STATEHOUSE (April 26, 2016) — The Indiana State Budget Committee this week named State Rep. Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) and State Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) as co-chairs of the Funding Indiana’s Roads for a Stronger, Safer Tomorrow (FIRSST) task force.
![State Rep. Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville)](https://wyrz.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/State-Rep.-Tim-Brown-R-Crawfordsville-150x150.jpg)
Brown, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said the newly created task force is charged with developing a long-term plan for state highway and bridge needs.
“In the coming months, Luke and I will be leading a panel in exploring long-term funding options dedicated to supporting Indiana’s infrastructure,” Brown said. “We will present our findings to the General Assembly when it reconvenes in January.”
![State Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville)](https://wyrz.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/State-Sen.-Luke-Kenley-R-Noblesville-150x150.jpg)
“I am confident that, through the FIRSST task force, we will be able to identify new road-funding solutions that can be utilized when we draft the next two-year budget,” said Kenley, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and member of the Senate Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy. “This task force is a vital step toward making well-informed decisions as we maintain Indiana’s status as the Crossroads of America.”
The task force was established under Indiana’s recently enacted law directing more than $800 million to state and local roads over the next two years while providing city and county governments additional tools to address their road funding needs.