U.S. Senate candidate Roger Williams will have some big names on his finance committee: He signed up Drayton McLane, Don Powell and Dee Kelly Jr. for the effort. McLane is owner of the Houston Astros and the McLane Group; Powell is an Amarillo banker and former chairman of the FDIC, and Kelly is a Fort Worth lawyer.

Nina Perales is now the director of litigation for MALDEF, where she's been an attorney working on civil rights, redistricting and other issues. David Hinojosa is the organization's new southwest regional counsel.

Nelson Salinas joins the Texas Association of Business as a lobbyist on education issues. He'd been with former Rep. Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, D-Alice.

Kris Heckmann and Justin Keener opened a lobby and public affairs shop they're calling Granite Public Affairs. Heckmann worked for Gov. Rick Perry; Keener was most recently with the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, declared personal bankruptcy, according to the Associated Press. He told the wire service the economy sunk H&H Meat Products Co. and his personal finances along with it.

Texas House Democrats elected Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston as their leader and Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth as caucus chair. Reps. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, and Hubert Vo, D-Houston, are treasurer and chair pro tempore, respectively.

Gov. Rick Perry named Major Gen. John F. Nichols of Spring adjutant general of Texas, pending Senate confirmation. The adjutant general is commander of the Texas Military Forces and subordinate only to the governor in matters pertaining to the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard and Texas State Guard. Nichols is currently assistant adjutant general for air and commander of the Texas Air National Guard at Camp Mabry.

The governor reappointed Debbie Unruh of Austin as Texas Youth Commission independent ombudsman. Unruh is former captain and jail administrator for the Randall County Sherriff's Office, a past law enforcement instructor at Amarillo College and former director of the Amarillo Bail Bond Board.

Perry also appointed three members to Stephen F. Austin State University's board of regents. Brigettee Henderson of Lufkin is an independent consulting interior designer and executive assistant at Carnes and Co. Auctioneers. Ken Schaefer of Brownsville is owner of Schaefer Stevedoring Inc. Ralph C. Todd of Carthage is a senior account manager at Baker Hughes Inc. Their appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

Perry reappointed Ronald Congleton of Austin to the Texas Workforce Commission. Congleton is retired president of Teamsters Local 745 in Dallas.

The governor reappointed Rod Bordelon Jr. as commissioner of Workers' Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance.

And Perry reappointed Betty Reinbeck of Sealy to the Texas Facilities Commission; she's executive director of the Tomball Economic Development Corp and former major of Sealy.

Speaker Joe Straus appointed members to committees today, shuffling the assignments in a Texas House where one in four members is a freshman and where Republicans have a two-to-one numerical advantage.With the panels named, he can start assigning legislation to various committees for consideration, and that will get under way quickly, with the House Appropriations Committee diving into the budget this week. Straus had several openings to fill, with members either retiring or getting beat and leaving chairmanships open: Calendars; Corrections; Culture, Recreation and Tourism; Defense & Veterans' Affairs; Human Services; Licensing & Administrative Procedures; Public Safety; Redistricting; and the House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding. Calendars sets the House's agenda — what bills come up. Licensing is the committee where most gaming legislation is handled. Redistricting, within the political micro-climate of the Legislature, is a very important panel. If you don't count subcommittees, the House had 35 committees, with 19 chaired by Republicans and 16 by Democrats. That was in a House with 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats. Now there are 101 Republicans, and 49 Democrats, and the politics are decidedly different.

The committee assignments are available here by member, and here by committee.

Here's Straus' announcement, with a list of the chairmanships:

SPEAKER STRAUS ANNOUNCES HOUSE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AUSTIN--- Today, Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) announced the Texas House of Representatives committees for the 82nd Legislature, and issued the following statement: “One of the most important roles of the Speaker of the House is making committee assignments. I have tried to apply the interests and expertise of individual Members to our State’s challenges, and to make sure the geographic and demographic diversity of Texas is fairly represented. Under the rules of the House, a number of committee assignments are based on Members’ seniority, and we also have a near-record 38 new freshmen representatives this year. “I am eager for the committees to begin work on important legislation and for you to collaborate on the issues that matter most to our state. Today, I am referring hundreds of bills to the committees, so the House can immediately begin working on these critical issues. In my second term as Speaker, I am committed to continuing to lead the House with respect for the Members and the people who sent them here, allowing members to govern in a way that represents their constituents.” Key Facts on Committees: Stats and Figures 27 Republican Chairs (71.05%) and 11 Democratic Chairs (28.95%) 33 Male Chairs; 5 Female Chairs Ethnic Composition of Chairs: 27 Caucasian; 6 Hispanic; 5 African American Geographic Composition of Chairs: 23 Urban; 15 Rural Speaker Pro Tempore: Beverly Woolley (R-Houston) Officially designated Dean of the House: Tom Craddick (R-Midland) Fast track Select Committee on Voter Identification and Voter Fraud; and Select Committee on State Sovereignty.

