Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee holds organizational meeting, introduces two bills

Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee members met for an organizational session in which senators introduced themselves, committee staff identified roles, the chair outlined committee rules, and two bills were introduced without objection.

The committee’s chair, Senator Virgil Peck, opened the meeting by asking members to state their names, districts and backgrounds and by directing members to the committee rules, saying, “I will direct your attention, committee, to the rules that you should have in front of you.” Peck said he expects members to address colleagues and staff by title rather than first name, adding, “I expect you committee members to address conferees each other and staff by title not by first name.”

Why it matters: organizational meetings set procedures and staff relationships that affect how legislation is heard and debated. Committee…