The chairman of a House budget committee, Republican Rep. Jim Barton of Mobile, says he is resigning from the House to take a lobbying job in Montgomery.
Barton says his resignation is effective immediately. Barton was chairman of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee, which develops the budget for most non-education state agencies. House Speaker Mike Hubbard named Rep. Steve Clouse of Ozark as the new committee chairman.
Barton says he will be joining the Kinney Capitol Group. It's a lobbying and consulting firm whose clients include the Alabama Retail Association and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
Barton is the second budget committee chairman to resign this summer. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Education Committee, Republican Jay Love of Montgomery resigned in July.