Newly-elected State Rep. Trey Kelley's (R-16) first day in office Monday was rather slow and easy, as expected.

“The biggest part of business will be the swearing in, voting for the speaker, the rest of the House leadership,” Kelley said.

Kelley spent the morning before the session at his legislative desk on the House floor, which is to the right and near the front of the House Speaker’s podium. It was bare at the moment, with only coffee and an old, worn Bible on it.

Kelley said he knows he will have a lot of work to do over coming weeks, although it will be a slow start. Committee assignments weren’t yet completed on the first day of the session with Kelley expecting them to be finished over the next few days.

He, like all freshman representatives, does not have an office yet.

That will likely be assigned by the end of the week, he said.

“I can sit on the (House) floor, sit in a corner somewhere,” Kelley said. “All the representatives who have been here before are willing to share their office space.”

There won’t be legislative action next week, he said. Instead, Kelley said the House Appropriations Committee would begin meeting. According to the online legislative calendar, Jan 22-24 are scheduled as days to discuss the budget.

Although Kelley won’t be a part of the appropriations committee, he said he wants to sit in on the meetings.

He said hearing budget discussions from the beginning would be important to his understanding when he votes.