HR 39

                                                                       *HR1541*
                                                  Introduced Version
                    HOUSE
               RESOLUTION No. ___
                       Introduced by: Lehman
                  ____________________________________
1A HOUSE RESOLUTION honoring Representative
2    Edward D. Clere.
3Whereas, Representative Edward D. Clere, who was first
4    elected to represent the people of House District 72 in 2008,
5    will conclude his legislative service at the end of his current
6    term;
7Whereas, Representative Clere has served nine consecutive
8    terms in the Indiana House of Representatives. During this
9    time, he has served honorably on several standing committees,
10    including the Education Committee; the Small Business and
11    Economic Development Committee; the Ways and Means
12    Committee, of which he has chaired the Health and Medicaid
13    Subcommittee since 2020; the Public Policy Committee; the
14    Public Health Committee, which he chaired from 2012 to 2015;
15    the Judiciary Committee; and the Financial Institutions
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1    Committee;
2Whereas, During his time in office, Representative Clere has
3    focused on health and human services, education, and fiscal
4    policy. He was a leading advocate for Medicaid expansion
5    under the Affordable Care Act, and he is a recognized expert on
6    Medicaid.
7Whereas, Representative Clere has been a fierce champion
8    for vulnerable and marginalized Hoosiers, including children,
9    seniors, people with disabilities, the economically
10    disadvantaged, LGBTQ+ people, and other minorities;
11Whereas, Representative Clere has been an outspoken and
12    tireless champion of harm reduction. In response to the 2015
13    HIV outbreak in Scott County, while chairman of the House
14    Public Health Committee, he authored the legislation that
15    allowed communities to provide syringe service programs,
16    which reduce the spread of infection and connect people to
17    recovery and other resources, and these programs have saved
18    and improved countless lives and made communities
19    throughout Indiana safer and stronger;
20Whereas, Throughout his tenure, Representative Clere has
21    worked to increase legislative engagement and make the
22    legislature more understandable and accessible to his
23    constituents and other Hoosiers. Since 2014, Representative
24    Clere has worked with Dr. Sharron Crowder of the Indiana
25    University School of Nursing to offer a legislative fellowship
26    for graduate nursing students, increasing the voice of the
27    nursing profession in the legislative process;
28Whereas, In 2019, Representative Clere authored legislation
29    that made Indiana part of the Nurse Licensure Compact,
30    allowing nurses to be licensed in their home state and to
31    practice in other compact member states without obtaining a
32    separate license. The compact has benefited employers, nurses,
33    and patients throughout Indiana, including in Southern
34    Indiana, where it has supported regionalism, a goal
35    Representative Clere has promoted throughout his time in
36    office;
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1Whereas, As part of his efforts to support small and
2    independent businesses, Representative Clere has worked
3    extensively on legislation to support and promote the craft
4    alcohol industry, including farm wineries and breweries. He
5    authored the 2013 legislation that created the artisan distiller's
6    permit, giving rise to a major new Hoosier industry;
7      Whereas, Representative Clere has received more than three
8    dozen awards for his legislative service and accomplishments;
9Whereas, Representative Clere serves on a number of state
10    and local bodies, including the board of Indiana's CHOICE
11    Program, which helps seniors and people with disabilities live
12    independently; the board of the Indiana School for the Deaf;
13    the state's Medicaid Advisory Committee; and the coordinating
14    council for First Steps, Indiana's early-intervention program
15    for infants and toddlers with developmental delays;
16Whereas, Representative Clere also serves on the boards of
17    the Indiana Minority Health Coalition and the Cardinal Ritter
18    Birthplace Foundation. He is a member of the advisory council
19    of his area agency on aging, LifeSpan Resources, and he
20    co-chairs the Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition;
21Whereas, Representative Clere has been active in
22    nonpartisan state government organizations, including the
23    Council of State Governments (CSG). He is a former co-chair
24    of CSG's Health Public Policy Committee. He is a 2010
25    graduate of CSG Midwest's Bowhay Institute for Legislative
26    Leadership Development and a former co-chair of the
27    institute's steering committee, on which he continues to serve.
28    He is the second vice chair of the CSG Midwestern Legislative
29    Conference and a longtime member of its executive committee;
30Whereas, Representative Clere earned a bachelor's degree
31    in sociology from Indiana University Southeast and is a
32    graduate of Leadership Southern Indiana;
33Whereas, Representative Clere has worked as a Realtor
34    since 2001 and is very involved in historic preservation. He is
35    a former member of the board of Indiana's statewide historic
36    preservation organization, Indiana Landmarks, and he has
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1    served on the organization's Real Estate Committee for more
2    than 20 years. As a Realtor, he has earned the GRI, CRS, and
3    ABR designations and has served on the board of the Southern
4    Indiana Realtors Association; and
5      Whereas, Representative Clere has enjoyed the unwavering
6    support of his wife, Amy, without whom his service would not
7    have been possible, and their five children, Alan, Lauren,
8    Megan, Madeline, and Hannah: Therefore,
9Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the
10General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
11      SECTION 1. That the Indiana House of Representatives
12    honors Representative Edward D. Clere upon his retirement.
13      SECTION 2. That the Principal Clerk of the House of
14    Representatives shall transmit a copy of this resolution to
15    Representative Edward D. Clere.
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