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Here's a list of the new chairs:

Committee	Representative	Party	City
Agriculture &Livestock	Rick Hardcastle	R	Vernon
Appropriations	Jim Pitts	R	Waxahachie
Border &Intergovernmental Affairs	Veronica Gonzales	D	McAllen
Business &Industry	Joe Deshotel	D	Beaumont
Calendars	Todd Hunter	R	Corpus Christi
Corrections	Jerry Madden	R	Richardson
County Affairs	Garnet Coleman	D	Houston
Criminal Jurisprudence	Pete Gallego	D	Alpine
Culture, Recreation &Tourism	Ryan Guillen	D	Rio Grande City
Defense &Veterans' Affairs	Joe Pickett	D	El Paso
Economic &Small Business Development	John Davis	R	Houston
Elections	Larry Taylor	R	Friendswood
Energy Resources	Jim Keffer	R	Eastland
Environmental Regulation	Wayne Smith	R	Baytown
General Investigating &Ethics	Chuck Hopson	R	Jacksonville
Government Efficiency &Reform	William Bill Callegari	R	Katy
Higher Education	Dan Branch	R	Dallas
Homeland Security &Public Safety	Sid Miller	R	Stephenville
House Administration	Charlie Geren	R	Fort Worth
Human Services	Richard Peña Raymond	D	Laredo
Insurance	John Smithee	R	Amarillo
Judiciary &Civil Jurisprudence	Jim Jackson	R	Carrollton
Land &Resource Management	Rene Oliveira	D	Brownsville
Licensing &Administrative Procedures	Mike Hamilton	R	Mauriceville
Local &Consent Calendars	Senfronia Thompson	D	Houston
Natural Resources	Allan Ritter	R	Nederland
Pensions, Investments &Financial Services	Vicki Truitt	R	Keller
Public Education	Rob Eissler	R	The Woodlands
Public Health	Lois Kolkhorst	R	Brenham
Redistricting	Burt Solomons	R	Carrollton
Rules &Resolutions	Ruth Jones McClendon	D	San Antonio
State Affairs	Byron Cook	R	Corsicana
Technology	Aaron Peña	R	Edinburg
Transportation	Larry Phillips	R	Sherman
Urban Affairs	Harold Dutton Jr	D	Houston
Ways &Means	Harvey Hilderbran	R	Kerrville
Select Committee on State Sovereignty	Brandon Creighton	R	Conroe
Select Committee on Voter Identification and Voter Fraud	Dennis Bonnen	R	Angleton
Select Committee on Election Contest	Todd Hunter	R	Corpus Christi
Select Committee on Oversight and HHS Eligibility System	Fred Brown	R	College Station

Gene Powell of San Antonio was elected by his fellow regents to be the new chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Paul Foster, R. Steven Hicks and James Dannenbaum were elected vice chairmen.

Brian Guthrie will take over as executive director of the Teacher Retirement System when Ronnie Jung retires in September. Guthrie is the deputy now and came to TRS in 2008; for the decade before that, he worked for Lt. Gov. and then Gov. Rick Perry.

Craig Casselberry is joining the Austin office of the Weber Shandwick public relations firm; his most recent gig was with Quorum Public Affairs, the firm he started in 1994.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed three members to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, pending Senate confirmation. Judy Morgan of Texarkana is owner and president of Jack B. Kelley Enterprises Inc. Elaine Mendoza of San Antonio is president and CEO of Conceptual MindWorks Inc. Cliff Thomas of Victoria is owner and CEO of Thomas Petroleum LLC, Speedy Stop Food Stores and C.L. Thomas Inc.

Perry reappointed Deeia Beck of Austin to the Office of Public Insurance Counsel, which represents insurance consumers in regulatory matters relating to insurance rates, rules and forms. Beck is the public counsel for the Office of Public Insurance Counsel.

The governor reappointed Ray Wilkerson of Austin presiding officer of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. Wilkerson is the president and CEO of Ray Wilkerson Companies Inc., a real estate investment firm.

Department of Corrections: Yup, we put a D behind Aaron Peña's name last week, out of habit. He is now, of course, a Republican. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Joe Greenhill, former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, has died, according to close associates. He was 96.Greenhill was appointed to the high court by Gov. Price Daniel in 1957 and remained there for 25 years, including 10 as chief. The Supreme Court posted a full obituary that's worth reading.