State District 44 Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, has been reappointed by Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, to chair the Senate Committee on Utilities for the 123rd Indiana General Assembly.

The committee’s jurisdiction includes energy, electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications. ­

Koch also will serve as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Committee on Commerce and Technology and as a member of the committees on Corrections and Criminal Law. Committee hearings may be viewed at iga.in.gov.

The 2023 legislative session ceremonially began Nov. 22 with Organization Day. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene for session Jan. 9.

Senate District 44 includes all or parts of Brown, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe and Orange counties.

Koch holds a graduate certificate in energy policy planning from the University of Idaho and serves as co-chairman of the Energy Supply Task Force of the National Conference of State Legislatures and as a member of the executive committee of the National Council on Electricity Policy, the Indiana Geological and Water Survey Advisory Council, the Council of State Governments Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee and the Federal Communications Commission Consumer Advisory Committee from 2018 to 2022.