Government Service:

Representative Jeff Espich (District 82) has been a member of the Indiana House of Representatives since 1972, representing Allen, Wells and Grant Counties.  In over three decades of public service, Rep. Espich has served as Speaker Pro Tempore, Chairman of the House Labor Committee, Chairman of the House Commerce Committee and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.  Currently, Rep. Espich serves as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and works closely with legislation that involves state tax and finance.

While serving as Chairman of House Ways and Means during the 114th General Assembly, Rep. Espich authored and passed Indiana's first balanced biennial state budget in over a decade.  His initiatives promoted fiscal responsibility, which led to limitations on spending that produced a balanced budget and an operating surplus of $371 million. Thanks to this fiscal leadership, Indiana was able to repay $500 million in debt it owed to Indiana K-12 schools. 

In addition to the balanced budget, Rep. Espich worked on legislation during the 2006 legislative session that led to providing more than $2 billion in Property Tax Replacement Credits (PTRCs) to local government.  This was more property tax relief than ever before – a $52 million increase over the previous budget.  This additional relief provided an average net property tax growth of zero percent for Hoosier homeowners in 2006.

In 2011, Rep. Espich brought home another victory for taxpayers when he created and helped pass another balanced budget. As passed, the state budget didn't include any tax increases, but provided a structural balance for 2012-2013, maintained a prudent level of reserves and directed more funding to K-12 education.

In addition to his leadership on the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Espich also serves as Chairman of the State Budget Committee, which is responsible for the oversight of state appropriations and developing budget recommendations to submit to the governor.

Outside of the Statehouse, Rep. Espich keeps busy as a self-employed small businessman.  He serves as the Director of the State Bank of Markle and is also a member of the Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. 

Rep. Espich is a U.S. Army veteran and a graduate of Indiana University School of Business Administration. A father and a grandfather, Rep. Espich and his family reside in Uniondale, Indiana where they are members of the Uniondale United Methodist Church.