Coughlin creates two new Assembly committees

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin has created two new committees, splitting the Health and Senior Services and the Housing and Community Development panels.

Herbert Conaway, Jr. (D-Delran) will chair the Assembly Health Committee and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood) will lead the Assembly Senior Services Committee.  Conaway had previously chaired the combined committees.

Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), who had chaired the Housing and Community Development Committee, will lead the Housing Committee.  Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson), who was dropped as Assembly Majority Conference Leader, the number four spot on the Democratic leadership team, gets the chair the Community Development Committee as a consolation prize.

Majority Whip Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City) is the new Judiciary Committee chairman.  He replaces Annette Quijano (D-Elizabeth), who succeeded Sumter as Majority Conference Leader.

Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City) take over the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, which had previously been held by Vainieri Huttle.