State Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Berks/Carbon/Schuylkill, was recently selected by his colleagues to serve as the House chairman of the Government Reform Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators working to develop and promote legislation to reform state government.

"I think that we can all agree that there are a number of issues in Harrisburg that require genuine reform," said Knowles. "I'm pleased that my colleagues have afforded me the opportunity to serve the General Assembly in this capacity."The caucus, which was created in 2013, has recently been focused on legislation to strengthen state laws regarding gifts to public officials. State Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-15, serves as the Senate chairman of this caucus.Knowles said, "I think it's a great caucus."It deals with transparency, accountability and issues that deal with reform in the general assembly, like per diems, the size of the Legislature, term limits and campaign finance reform," he said. "When you talk about reaching across the aisle and working together, this is one of those caucuses that does that."For more information about the Government Reform Caucus, or any other legislative topic, contact Knowles' district office in Tamaqua at 570-668-1240, or in Hamburg at 610-562-3411. Information can also be found online at RepKnowles.com or Facebook.com/RepKnowles.