LITTLE ROCK — Although Republicans narrowly won control of the House and the Senate on Election Day, Democrats will still have more votes in some key legislative committees and the ability to derail or propel some legislative proposals.

Holding majorities in both legislative chambers for the first time in 138 years, Republicans in the House and Senate took different tacks on which committees to lead in the 2013 session.

The partisan makeup of a legislative committee can determine when and if a bill receives a hearing, how legislation is amended and ifit has a chance to go before either chamber for a vote, University of Arkansas at Little Rock political-science professor Art English said.

“In our General Assembly, my sense is that the committees are kind of the workhorses of the Legislature,” English said. “On the floor itself there isn’t that much debate so it seems that the committees are very, very important. The things that are the most important do get aired there first.”

The 2013 legislative session starts Jan. 14. The House and Senate have held meetings to begin organizing for the session. In November, Republicans won a majority of seats in both chambers for the first time since the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.

In the House, Republicans hold 51 of 100 seats, Democrats hold 48 and there is one representative from the Green Party. Republicans have strong majorities in committees relating to taxes and governmental affairs, leaving Democrats with at least slim majorities in five committees, including those dealing with the budget, and public health and welfare.

In the Senate, where Republicans hold 21 seats and Democrats hold 14, Republicans hold a majority or an equal number of seats in all but one committee - the Rules, Resolutions and Memorials Select Committee - where Democrats have a three-person edge.

Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, compared committee selection to chess. She has been in the Legislature since 2000, when she was elected to the House.

“It was obvious that there was a lot of jockeying going on when committees were being made up,” Elliott said. “Each party had to make some determinations about the issues they thought were most important to them. The Republican Party has said they will have lots of tax bills, so it makes sense that they would make that move because you want to at least get it out of committee. There are issues ... as well, on the Democratic side. Those things are strategic and thought out.”

HOW IT’S DONE

The House and Senate have different rules on choosing which committees members serve on.

In the House, members divide into caucuses on the basis of which congressional district they live in and choose by seniority which standing committees to serve on.

The speaker appoints members to the joint committees: Legislative Joint Auditing and Arkansas Legislative Council, as well as to any other special committees.

House Speaker-designee Davy Carter, R-Cabot, said he will appoint committee chairmen and vice chairmen on the first day of the session. House spokesman Cecillea Pond-Mayo said Carter has to pick a committee chairman from the members of the committees.

House rules don’t specify that chairmen have to be from the majority party. And when Democrats were in control in the 2011 session, Republicans held chairmen positions in several committees, including Carter, who was chairman of the Revenue and Taxation Committee.

Carter said he hasn’t made a final decision on chairmen.

“There will be Democrats and Republicans chairing committees,” he said.

During committee selection in November, Republicans took a majority in the Revenue and Taxation Committee (15 of 20 seats) and State Agencies and Governmental Affairs (13 of 20 seats).

Committees with a majority of Democrats are: Insurance and Commerce (12 of 20 seats); Judiciary (13 of 20); Public Health, Welfare and Labor (11 of 20); and City, County and Local Affairs (11 of 20.)

The Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee has 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans.

The Public Transportation Committee has 10 Democrats, nine Republicans and one Green Party member.

Republicans hold a majority on the Education Committee (11 of 20 seats) and the Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee (10 of 20 seats.)

House Republican Leader Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs said the Republican Caucus targeted key committees.

“You’ve got four meetings going on at one time so it’s hard to communicate. We obviously wanted to get a majority on revenue and tax and state agencies,” Westerman said. “With the House as evenly split R’s and D’s, the committees came out about what you would expect.”

Westerman said he would have switched committees if he had known how many Republicans had selected the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

“In hindsight we don’t need 15 people on that committee,” he said. “I doubt the Democrats feel that they need 13 on Judiciary.”

House Democratic leader Greg Leding of Fayetteville said the Democratic Caucus wanted control of the Public Health and Insurance and Commerce committees because of potential changes to the state’s Medicaid program and the creation of the health exchanges required by the 2010 federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“If you control a committee and you can prevent a bill from getting to the full house, you obviously have some power,” he said. “Both sides, regardless of how small that advantage might be, if they can have that advantage,they want it. Both sides will be looking for every single little edge.”

Carter was chosen as House speaker-designee after committee membership was determined. House rules prohibit switching members from one committee to another after the initial caucus meeting.

Carter would not comment on whether he was pleased or disappointed by the committees’ makeup.

“They are what they are, and I don’t want to speculate,” he said. “They are fairly representative of the makeup of the parties and the membership.”

The Senate’s 35 members select committees on the basis of seniority as a group and without regard to party.

Only a member of the majority party can be chairman of the standing committees, according to Senate rules.

Senate members of the joint and select committees are chosen by seniority within their congressional districts.

In the Senate, committee chairmen have been selected. Democrats will be chairmen of six committees.

For the Rules Committee, Sen. David Burnett, D-Osceola; Efficiency Committee, Sen. David Wyatt, D-Batesville; Joint Public Retirement Committee, Sen. Robert Thompson, D-Paragould; Joint Energy Committee, Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock; Joint Children and Youth Committee, Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff; and Legislative Council, Sen. Paul Bookout, D-Jonesboro.

Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, said it’s important for the chamber to utilize lawmakers’ experience.

“The committees led by Democrats are led by senior Democrats. ... We have our senior members in the chairman’s role, it’s good for getting things done,” Lamoureux said.

The parties are equally divided on the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, the City County and Local Affairs Committee and the Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs Committee.

Republicans have at least a two-vote majority in the six other standing committees.

Lamoureux said the close margins will require cooperation, particularly in the Public Health Committee, which will review legislation about Medicaid and the federal healthcare law.

“Neither party can pass a bill out of that committee without at least a vote or two from the other party,” he said. “Hopefully most of the things that we do that are important will have a level of compromise to them.”

JOINT COMMITTEES

The parties are evenly divided in the Joint Budget Committee, which all appropriation bills must go through.

The House has 11 Republicans and 13 Democrats on the committee and the Senate has 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Senate members have elected Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, to be co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee. House members have not chosen their co-chairman.

House Democrats hold two more seats on the committee than do House Republicans, but the House speaker gets to appoint four ex-officiomembers. Carter said he has not picked those yet.

Leding said Democrats tried to “stack” the committee in their favor.

“We absolutely wanted to control Joint Budget if we could,” he said. “Some of the most important work we do is in Joint Budget, so you always want the numbers on your side.”

Westerman said Democrats got more seats on the committee because they have more members who have served multiple terms and have more seniority.

“There’s not a lot you can do about Budget because it is a desirable committee, and it goes more by seniority,” Westerman said.

According to a seniority list provided by House staff members, 15 Republicans are serving their third, and final, terms; and 10 Democrats are serving their final terms. Of members serving their final terms, seven Republicans and six Democrats chose to sit on the Budget Committee.

There are 23 Republican members and 13 Democratic members on the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, which is responsible for auditing each department, institution, board, commission, office and agency of the state government.

On the Arkansas Legislative Council, there are 22 Republicans and 14 Democrats. The council meets between sessions to collect data and information used during the session. It oversees the Bureau of Legislative Research and all interim committee meetings.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/02/2012