In what could be a first in the history of the Colorado Legislature, a member of the minority party was chosen vice chairman of a standing committee on Wednesday.
That happened when House Speaker Alec Garnett, a Denver Democrat, named Montrose Republican Rep. Marc Catlin as vice chairman of the House Agriculture, Livestock & Water Committee.
Traditionally, the chair and vice chair of most committees in both the Colorado House and Senate go to members of the majority party, in this case the Democrats. House speakers appoint members of their own party to committees, and decide who is chair and vice chair, while minority leaders do the same for their party members.