Bryant picks Hewes as president pro tem

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 12/15/7

Lt. Gov.-elect Phil Bryant has tabbed Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport, as his choice for Senate president pro tem.

In a letter to the 52 members of the state Senate, Bryant said Hewes has “broad-based support in the Senate, and even the members who expressed another preference speak favorably about him.”

The Senate president pro tem presides in the absence of the lieutenant governor and also chairs the pivotal Rules Committee. The position is elected by the members of the Senate, though generally speaking the members have yielded to the wishes of the lieutenant governor for the post.