Meet the leadership in the 94th General Assembly

The state’s 94th General Assembly will convene Jan. 9, 2022. Pre-filing of bills and resolutions began on Nov. 16, 2020. As this edition of County Lines was planned, it was decided to introduce Senate and House leadership to our readers.

On the following pages you will read more about President Senate Pro Tempore Bart Hester, Speaker of the House

Matthew Shepherd, Senate and House Majority Leaders Sen. Blake Johnson and Rep. Marcus Richmond, and Senate and House Minority Leaders Sen. Greg Leding and Rep. Jay Richardson. County and district elected officials will encounter these legislators on the hill.

This will be the first legislative session held under Arkansas’ incoming governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Sen. Hester, R-Cave City, succeeds Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, as President Senate Pro Tempore in the 94th General Assembly. He was elected to the senate in 2012.

During the 94th General Assembly, he will serve on the State Agencies, Children and Youth, and Efficiency committees.

Hester believes in holding down the size of government and reducing government debt. He has been a consistent sponsor of legislation to lower taxes and reduce regulatory burdens on business. Also, his legislative priorities have included bills to improve foster care and adoption services.

In recent interviews, Hester has indicated that the 94th General Assembly will focus on education — including teacher raises, cutting income taxes, parole reform, and building a new prison.

“Some people say 1,000 beds. I say we need 3,000 beds, right? And we’ll continue to talk about that as the legislature. But the good news is when you have a significant amount of savings, and we do, we’ve got a couple of billion dollars that are available to us, you really have options,” he said in a November interview with Talk Business & Politics.

Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, was first elected Speaker of the House in 2018. He presided over the House durng the 92nd and 93rd General Assemblies, and won re-relection as Speaker this year.

Shepherd has served in the House since 2011. He is a practicing attorney.

Shepherd will serve on the Public Transportation and the Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development committees in the upcoming session.

Shepherd and Hester are on the same page regarding priorities for the legislature, which will have a total of 40 (13 senators and 27 representatives) new members, in 2023. He has said that criminal and prison reform, education, and continuing to cut taxes will be major issues.

Shepherd said in a December interview with the Arkansas DemocratGazette that Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ preference will be vital in setting the pace for the session.

“We want to be ready to move forward from day one” and to be as efficient as possible, he told the newspaper.

Arkansas State Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, will serve as Senate Majority Leader during the 94th General Assembly. He was elected to the Arkansas Senate in 2014 and took the oath of office on the first day of the 2015 legislative session.

During the 2021 regular session Johnson sponsored legislation to mandate inspections of abortion facilities and to limit drag racing motor vehicles on a public highway. He was the Senate sponsor of legislation to cut in half the annual registration fee on hybrid vehicles.

Johnson previously has sponsored bills affecting public schools, such as creating options for issuing a standard teaching license for nontraditional licensure programs, changing the number of professional development days required for teachers and strengthening background checks for public school teachers and employees.

In the upcoming session, Johnson will serve on the Senate’s Revenue & Tax, Rules, and Energy Committees. In addition, he will serve as chairman of the Transportation Committee.

Rep. Marcus Richmond, R-Harvey, will reprise his role as House Majority Leader in the 94th General Assembly. His first term in the House was in 2015. He served as 4th District Assistant Speaker Pro Tem in 2017 and as House Majority Leader in 2018.

During the 2019 session, Richmond was a primary sponsor of SB544 (now Act 1110), which requires a person in the custody of a correctional facility to use funds from federal relief or stimulus programs to first pay outstanding fines, fees, costs, or restitution. He also sponsored several House bills regarding public education, voting, law enforcement, and sex trafficking.

During the 94th General Assembly, Richmond will continue to serve on the House Judiciary, and State Agencies & Governmental Affairs committees.

Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, has enjoyed a long career in public service. He served four terms in the state House of Representatives — in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Leding was Minority Leader for one term when he was a member of the House.

He was first elected to the Senate in 2019. As of this printing, he has not filed any bills for the 2023 Regular Session.

In the past he has advocated for raisting teacher salaries and for giving teachers an income tax deduction for buying certain items for their classrooms, among other education-related issues.

During the 94th General Assembly, he will serve on the House Education; Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development; and Children and Youth committees. He also will be vice-chairman of the Retirement Committee.

Rep. Jay Richardson, D-Fort Smith, will enter his third term in the House when the body convenes in January.

During the 2021 Regular Session, Richardson was primary sponsor for several bills regarding law enforcement officers. He was co-sponsor of HB1516 (now Act 587), permitting law enforcement officers to transport persons in crisis to a sobering center. In 2019, He was a co-sponsor of HB1145 (now Act 170), known as the teacher salary enhancement act. He also co-sponsored HB1409 (now Act 641), to “allow for extended learning opportunities through unstructured social time; to require a certain amount of time for recess; and to consider supervision during unstructured social time as instructional.

He will serve on the House Judiciary, and Insurance & Commerce committees during the 94th General Assembly.

2023 Regular Session Dates and Deadlines

Jan. 9 — Legislature convenes

Jan. 23 — Deadline to file retirement legislation, certain health care legislation, and employee benefits plans legislation

Feb. 8 — Deadline to file constitutional amendments

*Feb. 27 — Deadline to file appropriation bills

*Deadline may be extended

2023 Legislative Session Resources

Look up bills and meeting times: https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us

Find your state representative: https://www.arkansashouse.org

Find your state senator: https://senate.arkansas.gov

Left: Former AAC Executive Director Brenda Pruitt was recognized during the 50th Annual AAC Conference in 2018. She worked at the AAC for 18 years and has been the only female executive director in the association’s history. Pruitt passed away on Nov. 15, at the age of 80.