Topeka ? The Kansas House has combined two committees that dealt with labor, tourism and other economic issues into a single panel.

The new panel will be the Commerce and Economic Development Committee. Its chairman will be Eudora Republican Anthony Brown.

The House previously had a Commerce and Labor Committee and an Economic Development and Tourism Committee.

House Speaker and Hutchinson Republican Mike O’Neal says the committees are being combined partly to help House members manage their time better.

O’Neal also says the former Economic Development and Tourism Committee’s work could easily be absorbed by an existing committee.