State Senator Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) recently was appointed to serve as Chairman of the new Fiscal Responsibility & Economic Development Committee in the Alabama State Senate. He was also tapped for another leadership role as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The two committees combined handle nearly half of all the legislation in the Senate.
Senator Williams represents District 10 in the Alabama State Senate, which is comprised of all or parts of Etowah, Cherokee, St. Clair, and DeKalb counties.
“The Fiscal Responsibility Committee has one of the most important tasks in the legislature – to protect taxpayers,” said Williams. “Government should live within its means, like every family has to. The membership roll of the committee is one of the largest in the Senate with 15 members, and as chairman, I will continue to find ways to right-size state government and be more efficient stewards of the public trust.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee handles an especially diverse workload, with pending legislation ranging from child custody law to prison reform to bills proposing modernization of language in specific articles of the Alabama Constitution.
“Because the legislature writes all laws, it is helpful to have a Judiciary Committee that understands the impact of bills on every Alabamian, from law enforcement to constitutional issues,” said Williams. “Both Chairman Ward and I are attorneys, so we will work to ensure individual rights are protected as bills come through the committee.”
In addition to his work on the Fiscal Responsibility and Judicial committees, Williams has been tapped by Lt. Governor Kay Ivey to serve on a Joint Legislative Prison Committee and the Joint Legislative Transportation Committee, among others. He was also appointed by the Senate Pro Tem to the powerful Senate Rules Committee that determines which legislation comes to the floor for a vote.
“Senator Williams is among the most respectable people I know,” said Ivey. “He is dedicated to service to his constituents, his family, and his country. I am confident he will be an asset to these legislative committees and I look forward to continuing to work with him.”