JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Speaker of the House Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, appointed Rep. Joe Don McGaugh, R-Carrollton, as chair of the Civil and Criminal Proceedings Committee Thursday and Rep. Robert Cornejo, R-St. Peters, will now serve as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, will serve as the vice-chair of the Civil and Criminal Proceedings Committee.
“Very happy to announce that I have been appointed as Chairman of the House Committee on Civil and Criminal Proceedings by Speaker Richardson,” McGaugh said in a Facebook post. “I look forward to working with my fellow committee members and Chairman Cornejo of the Judiciary Committee.”
Cornejo was also enthusiastic about his ascension to become chair.
“I’m excited to move up in that position,” he said. “It handled a lot of bills last year, lots of things ranging from the death penalty to life without parole, use of deadly force, red-light cameras went through that committee.
“With the way session ended back in may I think some of those unresolved issues are going to come back through committee and I’m excited to tackle them.”
The two committees work together closely, and Cornejo said that his personal and professional relationship with McGaugh would allow the two to work together well.
