TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Senate Vice President Jeff King has hired an aide to a House leader to be his new chief of staff.

King says he hired Laine Raitinger because of his legislative experience. Raitinger has served as legislative liaison for House Majority Leader Jene Vickrey.

King is a Republican from Independence, and Vickrey is a Republican from Louisburg.

As King’s chief of staff, Raitinger will replace Katie Koupal. She left the job in May to become an area governmental relations manager for telecommunications company AT&T.

King is an attorney who served in the Kansas House for four years before joining the Senate in 2010. GOP senators named him vice president in December 2012, and he serves as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.