Alabama House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) announced on Thursday that State Rep. James Lomax (R-Huntsville) and State Rep. Kerry “Bubba” Underwood (R-Tuscumbia) will serve as co-chairmen of the House Republican Caucus Platform Committee.

The committee plays a large role in determining the bills, measures, resolutions, and initiatives that will be included in the House Republican Caucus’ official legislative agenda and command first priority when the upcoming 2025 regular legislative session convenes in February.

According to the Caucus, additional members of the platform committee will be appointed in coming days. 

“Though both are freshmen House members, Rep. Underwood and Rep. Lomax have quickly earned the trust and confidence of their fellow Republicans within the caucus,” Stadthagen said. “They each understand the issues that confront our state, and they are dedicated to conservative policies that will improve our schools, protect our constitutional rights, and keep Alabama’s economy growing and healthy.”

Lomax said he is eager for the committee to begin its work and looks forward to helping craft an agenda that reflects Alabama’s conservative beliefs and principles.

“Some of the most significant reforms passed by the Legislature since 2010 began as ideas and items in the House Republican Caucus agenda,” Lomax said.  “I will work with my fellow Republicans to put together a platform that attracts widespread support among the citizens we represent and preserves the traditional morals and fundamental Alabama values that so many of us embrace.”

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Underwood highlighted the need to continue the fiscal discipline that House Republicans have implemented and stressed a desire to protect the state from federal mandates that run counter to the beliefs that most Alabamians hold.

“When Democrats ran the Legislature in 2010, proration in the budgets was declared on an average of every two years, but it has not occurred since Republicans took control in 2010, and as a certified public accountant, I strongly support that fiscal discipline,” Underwood said. “And since Biden took office, the federal government has sought to force liberal social policies that have no place in Alabama, so we need to shield our citizens from those D.C. mandates.”

Lomax, a lifelong resident of Madison County, is the vice president at Corporate Office Properties Trust and has been responsible for developing and leasing more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial space in fast-growing north Alabama since beginning his career. Recognized as a “40 Under 40 in Huntsville” by 256 Magazine in 2020, he and his wife, Elizabeth, have two daughters.

A certified public accountant by profession, Underwood was elected to two terms as mayor of Tuscumbia before successfully running for state representative in 2022. He and his wife, Anna, an occupational therapist for the Colbert County School System, are parents to one son, Walker, and Underwood’s three step-daughters, Holly, Victoria and Faith. They also have three grandchildren, Vivianne, Luke, and Jon Bradford.

The 2025 state legislative session is slated to begin February 4, 2025.