Daniel Perez names new House committee leads as Vicki Lopez leaves for Miami-Dade Commission

With Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez vacating her House District 113 seat for a post on the Miami-Dade County Commission, the House is undergoing a minor bit of musical chairs.

In a memo to House Clerk Jeff Takacs, Speaker Daniel Perez made two changes to the chamber’s committee assignments.

In the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee, a new panel Lopez has led since December, the Speaker elevated Dade City Republican Rep. Randy Maggard as Chair.

Perez kept St. Pete Beach Republican Rep. Linda Chaney as the subcommittee’s Vice Chair.

In the Select Committee on Property Taxes, which Lopez co-chaired with Palm City Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf, Perez named Overdorf the panel’s lone Chair, with Republican Rep. Dean Black of Jacksonville serving as Vice Chair.

Lopez was just appointed to the District 5 seat of the Miami-Dade Commission, where she’ll replace Democrat Eileen Higgins, who is running for Miami Mayor.

She’ll serve until at least the 2026 General Election, representing a district that includes high-profile neighborhoods in Miami and Miami Beach like Brickell, South Beach, Downtown Miami and Little Havana.

Lopez, who flipped HD 113 red in 2022, built a reputation as an effective lawmaker, passing well over half her bills and securing nearly $26 million in appropriations. She sponsored the Live Local Act with Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud, helped revise post-Surfside condo safety laws with Fleming Island Republican Rep. Jennifer Bradley and expanded home-hardening grants to condo owners with Bradley and House Democratic Leader Christine Hunschofsky.

Her appointment Tuesday followed debate at County Hall over whether Commissioners or voters should fill the seat. Vice Chair Kionne McGhee and four others pushed for a Special Election in January, while Chair Anthony Rodriguez and six others backed an appointment plan, arguing that turnout will be higher if voters decide who should occupy the seat next November.

Lopez’s departure now opens her coastal House district for what could be a competitive race. Miami-Dade Young Democrats President Justin Mendoza Routt already plans to run in a to-be-called Special Election.