of the Commerce and Small Business Committee; State Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) as chair of the Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee; and State Rep. Reed Ingram (R-Montgomery) as chair of the County and Municipal Government Committee .
“From rural to urban areas, from employers to employees, and from tradesmen to consumers, the collective decisions made by these committees affect every Alabamian in some manner,” Ledbetter said. “All of these individuals have my full faith and confidence, and I am certain they will always work on behalf of the citizens each of us seek to serve.”
Prior to his election to the Alabama House in 2013, Shedd served as chairman of the Cullman County Commission and as mayor of Fairview, Alabama. He was also employed as the director of the Cullman County Commission on Aging and has been a strong advocate for senior citizens and their needs as a member of the House. Shedd previously chaired the House Urban and Rural Development Committee and was vice chair of the House Children and Senior Advocacy Committee.
Crawford chaired the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee in the previous quadrennium and will also keep his assignment. Elected to the Alabama House in a 2016 special election, Crawford previously served on the Athens City Council from 1993 to 2005. He was employed with the Farm Service Agency for 33 years and was appointed state director by President George W. Bush in 2001.
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