The committees reorganized in the House on Tuesday.

Rep.

Brian Ellis, R-11th, has been named to four standing committees in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, including the powerful Appropriations Committee that helps shape the state's annual budget."Most of what we do in state government centers around the budget — whether it is funding for education, the environment or economic development — and this position will allow me and the residents of my district to have a greater say in what government spends,"said Ellis, who began his second term in office in January.He noted that this year's budget will be unveiled on Tuesday and that hearings into the various agencies and departments will begin in earnest on Feb. 13."I am looking forward to asking the various agency directors and department secretaries about their budget request for the next fiscal year," he said.In addition to the Appropriations Committee, Ellis will serve on the Finance, Commerce, and Tourism and Recreational Development committees during the 2007-08 legislative session.Rep.

Dick Stevenson, R-8th, will spend his fourth term in the House on three committees that will deal with tourism, licensure and environmental issues.Specifically, Stevenson has been assigned to the House Tourism and Recreational Development, Professional Licensure, and Environmental Resources and Energy committees.He previously served on the Tourism and Recreational Development, and Environmental Resources and Energy committees."Tourism is one of our state's largest industries, with an estimated $25 billion being spent in hospitality each year," Stevenson said, noting that nearly 106 million visitors, including 48 million overnight leisure visitors, traveled to or within Pennsylvania in 2005."Being on the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee not only allows us to advance legislation to further develop this industry, but gives us a unique perspective on what brings visitors to our state each year," he added.Freshman Rep.

Jaret Gibbons, D-10th, said he was pleased with his assignments, which include the Commerce, Labor Relations, Finance and Democratic Policy committees.Additionally, he was appointed to the post of majority secretary of the State Government Committee."My committee assignments give me a seat at the table during discussions on some of the most important issues facing our state,"he said, "such as school funding, business taxes, campaign finance reform, labor laws including ending mandatory overtime for health-care workers and minimum wage, and banking and economic development."In particular, my role on the Policy Committee allows me to have a hand in shaping our majority caucus stance on issues that the people of Pennsylvania have made clear that they want us to address. I look forward to bringing my perspective to the committee," Gibbons said.———State Rep.

Mike Turzai, R-28th, House Republican policy chairman, announced this week a new welfare reform initiative he said would reduce poverty and give more families an unprecedented opportunity to improve their quality of lifeTurzai's Working Family Independence Act seeks to reform how the state invests tax dollars in welfare assistance programs to streamline administration, improve welfare to work efforts and instill unprecedented accountability in the state's welfare bureaucracy."In the past four years, our state's welfare system has been transformed into a system that subsidizes and traps well-meaning working families in the hopelessness of poverty," he said."It is a tragedy that this administration now uses more than $9.8 billion, plus an additional $11.9 billion in federal money, to leave more than one in every 10 of our citizens in subsidized poverty. "The legislation would implement a pay-for-performance funding system for the state Department of Public Welfare.Under the proposal, the department would receive four equal quarterly installments of $2.45 billion to fund its programs for each quarter it fully complies with federal welfare-to-work requirements.If the department fails to meet the requirements in that quarter, their next installment would be reduced by $500 million from the previous quarter's amount.Turzai noted the federal government as recently as late last year ranked Pennsylvania last among the 50 states and U.S. territories in progress toward complying with federal welfare-to-work requirements.The initiative would deliver the federal payment in the form of block grant funding to the DPW. Using the block grant funding method, DPW would be allowed to earmark dollars in a way to deliver services in the most cost efficient and effective way.In addition, outdated and often contradictory state mandates that slow progress on welfare-to-work efforts would be removed and replaced by existing federal requirementsThe department would be required to submit a twice-yearly independent audit of the funds to members of the General Assembly, auditor general, attorney general and state treasurer for review.The Working Family Independence Act is the first step in a series of reforms being pursued by the House Republican Welfare Task Force.The task force was initiated by Turzai late last year in an effort to find new cost-efficient and more effective ways to fight poverty and prevent the loss of lifesaving programs to those most in need.Reps.

Brian Ellis, R-11th, and

Scott Hutchinson, R-64th are among the task force members.