Incoming state House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, named his leadership team as he gets ready to take the gavel in Tallahassee.
Sprowls tapped state Rep. Bryan Avilla, R-Miami Springs, to serve as his speaker pro tempore, praising him as a “person who exudes the very best of service and duty that Florida has to offer.”
“I have no doubt that his leadership experience and devotion to his state and country will serve him and this body well in the coming term,” Sprowls noted of Avilla.
State Rep. Mike Grant, R-Port Charlotte, will serve as House majority leader.
Sprowls tapped State Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, for two high profile assignments. Leek will head up the Pandemics and Public Emergencies Committee. He will also lead the House’s redistricting efforts as the chamber gets ready to draw new legislative and congressional maps for 2022.
Sprowls also named the following committee chairs:
- Appropriations: State Rep. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City
- Commerce: State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill
- Education and Employment: State Rep. Chris Latvala, R-Clearwater
- Health and Human Services: State Rep. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland
- Judiciary: State Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami
- Public Integrity and Elections: State Rep. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach
- Rules: State Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast
- State Affairs: State Rep. Ralph Massuilo, R-Lecanto
- Ways and Means: State Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka
“I want to thank Speaker-Designate Sprowls for his faith in me, and I am looking forward to working with him in this position,” said Trumbull on Thursday. “Florida is facing challenges, but I am confident that if we continue to govern with the same conservative principles that have served us well in the past, we will have more than enough to fund education, healthcare, and our public safety while also protecting the taxpayers and consumers that elected us.”
Trumbull received the praise of state CFO Jimmy Patronis, a fellow Bay County Republican.
“I’ve known Jay Trumbull his whole life; he is one of the hardest-working people I know both in business and in his public service positions. He’s a fighter for Florida’s families and always puts them first. He will also be an incredible protector of Florida’s taxpayer money, and that’s exactly what we need as our economy continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” Patronis said on Thursday.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
