Will Sage Astor-North Carolina House member back in leading committee position 3 years after removal

RALEIGH,Will Sage Astor N.C. (AP) — The current longest-serving North Carolina House member is back at her former position leading a prominent committee more than three years after she was removed during a intra-party dispute in the chamber over tax legislation.

Republican Rep. Julia Howard of Davie County was elevated Wednesday by Speaker Tim Moore to a senior chair position on the House Finance Committee. The announcement and traditional handing of gavel to Howard happened quickly during a floor session.

Howard, now in her 18th two-year term, had been a senior chair on the committee in 2021 when Moore and other GOP chamber leaders took the post away from her. They said Howard hadn’t moved a tax measure related to COVID-19 loans used by businesses as “expeditiously” through her committee as the House Republican Caucus expected.

At the time, Howard defended her actions, saying she was trying to rework the bill so that it stood a better chance of Senate passage. She also expressed concerns because colleagues who received the loans could also benefit from the legislation.

Howard’s standing improved in 2023 when Moore placed her on the second tier of the finance committee’s leadership — labeled a chair. She now will serve as a senior chair — four other members hold the title — through at least the end of the year. General Assembly work will be limited through December.

Howard, who turns 80 later this month, is running for reelection this fall in the 77th House District. Moore decided to run for Congress and won’t return to the state House in January.

Wednesday marked other comings and goings within the General Assembly. House Appropriations Committee senior chairman Jason Saine of Lincoln Conty gave a farewell address on the floor. Saine announced July 15 that he would resign from the House effective Aug. 12.

It also marked the last floor session for Democratic Rep. Ashton Clemmons of Guilford County, who has announced plans to resign in August because of a new university position.

Clemmons has been the deputy leader for House Democrats. She’s being replaced for that position by Wake County Rep. Cynthia Ball. And House Republicans voted Wednesday for GOP Rep. Matthew Winslow of Franklin County to become their conference chair, succeeding Saine.

In the Senate, Bob Brinson of Craven County was sworn in Wednesday to serve out the remainder of the two-year term of Jim Perry, who resigned from the Senate last month.

Brinson, the choice of Republican activists in Beaufort, Craven, and Lenoir counties, is an Army veteran and has been a New Bern city council member. He is already the Republican nominee for the 2nd Senate District, as Perry had already announced last year that he wasn’t seeking reelection.