SANDPOINT – The co-chair of Idaho’s powerful budget-setting committee says she won’t run for re-election in 2018.

State Sen. Shawn Keough, a Republican from Sandpoint, told the Bonner County Daily Bee that she’s planning to retire after serving in the Idaho Legislature for more than 20 years. She is the longest serving female senator in the history of the state.

Keough is a co-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee – a key legislative panel that oversees how the state spends its tax dollars. She has been assigned to the committee since 2000, allowing her to have direct influence over the public schools budget and road-repair funding.

Keough said she announced her upcoming retirement now to allow voters as much time as possible to get to know the candidates running for her seat.