Brian Bosma

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Brian C. Bosma (born October 31, 1957) is an American politician.

Bosma was born in Beech Grove, Indiana. He attended Purdue University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1981 and is a member of Beta Sigma Psi fraternity. He received his Juris Doctor from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1984. He was a founding Director of Bosma Industries for the Blind, Inc., which today employs over 85 blind and visually impaired Hoosiers in Central Indiana.

While not serving as a legislator, Bosma works as an attorney for the Indianapolis-based firm Kroger, Gardis & Regas, for which he is a partner. His family includes his wife Cheryl and 2 children, Allison and Christopher.

Legislative Career

Representative Bosma was first elected in 1986 to represent House District 88, which today encompasses the northeast portion of Marion County, a portion of southern Hamilton County and the western part of Hancock County.

After serving as Republican Floor Leader from 1994 to 1999, Brian was selected as Republican Leader in 2000 and 2002. In 2004, when House Republicans assumed a 52-48 majority, Brian was elected Speaker of the House by his peers. After serving as Republican Leader following the 2006 and 2008 elections, Brian Bosma was again elected Speaker of the House when Republicans won a 60 seat majority in 2010 and a 69 seat super-majority in 2012.

Indiana House Republican Agendas

As Speaker of the 114th General Assembly, Representative Bosma and the House Republicans worked to revitalize Indiana’s economy, passed a balanced budget, adopted sweeping telecommunications reform, and created the position of Inspector General to expose and prevent fraud and corruption in state government.

As Speaker of the 117th General Assembly, Bosma focused on education reform through the House Republicans “Strengthen Indiana Plan.”[1] He also broke 195 years of institutional tradition by appointing two Democrats to Committee Chair positions.[2] In 2012, Speaker Bosma co-authored legislation making Indiana the 23rd Right to Work state.

Additionally, to encourage greater participation in the legislative process, Speaker Bosma opened House floor proceedings and House committee meetings to all Hoosiers via the Internet.[3]

In the 118th General Assembly, Speaker Bosma and House Republicans’ 2013 “Own Your Own American Dream” proposals focused on creating a budget with fiscal integrity, expanding educational opportunities and providing more opportunities for job creation by addressing the skills gap.[4]

The 2014 House Republican “Indiana Working on Progress” agenda focuses on career preparation, increasing funding for key road projects, and cutting taxes and burdensome red tape.[5]

Awards and Honors

Awards and Honors are listed in full on the Indiana House Republican Website [6]

  • Presidential Citation, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, 2013
  • Indiana Early Care and Education Legislative Award, Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children, 2013
  • Distinguished Barrister Award, Indiana Lawyer, 2012
  • National Charter Champion Award, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 2012
  • Small Business Guardian Award, National Federation of Independent Business, 2012
  • Honorary Chairman of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (2009-2011)
  • Elected Official of the Year, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, 2011
  • Legislator of the Year, Indiana Public Charter School Association, 2011
  • Golden Apple Award, Indiana Virtual School Families, 2011
  • Public Service Award, Agudath Israel of America Midwest, 2011
  • Elected Official of the Year, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, 2004
  • Chairman's Award, National Federation of Independent Business, 2003
  • Chairman's Award, National Federation of Independent Business, 2001
  • National Public Official of the Year, Governing Magazine, 2002
  • Noble of Indiana Advocate of the Year, 2001
  • Public Policy Award, Marion County First Steps Council, 2001

Right to Work

On November 21, 2011, Speaker Bosma announced that his number one priority during the 2012 legislative session would focus on making Indiana the 23rd Right to Work state.

HB 1001 (2012), legislation co-authored by Speaker Bosma to make Indiana a Right to Work state, passed from the Indiana House the last week of January in 2012. The start of the 2012 session was delayed because the Democrat Caucus boycotted the first few weeks of session by failing to show up to work. Members of the House Republicans attempted to address Right to Work during the 2011 session; however the Democrats denied the House a quorum by walking out to Illinois for five weeks.

In 2014, it was announced that 64 companies, $2.5 billion in capital investment, and 8,000 jobs had been brought to Indiana because of the state’s enactment of a Right to Work law in 2012.

Gay Marriage

Speaker Brian became involved in the Gay Marriage debate in America when a proposed amendment effectively banning gay marriage in the state of Indiana came before the House Judiciary Committee. The bill, known as HJR-3 (formerly HJR-6) would need to pass the House Judiciary Committee in order to be on the floor for the full House.[7] It had already passed the legislature in 2011,[8] but would need to pass again to appear on the ballot for the voters to decide in November 2014. This amendment,[9] "provides that only marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana." Yet further stated, "... that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized." The wording of the second clause was vague enough to warrant a trailer bill clarifying the language, which coincided with a renaming of the bill from HJR-6 to HJR-3.[10]

The House Judiciary Committee[11] met before a packed Senate House that Monday, January 14, 2014, and listened to testimony from both sides of the debate. However, a decision was not reached and the vote was delayed.[12] This meant that the bill affecting the civil rights of many Indiana citizens would be decided the next week, which began with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The House Judiciary Committee did not make the decision in the end, when Brian planned either to replace committee members or send the bill to a more favorable committee.[13][14] Brian chose the latter and the House Elections committee will meet to make a decision on the bill on January 22, 2014.

The newly assigned Elections and Appointments Committee [15] is made up of 13 members, 8 of whom voted for the amendment in 2011. The committee was made up 9 Republicans and 4 Democrats, one Democrat (Terry Goodin) did not attend because of a medical emergency. All 9 Republicans voted for the bill which would redefine marriage in Indiana.

  1. Woody Burton
  2. Bill Davis
  3. Richard Hamm
  4. Peggy Mayfield
  5. Edmond Soliday
  6. Jeff Thompson
  7. Tim Wesco
  8. Milo Smith
  9. Kathy K. Richardson

References

  1. ↑ http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/common/2011a.htm
  2. ↑ http://ballotpedia.org/Bosma_to_name_Democrats_as_committee_chairs
  3. ↑ http://www.ibj.com/article/print?articleId=23490
  4. ↑ http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/images/HouseGOPAgenda_lg.jpg
  5. ↑ http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/index.html
  6. ↑ http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/homepages/r88/bio.htm
  7. ↑ "Indiana General Assembly". In.gov. March 29, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  8. ↑ "HJR 6 - Indiana 2011 Regular Session". Open States. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  9. ↑ "HJR 6 - Indiana 2013 Regular Session". Open States. January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  10. ↑ "Proposed Marriage Amendment Clarified, Renamed | News". Indiana Public Media. January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  11. ↑ "Judiciary (House) - Indiana General Assembly". Open States. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  12. ↑ "Indiana House Judiciary Committee delays vote on same-sex marriage ban - Purdue Exponent: City & State". Purdue Exponent. January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  13. ↑ "Bosma eyes panel changes to advance marriage amendment : Elections". Nwitimes.com. January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  14. ↑ "Speaker Bosma Moves Marriage Amendment To New Committee | News". Indiana Public Media. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  15. ↑ "Elections and Apportionment (House) - Indiana General Assembly". Open States. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 

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