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Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston on Friday released the list of Republican chairs leading the chamber’s committees for 2023, including a few newly appointed members following a slew of representative retirements last year.
Eight committees will have new leaders in the upcoming session, not including one committee – Insurance and Financial Institutions – that will be split into two separate committees.
Six of the eight committees had chairs who retired, most notably longtime lawmaker Rep. Tim Brown, of Crawfordsville, who served as chair of the powerful, budget-writing Ways and Means committee. Rep. Jeff Thompson, of Lizton, will succeed Brown.
Rep. Martin Carbaugh, of Fort Wayne, led the combined Insurance and Financial Institutions and now will head the Insurance committee. Financial Institutions will be led by Indianapolis Rep. Mike Speedy.
Just one member will no longer serve as chair but continue as a representative – Angola Rep. Dennis Zent, who chaired the Local Government committee, which will now be led by Rep. Chris May.
Following the primary loss of Rep. Dan Leonard, of Huntington, to incoming Rep. Lorissa Sweet, the Rules and Legislative Procedure committee needed a new chair, finding one in Rep. Ben Smaltz, of Auburn.
Smaltz’s old committee chair assignment over Public Policy will now go to Rep. Ethan Manning, of Logansport.
“I’m excited about the talents and wide range of experience that our chairs will bring to their committees, and I look forward to working closely with each of them,” Huston, of Fishers, said in a statement. “As we head into the budget session, we have many challenges and opportunities in front of us, and I’m confident in our team’s abilities to vet and pass policies that put Hoosiers first.”
The new committee chairs will be:
- *Agriculture and Rural Development: Rep. Michael Aylesworth, who succeeds the retired Rep. Don Lehe
- Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development: Rep. Bob Morris
- Joint Rules: House Speaker Todd Huston
- Courts and Criminal Code: Rep. Wendy McNamara
- Education: Rep. Bob Behning
- Elections: Rep. Tim Wesco
- Employment, Labor and Pensions: Rep. Heath VanNatter
- *Environmental Affairs: Rep. Alan Morrison, who succeeds Rep. Mike Speedy
- Family, Children and Human Affairs: Rep. Dale DeVon
- **Financial Institutions: Rep. Mike Speedy
- Government and Regulatory Reform: Rep. Doug Miller
- **Insurance: Rep. Martin Carbaugh
- Judiciary: Rep. Jerry Torr
- *Local Government: Rep. Chris May, who succeeds Rep. Dennis Zent
- *Natural Resources: Rep. Shane Lindauer, who succeeds the retired Rep. Sean Eberhart
- Public Health: Rep. Brad Barrett
- *Public Policy: Rep. Ethan Manning, who succeeds Rep. Ben Smaltz
- Roads and Transportation: Rep. Jim Pressel
- *Rules and Legislative Procedures: Rep. Ben Smaltz, who succeeds Rep. Dan Leonard
- *Statutory Committee on Ethics: Rep. Karen Engleman, who succeeds the retired Rep. Tony Cook
- Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications: Rep. Ed Soliday
- Veterans Affairs and Public Safety: Rep. Randy Frye
- *Ways and Means: Rep. Jeff Thompson, who succeeds the retired Rep. Tim Brown
*Denotes a new committee chair
**Denotes a new committee
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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