State Rep. Tonya Pfaff receives committee assignments

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Tonya Pfaff (D-Terre Haute) today announced that she has been selected to serve on three committees during the 2021 Legislative Session. She will be ranking Democrat on the Elections Committee and serving on two other committees: Education; and Ways and Means.

Pfaff has served on the Elections Committee and Education Committee since becoming a State Representative in 2018 and this year will be her first year on the Ways and Means Committee.

“More than ever, I am ready to start working in these committees to improve conditions for all Hoosiers right now,” Pfaff said. “If this past year has taught us anything, it's that we have a lot of work to do to improve the lives of our students and teachers, advance the state of our election system and create a balanced budget.

“As ranking minority member of the Elections Committee, I'm looking forward to discussing how we can better our vote-by-mail system and make it a more accessible option for Indiana voters. I'd also like to reintroduce my bill to establish same-day voter registration. I believe this could have increased our voter turnout even more last month.

“I'm also anticipating plenty of robust discussion regarding our suffering public school systems in Indiana. As a teacher myself, I have witnessed firsthand the hardships of having to learn and teach virtually and in-person during a pandemic. COVID-19 has only intensified the struggles that schools were already facing: a statewide teacher shortage, poor teacher pay and an insufficient number of substitute teachers and support staff.”