Pridemore to chair Senate committee

State Sen. Craig Pridemore, D-Vancouver, will be the chairman of the newly reorganized Senate Government Operations, Tribal Affairs and Elections Committee when the Legislature convenes Jan. 10 for a 105-day session.

The committee considers legislation on a wide range of issues, from land use and property rights to election law and the intersection of state and tribal jurisdictions. Pridemore, a former Clark County commissioner, said he expects open meetings law and government reform and accountability to be on the agenda this session.

“When something’s broken in Washington, this is the committee where you fix it,” he said. “We have a broad agenda, and I expect this committee to be very, very busy.”

Pridemore, who is midway through his second four-year term, will retain his seat on the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee and will also get a new assignment on the Health and Long-Term Care Committee.

“These committees are at the heart of the biggest issues we face in the workplace and in our households,” Pridemore said in a news release. “I feel privileged to have a voice in these key areas and look forward to doing everything I can to help Washingtonians weather this brutal recession.”

Pridemore, who was named 2006 Washington Conservation Voters Legislator of the Year, will relinquish his position on the Senate Environment, Water and Energy Committee.