New Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes has named Rep. Dean Sanpei (R-Provo) as the new House chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee.
Hughes made the announcement in an email sent to House members Wednesday morning.
Sanpei replaces Rep. Mel Brown (R-Coalville) who challenged Hughes for the speakership after the 2014 election. Sanpei was the Chair of the House Rules Committee during the last session.
Rep. Brad Dee (R-Ogden) is the new Vice Chair of Executive Appropriations. The appointment is a consolation prize for Dee, who also challenged Hughes for the Speaker's chair this year. He takes over for Rep. Brad Wilson (R-Kaysville) who won the election for Assistant Majority Whip.
In one other appointment, Rep. Mike Noel (R-Kanab) was named Chair of the House Rules Committee. He takes over for Sanpei.
Hughes says the rest of the House committee appointments will be made on Thursday.
Sources tell UtahPolicy.com that Hughes is going to make a bit of history by appointing freshman Rep. Mike Schultz (R-Hooper) to the House Rules Committee. It's the first time a freshman legislator from the majority party has been named to such a high-profile committee assignment.
