State Sen. Briggs Hopson III, R-Vicksburg, is returning to familiar territory as chairman of the Senate Judiciary A Committee, a position he held from 2012 to 2016.

The appointment was made Thursday by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.

“This is my second tour of duty,” he said.

Judiciary A, Hopson said, involves most of the state’s civil laws and major felony crimes. “It’s a pretty encompassing committee; it’s a lot of things dealing with legal matters, professional matters, judicial matters,” he said.

“I hope I did a good job (his first term), and I hope the lieutenant governor has confidence in me that I can run the committee well,” he said.

Hopson said he will start reviewing bills referred to Judiciary A over the next week to determine which issues should be brought to the committee for a vote.

A Vicksburg attorney, Hopson was first elected to the state Senate in 2008. Besides the Judiciary A, he is a member of the Judiciary B, Public Health and Welfare, Tourism and Universities and Colleges committees.