State Rep. Tim Brown will soon be spending more time at the Statehouse as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
House Speaker Brian Bosma is expected to make the announcement later today in Indianapolis.
The Ways and Means Committee is responsible for shaping and writing the state’s budget.
“As chairman I will have to look at legislative proposals and make choices about what is good for the entire state of Indiana,” Brown said. “It’s one thing to be chairman when the state has no money. It’s easy to say no, but when we have a little money you have to be more selective.”
Brown expects legislators will focus on education and job creation.
“It’s just like your family budget,” he said. “You have to prioritize and make the best use of the money.”
Legislators must also be concerned with savings.
“There was good growth experienced earlier, but now it is projected to slow as much as 2.5 percent,” he said. “We must maintain adequate reserves for the next recession, which we all know will come.”
Brown said the Ways and Means Committee has a great team of people on it.
“I will be managing that team of champions to get the job done,” he said.
There are a total of 25 legislators assigned to the committee.
Brown will get started right away in his new position with a budget committee meeting that begins Wednesday.
Brown, a Republican from Crawfordsville, represents House District 41, which includes Montgomery, Parke and Tippecanoe counties. He was elected as a State Representative in 1994.
In 2005, Brown was appointed as chairman of the Public Heath Committee. Brown is also the chairman for the Statutory Committee on Ethics, as well as a member of the following committees: Education, Rules and Legislative Procedures, Family, Children, and Human Affairs, and the Statutory Committee on Interstate and International Cooperation. In addition, he serves as the Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore.
Brown, who is a local physician, may have to reduce his medical workload, but by how much remains uncertain at this time.
To reach Brown, call 317-232-9762; or 362-7024.
