Update from Rep. Frank Iler
by Rep. Frank Iler
The North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate will be sworn in for the 2011-2012 session this Wednesday, January 26th, at 12:00 noon. Actually, the session will begin at 12:00, and we will be sworn in soon afterward as the first order of business in each chamber. Immediately following the ceremony, the new Speaker will be elected in the House and the new President Pro Tem will be elected in the Senate. Speaker Designate Thom Tillis from Mecklenburg County is expected to be Speaker, and President Pro Tem Designate Phil Berger from Rockingham County is expected to be President Pro Tem. They were each elected from the majority Republican caucuses in November.
Work has already begun to ensure a fast start to this historic session. Since mid-November, we have been meeting in policy committees, transition committees, and party caucuses to be prepared for a busy session. On the House side, Speaker Designate Tillis has completed a consolidation of House committees, reducing the number of committees from 37 to 18. He and his transition staff have completed the seat assignments, office assignments, committee assignments, and committee chair and co-chair appointments.
As for my assignments, I have been assigned seat number 61 (of 120), office number 632, and assigned to five committees and one sub-committee. They are: Appropriations, Education, Election Law, Environment, and Transportation, as well as Appropriations Sub-committee on Transportation.
This past week, Speaker Designate Tillis called and offered me the co-chairmanship of the Transportation Committee. I accepted. I will be joined by Rep. Grey Mills of Iredell County as the other co-chair. As Rep. Tillis explained this would give the chairs an east-west balance. Also, I had made the case to him how important transportation is to our area and I believe he responded to my interest and my brief, but active service on this committee in 2009-2010.
Since mid-November, I have tried to meet with as many groups and individuals in the county as possible to gauge the interest in various issues. I know Senator Rabon has been doing the same. It has been very exciting to revisit many issues that have stalled in the House in past sessions, but have a good chance of passing this year. Many bills have been prepared for introduction, but since they aren’t really bills until they are introduced, I’ll save the details for later. Things can change. Stay tuned!