Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, has been named chairman of the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee, as that panel's chairman, Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, has left the Senate to be the new chief lobbyist for the University of Idaho. Corder is a fourth-term senator who currently chairs the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee; that post now will go to Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton.

Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill said, "As we enter this session, continuing Idaho's slow but stable recovery is paramount. Sen. Corder is a proven businessman who understands the need for a pro-growth approach to tax policy. I look forward to his continued leadership on the committee." Corder already served on the panel, as does Hill, who chaired it before he was elected president pro-tem.

Siddoway, a third term senator and a rancher, is a past president of the Idaho Wool Growers Association. In a news release, the Senate GOP leadership called Siddoway a "natural fit" for the ag chairmanship.