Republican leaders in the state Senate have kept a couple of lawmakers in key committee positions. Two Republican lawyers retained the two top committee posts in the Senate. Senator Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny will continue as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee,. Lamberti has held the position the past two years, and that experience may help as legislators struggle to deal with a tight state budget. Senator Larry McKibben of Marshalltown continues as chairman of the Senate Ways and Means “tax-writing” Committee. And Senator Mary Lundby of Marion will lead the new Government Oversight Committee that’s an outgrowth of another panel that’s been meeting the past few years, reviewing everything from an athletic transcript controversy at the Community College in Fort Dodge to audits of government agencies.
