Education- Attended Hanover College; Graduated Musicians Institute, Hollywood, CA.

Representative Jerry Torr is a sixth generation Hoosier. He grew up on a family farm in the heart of Putnam County and was a 10-year 4-H'er. In 1987, he moved to Carmel where he currently resides with his wife, Stephanie. He became the state representative for House District 39 in 1996.

During the 2005 legislative session, Representative Torr authored the Daylight Saving Time (DST) bill that called for Indiana to finally observe DST. Indiana was one of only three states in the U.S. that did not observe DST. DST has been instrumental in job creation for the Hoosier state.

In 2005, Jerry also authored the Health Insurance Waiver Act, allowing health insurers to issue policies to individuals who would otherwise be denied coverage due to one or two minor pre-existing medical conditions. Since the act became public law, countless Hoosier consumers have benefited.

Jerry has been the leading force in pursuing legislation that would eliminate the unfair practice of gerrymandering in Indiana. Redistricting is done every 10 years by the party in majority that year. This tends to lead to gerrymandering that ensures that majority incumbents are re-elected. He has proposed legislation that would create a bipartisan commission (consisting of both Republicans and Democrats) to draw new Indiana House and Senate districts. A bi-partisan commission would help to ensure that districts are drawn in the interest of constituents rather than in the interest of political parties and incumbent legislators.

He believes that no Hoosier worker should be forced to join a labor union against his or her will as a condition of employment. In the last several sessions, Jerry has introduced legislation to end forced unionism in Indiana. Twenty-two states currently have such "Right to Work" laws. Besides being a simple matter of fairness, economic development experts believe that a "Right to Work" law would bring many new jobs to Indiana.

Representative Torr is a Client Executive at the Hylant Group. He was formerly a Commercial Casualty General Adjuster with FCCI Insurance Company in Carmel. He was previously a member of the Central Indiana Claims Association and the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators. He also previously served on the board of the Indiana Forum for Fair Liability Laws. In 1995, the forum was instrumental in the passage of a comprehensive Tort Reform Act. In addition, Representative Torr formerly served as the Director and President of the State Adjuster's Association.

Jerry attended Hanover College where he studied music, philosophy, and physics, among others. He graduated from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California in 1978 after studying guitar performance, music composition, arranging, orchestration, and film scoring.

He is currently a member of all the Hamilton County Chambers of Commerce, including the Fishers Chamber of Commerce, the Westfield-Washington Chamber of Commerce, and the Carmel/Clay Chamber of Commerce. He is a former Precinct Committeeman and has been a delegate to the Republican State Convention.

Jerry has been honored with numerous awards including the 2005 Chamber of Commerce Government Leader of the Year Award and the Small Business Champion Award, also given by the Chamber of Commerce.