Sen. Jack Murphy Appointed Vice Chair of the NCSL Law and Criminal Justice Committee

--By Staff Writer on --

ATLANTA (October 24, 2012) - State Senator Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) was recently appointed to serve as a Vice Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Law and Criminal Justice Committee,  one of 10 committees that deal with both state and state-federal issues. The jurisdictions of the standing committees are similar to those of committees in state legislatures.

“As a member of the Public Safety Committee, this is a topic that is close to my heart, therefore I am honored to be appointed vice-chair of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee,” said Sen. Murphy.  “The chance to meet with legislators from across the country is a great opportunity to further educate myself on other states policies and implement concise, informative judiciary lawmaking within the Georgia Senate.”

NCSL standing committees are composed of legislators and legislative staff who are appointed by the leadership of their respective legislatures. The committees explore issues that states have to deal with, and develop policy on state-federal issues to guide NCSL’s advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C. Committees do not recommend policy to the legislatures on issues that are internal to the states.

“NCSL has benefitted from Senator Murphy’s expertise over the years,” said NCSL’s President and New Hampshire Representative Teri Norelli.  “Senator Murphy’s participation will continue to ensure that the states’ agenda is carried out in Washington.”

NCSL’s Standing Committee on Law and Criminal Justice addresses underlying principles for a balanced state-federal system and takes policy positions to preserve state sovereignty and set a high standard for preemption of state laws. The Committee’s broad jurisdiction includes federalism and preemption issues, constitution and constitutional law, civil rights and liability issues.