Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, will take over the co-chairmanship of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee in January, one of 10 committee leadership changes announced Monday by the state Senate Democratic majority.

The joint House-Senate committees on Aging, Banks, Children, Energy, Finance, Government Administration and Elections, Housing, Human Services, Labor, and Regulations Review all will have new co-chairs.

Fonfara succeeds Eileen Daily, who did not seek re-election. He is now the vice chairman of the committee, which oversees tax laws. Andrea Stillman of New London will oversee the bonding subcommittee, while Gary LeBeau of East Hartford will handle the transportation bonding subcommittee.

Andres Ayala of Bridgeport, one of three incoming freshmen Democrats, will oversee two committees, Aging and Regulations Review. He is now a House member serving on Regulations Review.

Dante Bartolomeo of Meriden, another newcomer, will co-chair the committees on Housing and Children. At Housing, she will succeed Edwin Gomes of Bridgeport, who did not re-election.

The other freshman, Cathy Osten of Sprague, a former union leader, will take over the Labor and Public Employees Committee, succeeding Edith Prague of Columbia, who did not seek re-election.

Sen. Gayle Slossberg of Milford will leave the Government Administration and Elections Committee, which handles the politically sensitive issues of campaign finance and elections law, for Human Services.

Slossberg, who could not be reached for comment Monday, had clashed with the Malloy Administration over what she saw as efforts to weaken campaign finance reforms.

The other new co-chairmanship assignments:

* Bob Duff of Norwalk, the Energy and Public Technology committee, succeeding Fonfara.

* Carlo Leone of Stamford, the committees on Banks, succeeding Duff. He also will remain co-chairman of Veterans Affairs.

* Anthony Musto of Trumbull, Government Administration and Elections. Now the co-chairman of Human Services, he is swapping jobs with Slossberg.

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

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