A Western Kentucky state representative who is in the process of shaping this year’s state budget will also serve as the House of Representatives’ acting majority floor leader.
Republican Steven Rudy of Paducah will serve in the post until the return of sitting Majority Leader John “Bam” Carney of Campbellsville. Carney was hospitalized in December with a severe case of pancreatitis. Rudy said he was chosen in part because of his strong relationship with Carney.
“Representative Carney and I are very close, good friends,” Rudy said. “Leadership asked me to do it and I was willing to step up and do it for my friend.”
Rudy said his institutional knowledge was another motivating factor in the decision. He said his service as acting majority leader will tie in with his work as chairman of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, a key position in crafting the state budget.
The majority leader is responsible for making procedural motions, reading bills on the floor and working with leadership to determine the flow of legislation. Carney became majority leader in 2019 after Representative Jonathan Shell was defeated in a 2018 Republican primary election.
Rudy began serving in the House of Representatives in 2005. His district comprises Ballard County, Carlisle County, Fulton County, Hickman County and part of McCracken County.
(This report first ran on WKMS, the public radio station at Murray State University.)
