Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Reps. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) and Trey Rhodes (R-Greensboro) will join Rep. Terry Rogers (R-Clarkesville) on the House floor leader team, while Senators P. K. Martin IV (R-Lawrenceville) and Larry Walker III (R-Kathleen) will team up with Sen. Butch Miller (R-Gainesville) to carry the governor's bills in the Senate.

Chuck Efstration
Efstration was elected in December 2013 and represents House District 104. He was appointed by Deal to serve as a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission and the Criminal Justice Reform Council in 2016. Efstration is a former Gwinnett County assistant district attorney. He is a past president of the Gwinnett Republican Party and the Gwinnett Bar Association. Efstration is an active member of the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree from Mercer Law School. He and his wife, Ashley, reside in Dacula. 

Trey Rhodes
Rhodes was elected in February 2015 and represents House District 120. He is a financial planner with Piedmont Financial Partners and previously operated an Edward Jones Financial office in Greensboro for more than five years. Rhodes is a former member of the Greensboro City Council and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. Rhodes and his wife, Summer, have three children and live in Greensboro.

P. K. Martin IV
Martin was elected in November 2014 and represents Senate District 9. He is the vice chairman of the Higher Education and the State and Local Governmental Operations committees, secretary of the Insurance and Labor Committee and a member of the Senate Transportation Committee. Martin is an insurance agent at Hood Insurance Agency in Lawrenceville. He sits on the board of Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia and is a member of the Lawrenceville Rotary Club. Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He and his wife, Amanda, have two children and reside in Lawrenceville. 

Larry Walker III
Walker was elected in December 2015 and represents Senate District 20. He is a member of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Labor, State Institution and Properties and Veterans, Military and Homeland Security committees. Walker also serves on the joint House and Senate Agricultural Exposition Authority Overview Committee. He founded Walker Insurance Agency in 1996 and was a staff accountant for the Coca Cola Co. Walker previously sat on the Museum of Aviation Foundation board and the ComSouth advisory board. He is a former chairman of the Perry Downtown Development Authority, a former vice chairman of the Houston County Development Authority and a past president of the Perry Rotary Club. Walker earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. He and his wife, Adrienne, have three children and live in Kathleen. 

Also, the House Committee on Assignments, chaired by Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), has announced committee assignments for the 2017-2018 term. 

“I am delighted to have so many talented members who are becoming chairmen this session in addition to the many new members who have joined us and brought their unique talents to the House,” said Speaker Ralston. “I appreciate the hard work of the members of the Committee on Assignments and the careful scrutiny they applied in making these important selections.”  

Committee chairmen for the legislative term are as follows:

·         Agriculture & Consumer Affairs – Rep. Tom McCall

·         Appropriations – Rep. Terry England

·         Banks & Banking – Rep. Greg Morris

·         Budget & Fiscal Affairs Oversight – Rep. Chuck Martin

·         Code Revision – Rep. Buzz Brockway

·         Defense & Veterans Affairs – Rep. Bill Hitchens

·         Economic Development & Tourism – Rep. Ron Stephens

·         Education – Rep. Brooks Coleman

·         Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications – Rep. Don Parsons

·         Ethics – Rep. Randy Nix

·         Game, Fish & Parks – Rep. David Knight

·         Governmental Affairs – Rep. Ed Rynders

·         Health & Human Services – Rep. Sharon Cooper

·         Higher Education – Rep. Rick Jasperse

·         Human Relations & Aging – Rep. Tommy Benton

·         Industry & Labor – Rep. Brian Strickland

·         Information & Audits – Rep. Darlene Taylor

·         Insurance – Rep. Richard Smith

·         Interstate Cooperation – Rep. Matt Dollar

·         Intragovernmental Coordination – Rep. Jan Tankersley

·         Judiciary – Rep. Wendell Willard

·         Judiciary (Non-Civil) – Rep. Rich Golick

·         Juvenile Justice – Rep. Mandi Ballinger

·         Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment – Rep. Johnnie Caldwell

·         MARTOC – Rep. Tom Taylor

·         Motor Vehicles – Rep. Bubber Epps

·         Natural Resources & Environment – Rep. Lynn Smith

·         Public Safety & Homeland Security – Rep. Alan Powell

·         Regulated Industries – Rep. Howard Maxwell

·         Retirement – Rep. Paul Battles

·         Rules – Rep. John Meadows

·         Science & Technology – Rep. Ed Setzler

·         Small Business Development – Rep. Chad Nimmer

·         Special Rules – Rep. Buddy Harden

·         State Planning & Community Affairs – Rep. Jimmy Pruett

·         State Properties – Rep. Gerald Greene

·         Transportation – Rep. Kevin Tanner

·         Ways & Means – Rep. Jay Powell

Chairmen of the subcommittees of Appropriations are as follows:

·         Economic Development – Rep. Penny Houston

·         Education – Rep. Robert Dickey

·         General Government – Rep. Amy Carter

·         Health – Rep. Butch Parrish

·         Higher Education – Rep. Earl Ehrhart

·         Human Resources – Rep. Katie Dempsey

·         Public Safety – Rep. Andy Welch

·         Transportation & Infrastructure – Rep. Jason Shaw

The Committee on Assignments also appointed members of two working groups of the House. Working groups differ from standing committees in that they are term-limited and will expire at the end of this legislative session. These working groups have been tasked with working on legislation relating to military affairs and medical cannabis, respectively.  The chairmen of these two working groups are as follows:

·         Medical Cannabis – Rep. Allen Peake

·         Military Affairs – Rep. Dave Belton