Two Central Kentucky state senators lose committee chairmanships.

Two veteran Kentucky Republican senators — Alice Forgy Kerr of Lexington and Tom Buford of Nicholasville — have lost their committee chairmanships.

The Senate Majority Office Monday said in a release that new committee chairs and vice chairs for the next two years have been named by Senate Republican leaders.

Two veteran committee chairs have been replaced — Kerr as chair of the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee and Buford as chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee.

Sen. Danny Carroll of Paducah will replace Kerr. Sen. Jared Carpenter of Berea will succeed Buford.

Asked why Kerr and Buford are being replaced as committee chairs, Senate GOP leadership said in an email without elaboration, “The selection of committee chairmen and members for the 2019 General Assembly was a collective decision. We examined our caucus and determined which senator would be the best fit for each of the standing committees in order to benefit the caucus as a whole.”

Committee chairs help leadership determine the flow of legislation.

Kerr, who has been in the Senate since 1999, and Buford, who has been head of the Senate banking committee since the late 1990s, said they will become members of the powerful Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee instead of holding chairmanships.

“We have 28 Republicans now in the Senate and leadership was trying to find positions for as many of them as possible,” said Kerr. “I look forward to working more with the state budget.”

Buford, who has been in the Senate since 1991, said he is “just fine” without the chairmanship. He said he suggested to leadership about three months ago that “it may be time for new people to get more involved in committee chairmanships.”

He also said committee chairmanships “no longer have the significance they once had. Now, leadership determines what bills are moved.”

Kerr and Buford said their votes last March against the controversial public pension bill Gov. Matt Bevin and GOP leadership backed had nothing to do with their loss of committee chairs.

Kerr and Buford were among five Senate Republicans who voted against the pension bill.

Sen. Julia Raque Adams of Louisville, who voted against the pension measure, was chosen earlier this month to be Senate majority caucus chair.

Adams has been chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. She gave up her chairmanship when she was elected to leadership. Replacing her as head of the committee will be Sen. Ralph Alvarado of Winchester.

Sen. Brandon Smith of Hazard voted against the pension bill. He was named Monday as chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee, replacing Carpenter. Smith also challenged Damon Thayer for majority leader in this month’s leadership races but was defeated.

Sen. Wil Schroder of Wilder will be the new chair of the Senate State and Local Government Committee. He replaces Joe Bowen of Owensboro, who retired from the Senate.

Senator-elect Robby Mills of Henderson is the new chairman of the Senate Enrollment Committee.

This story was originally published November 26, 2018 at 2:35 PM.