136th General Assembly Committee Assignments
State Representative David Thomas appointed Vice Chair of Tax Committee
Columbus- 65th District State Representative David Thomas (R-Jefferson) announced the committees he will be assigned to serve on in this Ohio General Assembly.
Thomas will be the Vice-Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee which handles tax policy for the State of Ohio and government entities. Additionally, he will serve on the House Energy Committee, Public Insurance and Pensions, and newly created Arts, Athletics, and Tourism Committees.
“These committees will be a tremendous asset to help me represent our taxpayers in the 65th District,” shared Rep. Thomas. “I am most excited to dive into tax policy in a leadership role on Ways and Means and help on the property tax problem.”
Thomas, who most recently served as County Auditor for Ashtabula County for 6 years prior to becoming State Representative, made tax reform his platform and focus during the 2024 campaign.
“I think our residents are most concerned with their bottom line and finances so those will be where I prioritize and focus my time in the legislature,” said Rep. Thomas. “I’ve already been drafting several bills on this issue and others.”
Thomas will be the only new legislator to serve on Ways and Means Committee which is expected to take up property tax issues this year among other topics of financial importance.
The Energy Committee is also one which Thomas says he is looking forward to learning about and contributing to in this coming year. “We have huge energy needs in Ohio and I see the importance of affordability and reliability being top among them,” said Rep. Thomas. “One way to help the inflation problem is American energy made right beneath our feet in Northeast Ohio.”
His remaining committees will offer a variety of focuses. According to Thomas the Public Insurance and Pensions will dive into unemployment insurance, police and fire pensions, state teachers’ pensions, and other important matters.
“My final committee is new and we’ll have to see what that will address but with how important tourism is to Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties, I jumped at the chance to be on this new committee too,” said Rep. Thomas.