07/01/11 House Republican Speaker Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis) has announced interim committee assignments for members of the Indiana House of Representatives.
“I am pleased that the legislature will begin working on important issues to prepare for the 2012 legislative session,” said Speaker Bosma. “These committees will lay the foundation for much of the legislation that will come before the General Assembly next year,” Speaker Bosma stated.
Representative Nancy Dembowski, a democrat from Starke County was assigned to the Indiana Lake Management Work Group. The group approves projects and recommends to the division the projects to receive certain funds. She was also assigned to the Joint Study Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Assessment and Solutions. This study committee will assess the condition of Indiana’s transportation infrastructure in both the public and private sectors. In connection with the Indiana Department of transportation and other interested parties, projects Indiana’s transportation demands through 2035.
Representative Bill Friend was assigned to the Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission. The commission assures that adequate legal and advocacy services for the promotion, protection and advocacy of the rights and interests of individuals with a developmental disability are accessible throughout the state.
Friend and Dembowski were also assigned to the Water Resources Study Committee. Friend will serve as vice chair on the committee that looks at the usage, quality, and quantity of water resources; issues concerning diffused surface water, the common enemy doctrine of law, and runoff. They will look at the current processes and methods used in determining water resources allocations and distribution in Indiana.
Every year after the legislative session is completed, the Legislative Council meets to assign topics for study during the interim as well as establish any new interim committee that is needed to examine a particular issue. Most interim committees will begin meeting in July with their work wrapping up toward the end of October.
Interim committees are an integral part of the legislative process. Even though session is adjourned for 2011, legislators will be continuing their duties by studying in-depth various topics assigned to their committees. Interim committees with specific expertise receive public testimony and work out the details of proposed legislation before it is introduced in the 2012 session.
