Maryland Senate president announces leadership appointments

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland's Senate president announced leadership appointments on Wednesday for two committees, as well as some changes in jurisdiction for the panels.

Sen. Melony Griffith, a Prince George's County Democrat, will chair the Senate Finance Committee, Senate President Bill Ferguson said. Griffith will replace retiring Sen. Delores Kelley, a Baltimore County Democrat.

In addition, Ferguson announced that Sen. Brian Feldman, a Montgomery County Democrat, will chair the Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment. Feldman will replace Paul Pinsky, who was appointed Tuesday to be the director of the Maryland Energy Administration in Gov.-elect Wes Moore's administration.

Also, the committee's name is being revised. It used to be known as the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee. But it has been renamed to reflect jurisdictional changes.

The change is being made to give the Finance Committee jurisdiction over all health occupations and alcoholic beverages legislation to ensure that the Senate is reviewing issues related to public health and business regulation comprehensively, the Senate president's office said.

Feldman's committee will handle all energy and utilities-related legislation to develop policies that reflect the intersection of energy and utilities policy with environment and climate change policies.