INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A long-time Indiana state senator announced Wednesday that he will resign from the chamber in late September, citing the growing pressures of balancing his legislative duties and “business, personal and family obligations.”

Republican Sen. Chip Perfect, of Lawrenceburg, said he will resign effective Sept. 26 after nearly nine years representing southeastern Indiana’s Senate District 43.

He said in a statement that it was a “difficult” decision for him to resign from the seat where he has represented Dearborn, Jefferson, Ohio, Scott and Switzerland counties and portions of Jennings County.

“It is a challenge to balance public service with business, personal and family obligations, as each of those responsibilities has grown recently and it feels like a disservice to the people of my district when I cannot fully give the Indiana Senate the focus it requires,” Perfect said.

Perfect is the president and CEO of Perfect North Slopes, a skiing destination in southeastern Indiana which he has operated for the last 42 years.

He serves as chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Technology and as a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Utilities. He also serves on the Senate committees on agriculture, natural resources and pensions and labor.

A Republican caucus will meet to select a replacement for Perfect, although when that will occur has not been determined, said Luke Thomas, a spokesman for the Indiana Republican Party.

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