MONTGOMERY — Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon has sworn Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, in as a new member of the Alabama House. Lovvorn is set to begin his first partial term as Auburn's representative in the State House.
Lovvorn's wife held his personal bible as he recited the oath of office in front of the other members of the Alabama House. Lovvorn was also joined on the floor by his two children and several friends, including Auburn Planning Commissioner Charles Pick, who was his campaign manager.
"It's an honor for me to be here today," Lovvorn said. "[God] gave me a path to follow each day that created a light for me to be able to serve my community and my state in many ways."
The House of Representatives and Senate convened Tuesday for the start of the 2017 Regular Session. The House and Senate passed the necessary resolutions to formally convene the session. After another swearing in and moments of silence to honor legislators who have passed recently, the House adjourned until the State of the State set for Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.
During the upcoming session, Lovvorn will sit on the House Education Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for allocating about $6 billion in funding to Alabama's public K-12 schools, two-year and four-year public universities.
Lovvorn was elected in September in a special election for House District 79, which includes Auburn and portions of Opelika. Lovvorn replaced former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who was removed from office in June after being convicted of 12 felonies.
With his district including Auburn University, Lovvorn has said since the election that he would ask to be on the education budget committee in the House. With the speaker's appointment, Lovvorn will now get to help write the state's education budgets, including whether to give a 20 percent funding increase to the State's pre-K program.
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