The House of Representatives chamber of the Kansas Statehouse is pictured July 23, 2014 in Topeka.

Topeka ? Kansas House Speaker-elect Ron Ryckman Jr. announced Wednesday that he is reorganizing the committee structure of the House, and he named the lawmakers who will serve as chairs and vice chairs of those committees.

Among those named was Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, who will chair a new Water and Environment Committee.

“I’m certainly pleased that the new speaker is making water policy a primary issue for the legislature, something I’ve been arguing for several years,” Sloan said. “I think in many ways, the availability of water, clean water, will define who lives in Kansas and who we are as a people, more so in some ways than our investment in education.”

That new committee is part of Ryckman’s reorganization of the Kansas House, and its name suggests it will be assigned topics that previously were handled by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee or the Energy and Environment Committee.

But there has not been a committee in recent years that was specifically assigned to deal with water issues, something that Gov. Sam Brownback has said he wants to make a top priority in the final two years of his administration.

Sloan, a moderate Republican, had lost many of his favorite committee assignments the last four years under conservative Speaker Ray Merrick. For three years, he chaired a somewhat obscure Vision 2020 committee that was supposed to focus on long-range planning issues, but Merrick stripped him of that position after the committee advanced a bill calling for expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

But moderates and Democrats both made big gains against conservatives in the 2016 election and, like Senate President Susan Wagle’s chairmanship appointments that were announced Wednesday, Ryckman’s appointments reflect that moderates now wield more clout in the Legislature.

One of the most powerful positions, Appropriations Committee chairman, will go to someone who is not widely known in the Legislature, Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, a farmer and office manager who was first elected in 2012. He has served on the committee the last two years.

Rep. Marvin Kleeb of Overland Park had been considered a favorite for that post, but Kleeb surprised his colleagues this week by announcing that he is getting married, and he will resign from the Legislature on Jan. 10, the second day of the session.

Rep. Steve Johnson, a conservative from Assaria, in central Kansas, was named to chair the Taxation Committee, which is expected to be the setting for intense discussions in the coming year as lawmakers try to grapple with a projected $930 million revenue shortfall over the next 18 months.

Rep.-elect Clay Aurand, R-Belleville, a former lawmaker who is returning in 2017, will return to his old position as chairman of the Education Committee. Aurand lost his seat in 2012 in a redistricting battle, but ran again this year to replace retiring Rep. Sharon Schwartz, who narrowly defeated Aurand in the 2012 primary.

The Education Committee may be instrumental in crafting a new school finance formula, which lawmakers are expected to accomplish in 2017.

Currently, the House also has an Education Budget Committee that, at times, serves as a subcommittee for Appropriations. But Ryckman has split that budget committee into two panels, one dealing with K-12 education and another for higher education.

Rep. Larry Campbell, R-Olathe, will chair the K-12 budget panel, and Rep. Kevin Jones, R-Wellsville, will chair the higher education budget panel.

Rep. John Barker, R-Abilene, an attorney and retired judge, will no longer chair the House Judiciary Committee. Instead, that job will go to Rep. Blaine Finch, R-Ottawa, while Barker will take over as chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee, which typically handles hot-button social issues such as abortion, gun rights and gambling.

Other chairmanships announced Thursday include:

• Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget — Rep. Don Schroeder, R-Hesston.

• Agriculture — Rep. Kyle Hoffman, R-Coldwater.

• Children and Seniors — Rep. Steve Alford, R-Ulysses.

• Commerce, Labor and Economic Development — Rep. Les Mason, R-McPherson.

• Corrections and Juvenile Justice — Rep. Russ Jennings, R-Lakin.

• Elections — Rep. Keith Esau, R-Olathe.

• Energy, Utilities and Telecom — Joe Seiwert, R-Pretty Prairie.

• Federal and State Affairs — Rep. John Barker, R-Abilene.

• Financial Institutions and Insurance — Rep. Jim Kelly, R-Independence.

• General Government Budget — Rep. William Sutton, R-Gardner.

• Government, Technology and Security — Rep. Pete DeGraaf, R-Mulvane.

• Health and Human Services — Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita.

• Insurance — Rep. Jene Vickrey, R-Louisburg.

• Local Government — Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta.

• Social Services Budget — Rep.-elect Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita.

• Transportation — Rep. Richard Proehl, R-Parsons.

• Transportation and Public Safety Budget — Rep. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina.

• Veterans and Military — Rep. Leslie Osterman, R-Wichita.