Nevada lawmakers have selected longtime Legislative Counsel Bureau employee Brenda Erdoes to lead the agency, which offers nonpartisan staff support for the Legislature including audits, research and drafting bills.

The Legislative Commission voted Wednesday to approve Erdoes as LCB director and publicly announced the decision on Friday. The appointment comes after former director Rick Combs retired from the post in January after almost a decade of service.

Erdoes was most recently the top-ranking lawyer for the LCB and has worked for the agency for 40 years. She is the first woman appointed to the role as director.

Republican Sen. James Settelmeyer said in his motion to approve her selection that the committee “found the hardest working, smartest person that I know of in this building and the best-qualified person for the position.”

Lawmakers had interviewed five candidates for the role.