AAC
FEATURE
Top: AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis (left) and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (right) present the Diamond Award to state Rep. Michelle Gray. Bottom: AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis (left) and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (right) present the Diamond Award to state Sen. Jason Rapert.
AAC honors legislators with Diamond Awards
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he Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) honored state Rep. Michelle Gray and state Sen. Jason Rapert for championing the passage of the 2019 Public Safety Act. Each received an AAC Diamond Award during the AAC’s annual August conference. 28
At the heart of the legislation that became Act 660 of 2019 is the transformation of the state’s 911 system. AAC Executive Director Chris Villines called the 2019 Public Safety Act “one of the most critical pieces of legislation in the last 10 years.” He thanked Rep. Gray and Sen. Rap-
ert for their “leadership, hard work, persistence, and dedication to saving lives and giving counties the tools we need to upgrade and fund our antiquated 911 system in Arkansas.” AAC Governmental Relations Director Josh Curtis, who worked closely with Rep. Gray and Sen. Rapert to develop the legislation, encouraged all conference attendees to thank their legislators for their support of the act. “We had a wild ride working on this bill. To some people, it looked easy because we had over a super majority of the votes in the house and senate. It was not easy,” he said. “This act 660 isn’t about money or power. It’s about all of Arkansas doing what’s right to save lives and provide the best public safety to all of our citizens.” Act 660 does several things. Among them, it replaces the Arkansas Emergency Telephone Services Board with the Arkansas 911 Board and gives that board oversight of public service answering points (PSAPs) and the ability to upgrade the state’s 911 system. In his remarks, Sen. Rapert called the legislation a “heavy lift” but acknowledged the importance of its passage. “The 911 system is critical to the state of Arkansas,” he said. “Whether you’re in El Dorado or Pocahontas, whether you are in Junction City or Conway, Fayetteville or Fort Smith, when somebody is in need of help you want to pick up that phone and be able to call 911 and know that there’s going be someone there.” Rep. Gray thanked county officials, in particular county judges, for talking to the state representatives and senators and conveying the need for 911 reform. She also said she was pleased that the act establishes an oversight board. “For me, one of the biggest things moving forward is knowing that we now have a statewide board so that we can have all of our counties at least on the same page moving forward together in the future,” she said. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019