The state senators who represent the Mahoning Valley in the Legislature’s upper chamber will chair committees in this two-year session.

Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, elected to the state Senate in the Nov. 5 election after a June 26 appointment to a vacant seat, is chairman of the Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee.

“I am honored to have been selected to lead this important committee,” said Cutrona, chief operating officer for the Northeast Ohio Infectious Disease Institute. “Small businesses are the backbone of the Valley and the entire Buckeye State.”

Cutrona added: “We must continue to cut burdensome red tape, create jobs and strengthen our economy. I look forward to working on legislation that makes Ohio the best place to do business.”

Cutrona also was appointed Monday to serve on four other Senate committees: Addiction and Community Revitalization, Education, Housing and Judiciary.

Sandra O’Brien, R-Lenox, was reappointed chairwoman of the Local Government Committee.

The committee oversees laws that impact political subdivisions such as counties, townships, cities and villages. She spent the previous two years as its chairwoman and before that, two years as vice chairwoman.

O’Brien also was named to serve on four other Senate committees, which are all new assignments for her. That includes Finance, and Ways and Means, two of the most influential committees in the Senate, as well as Government Oversight and Reform, and Addiction and Community Revitalization.

“I’m very, very pleased with my committees,” O’Brien said. “I asked to switch. Finance, and Ways and Means are huge ones. Very few senators wouldn’t want to be on those committees. It’s very good for the district.”

O’Brien was reelected Nov. 5 to a second four-year term representing the 32nd Senate District. The district includes all of Trumbull and Ashtabula counties and most of Geauga County.

Cutrona was appointed to the state Senate on June 26, 14 days after Michael Rulli, R-Salem, resigned from serving the 33rd District to fill an open seat in the U.S. House.

Cutrona spent four years in the Ohio House before the appointment. While in the state House, Cutrona was chairman of its Health Provider Services Committee.

Cutrona was elected Nov. 5 to serve the remaining two years of Rulli’s unexpired term.

Cutrona can run for reelection in 2026 for a full four-year term and if successful, he can run for and serve another four-year term in 2030.

The state’s term limits law prohibits state senators from being elected to more than two consecutive four-year terms.

O’Brien isn’t permitted to run for reelection in 2028, when her current second four-year term ends.

The Ohio House has to first pass its rules before committee assignments can be made, said state Rep. Nick Santucci, R-Niles. That should be done within the next two months, he said.