New committee leaders in legislature

Changes are coming to S.C. House and state Senate committees thanks to November’s elections.

The most notable change is state Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Horry, taking over as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rankin succeeds Larry Martin, R-Martin, who lost his primary bid for re-election.

Rankin’s move to Judiciary chairman clears the way for state Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Berkeley, to succeed the Horry Republican as chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

Other new chairs of Senate committees for the session that starts in January will be:

▪  Banking and Insurance Committee – Ronnie Cromer, R-Newberry

▪  Invitations Committee – Davis, R-Beaufort

▪  Corrections and Penology Committee – Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg

▪  Rules Committee – Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield

In the S.C. House, state Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, succeeds former state Rep. Kenny Bingham, who did not seek re-election, as the chairman of the House Ethics Committee.

This story was originally published December 10, 2016 at 9:22 PM with the headline "New committee leaders in legislature."