COLUMBIA - Aiken-area legislators are well-positioned to be heard on everything from the annual state budget to crime bills and school choice after lawmakers were assigned to committees Wednesday.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell finished a two-day organizational session by assigning the chamber's 124 members to various committees.

He called the highly competitive process "the hardest, most difficult, agonizing thing that I have ever been through (as a lawmaker)."

The most-coveted seats are on the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the budget and will address school funding this year, and the Judiciary Committee, which oversees crime and punishment legislation.

Mr. Harrell said he considered several variables - seniority, geography, party, race and the members' requests - in determining committee membership.

"Bobby's greatest strength is his one-on-one ability to communicate, and I think that smoothed over a lot of (hurt) feelings," said Majority Leader Jim Merrill, who snagged one of three vacant spots on Ways and Means.

The other two vacancies on the committee went to Reps. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, and Kenny Bingham, R-Cayce.

But the Aiken area will continue to have two representatives on Ways and Means: Reps. Roland Smith, R-Langley, and Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken. Rep. Jim Stewart, R-Aiken, will continue to serve on Judiciary.

Last year, the Legislature passed a comprehensive tax bill that takes school operations off local property tax bills and puts the responsibility on the state's shoulders, funded by a 1-cent increase in the sales tax.

So this year, Mr. Clyburn said, there'll be "no way of getting around" addressing how to fund schools.

Lawmakers last spring also funded a pilot kindergarten program for 4-year-olds.

This year, there is a "great likelihood" that the program will be expanded statewide, said Mr. Smith, who also was re-elected as chairman of the House Ethics Committee.

Other members of the Aiken County delegation:

- Rep. Donald Smith, R-North Augusta, is second vice chairman of the Education and Public Works Committee and hopes to address school choice this session. He's also second vice chairman of the Interstate Cooperation Committee.

- Rep. Skipper Perry, R-Aiken, was assigned to the Rules and Labor, Commerce and Industry committees.

- Rep. Kit Spires, R-Pelion, was chosen for the Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee, known as the 3M committee.

Two committees will be headed by new chairmen.

Rep. Leon Howard, D-Columbia, will lead 3M. He replaces Rep. Joe Brown, D-Richland, who lost his primary race.

Rep. Bob Walker, R-Landrum, takes over Education, replacing Ronny Townsend, who retired.