(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin on Wednesday announced the appointment of Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling as chairman of the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
“I am honored to be selected to chair this highly important committee,” said Houghtaling (D-Monmouth). “Food and agriculture are New Jersey’s third largest industry, and preserving farmland and open space remain essential to maintaining our quality of life in the Garden State. I’m pleased to take on a leadership role in tackling these issues.”
Houghtaling replaces former Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak (D-Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland), who was appointed to the state Senate on Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew earlier this month. Houghtaling will be the first chair of the Agriculture Committee from Monmouth County since its inception in 1998. He previously served as vice-chair.
“Assemblyman Houghtaling has been a dedicated member of the Agriculture Committee over the past year in his role as vice-chair,” said Speaker Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “He has a firm grasp of the related issues facing the state and his home district, and I have no doubt he will continue serving New Jersey residents well in his new role.”
Houghtaling has served in the Assembly since 2016. In addition to the Agriculture Committee, he sits on the Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee as vice-chair and the Labor and Telecommunications and Utilities Committees as a member.
Houghtaling will chair his first Agriculture Committee hearing on January 24.