NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Senate Speaker Randy McNally has been named to the executive committee of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association.

McNally is an Oak Ridge Republican who was elected by Senate colleagues to run the upper chamber of the Tennessee General Assembly in January. He succeeded longtime Speaker Ron Ramsey, who retired.

While the Tennessee Senate speaker carries the title of lieutenant governor, that designation carries no extra responsibilities in the state other than being the first in the line of succession to the governor.

Republicans hold 31 of the 45 lieutenant governorships in the country.

McNally is a retired pharmacist who was first elected ot the state House in 1978. He was elected to the Senate in 1986.