First District State Senator Jason Howell will chair the Senate Agriculture Committee when legislators begin the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly in January.
Senate President Robert Stivers and Senate leadership announced the committee assignments earlier this month. Senator Howell will take over for longtime Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Paul Hornback, who did not seek re-election to the Senate.
Howell is currently serving as vice chair of both the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee since January 2021 and vice chair of the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee since May 2021. Howell has been co-chair of Capital Projects, having served in that capacity since July 2022. He has also been the co-chair of the County Clerk Office Modernization Task Force during the 2021 Interim and the Benefits Cliff Task Force during the 2022 Interim.
Senator Howell says Agriculture is part of the very fabric of Kentucky and I am excited to create policy to protect the backbone of the Commonwealth. He adds having grown up in a farming family, he understands both the needs of our farmers and the importance of our agricultural industry to the Kentucky economy. Senator Howell says he looks forward to having the opportunity to craft policy to address the future needs of agriculture producers, supporting businesses, and our rural communities.
Howell has also been named to the Banking & Insurance, Economic Development, Tourism & Labor, Licensing & Occupations Committees, and the Capital Projects and Bond Oversight as well as the Legislative Oversight & Investigations Statutory Committees.
Standing committee assignments are not final until the Senate Committee on Committees makes a formal vote. The Committee on Committees membership comprises both Senate majority and minority caucus members. Committee appointments are subject to change.
Senator Howell represents Trigg, Lyon, Calloway, Graves, Hickman, Fulton, and Crittenden Counties in Western Kentucky.