In appointments that political observers say is unusual, Senate President Warren Petersen gave a committee chair to a freshman while not appointing two seasoned lawmakers to lead committees. 

Senators-elect Tim Dunn, R-Yuma, and Vince Leach, R-Tucson,  will only have vice chair positions on committees. 

Leach, who is set to return to the Senate after he lost to Tucson Sen. Justine Wadsack in the 2022 primary election, began serving in the House in 2015 and in the Senate in 2019, but he did not chair any committees in his first two terms as a senator. 

Still, he said he’s pleased with his appointments. 

“Looking forward to a very productive term,” he said in a text message. 

Dunn has served in the House since 2018 and is moving to the Senate. He was the chairman of the House Government Committee in the previous two legislative sessions. 

Lobbyist Barry Aarons said he was surprised to see Dunn not be assigned a committee chairmanship. He thought the Committee on Natural Resources might be a good spot for Dunn because of his work on water policy throughout his tenure in the House.

Petersen instead appointed Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, as chair of the Natural Resources Committee and Dunn as its vice chair, which Aarons spoke highly of. 

“Shope knows those issues and he’s a rural legislator,” Aarons said. “Tim Dunn is very much like T.J. Shope. They’re both fair, reasonable guys.”

Shope was previously the chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, but he said he looks forward to leading the Natural Resources Committee after serving on House and Senate versions of it for 10 of the last 12 years he’s been at the Legislature. 

Shope said a priority he will address in the upcoming legislative session is an “Ag-to-Urban Conservation Program,” which would allow developers to build within an active management area using groundwater from agricultural land.

During the recent legislative session, Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed SB1172 and wrote in her veto letter that Shope’s “Ag-to-Urban” proposal was too broad and she didn’t think the program should be universally adopted to all the state’s active management areas. 

“The Ag-to-Urban Conservation Program would have allowed (agriculture and homebuilding) to work together to increase housing supply while conserving water, but Gov. Hobbs elected to stand in the way,” Shope said in a statement after being named chair of the Natural Resources Committee. 

Petersen also appointed Carnie Werner as chair of the Committee on Health and Human Services. Werner will be serving her first term in the Legislature, and Aarons said it is unusual to see a freshman lawmaker get a committee chairmanship, but he thought she would do well in the role. 

“It’s unusual, but I know this president and his campaign really put a lot of effort into Werner’s district,” Aarons said.

Petersen also combined the Senate Judiciary and Elections committees, while splitting up public safety from the Military and Border committee. 

The full Senate committee list is as follows:

• Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills.
• Committee on Education, chaired by Sen. David Farnsworth, R- Mesa.
• Committee on Finance, chaired by Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler.
• Committee on Health & Human Services, chaired by Werner.
• Committee on Military & Border, chaired by Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista.
• Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Shope.
• Committee on Federalism, chaired by Mark Finchem, R-Prescott
• Committee on Judiciary & Elections, chaired by Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff.
• Committee on Government, chaired by Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek.
• Committee on Public Safety, chaired by Rep. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria (Payne is moving to the Senate from the House). 
• Committee on Regulatory Affairs, chaired by Sen.  Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix.

Democratic consultant Gaelle Esposito said she was disappointed to see the return of the federalism committee and having Rogers now be the chair of both elections and judiciary bills. She said the committee has typically been about “non-elections-related and conspiracy theories and pointless postcards to the U.S. government.”

“I look forward to another couple of legislative sessions where every week, I have to hear the most dehumanizing s*** about people like me,” Esposito, a trans woman, said. 

There will be no Senate Commerce Committee nor a Senate Transportation Committee, which have long been standing committees. 

A Senate news release noted transportation-related measures will likely be heard in the Appropriations or Public Safety Committees, while commerce-related bills will likely go through the Regulatory Affairs Committee. 

House Speaker-elect Steve Montenegro also announced his committee chairmanships on Nov. 18. 

Montenegro has also added some committees from last session’s standing House committees. The House will now have Representative-elect Tony Rivero chairing the International Trade Committee and Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, R-Peoria, will chair the Science and Technology Committee. 

Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley, will be the new House Speaker Pro Tempore, previously filled by Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, who is termed out of the House.

“Neal is a principled conservative leader who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a deep respect for the legislative process,” Montenegro said in a news release. “His thoughtful approach and dedication to public service make him a valuable partner in guiding the House and a great addition to an already stellar team.”

The House’s full standing committee list is as follows:

• Appropriations, chaired by Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria.
• Commerce, chaired by Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler.
• Education, chaired by Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix.
• Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections, chaired by Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman.
• Government, chaired by Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake.
• Health & Human Services, chaired by Rep. Selina Bliss, R-Prescott.
• International Trade, chaired by Rep. Tony Rivero, R-Poeria..
• Judiciary, chaired by Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley.
• Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs, chaired by Rep. Lupe Diaz, R-Benson.
• Natural Resources, Energy & Water, chaired by Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford.
• Public Safety & Law Enforcement, chaired by Rep. David Marshall, R-Snowflake.
• Rules, chaired by Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert.
• Transportation & Infrastructure, chaired by Rep. Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu City.
• Science and Technology, chaired by Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, R-Peoria.
• Ways & Means, chaired by Justin Olson, R-Mesa. 

Republican consultant Barrett Marson noted several Freedom Caucus members of the House were not appointed as committee chairs.

“Much of the Freedom Caucus is now in the Find Out phase of the FAFO after mostly being shut out of committee chairmanships. I guess repeatedly chastising @SteveMontenegro AFTER he got the caucus nod wasn’t an effective strategy,” Marson wrote in a Nov. 18 X post.