Dear Fayetteville,
Here we go again! Legislative session officially began last week, when the 95th General Assembly was sworn in. The highlight for me was, as it always is, having my girls by my side to share it with.
|
|
This session, I’ll serve on four standing committees. The first three are the same as last session: 1) Judiciary, 2) State Agencies and Governmental Affairs, and 3) Joint Budget. In addition, I was also named a member of the Rules Committee – a committee whose members are appointed by the Speaker of the House. We welcomed a new Speaker this term, Rep. Brian Evans, from Cabot. Speaker Evans and I entered the legislature the same year and have always worked well together. I'm grateful for his entrusting me with this committee appointment.
So what do these committees do?
The Judiciary Committee hears any bills pertaining to courts or civil or criminal laws or procedure. Rep. Carol Dalby (Texarkana) will return as Chair. I have served on Judiciary every session so far, and it is consistently one of the most rewarding experiences of my service here.
If you care (and I know the recipients of my newsletter do!) about prisons, guns, or our criminal justice system in general, this is the committee to keep an eye on. We see lots of bills and our agenda is already full.
The State Agencies Committee reviews bills pertaining to all state agencies, of course, and a lot of our work covers things like law enforcement, election law, and some more general administrative duties of the state. In the past few years we’ve seen attempts (some successful) to weaken our state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and lessen government transparency. All legislation impacting FOIA will go through the State Agencies Committee. Finally, the committee hears and votes out constitutional amendments that will be placed on your ballot. Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (Paragould) will serve as chair.
If you care (and I know the recipients of my newsletter do!) about protecting democracy, this is the committee to keep an eye on. We’ll have a lot of work to do this session and I’m glad to have a seat at this particular table again.
Joint Budget will hear all matters related to the state’s spending.
The Rules Committee hears all bills concerning not only the rules of the House as well as House business, but also bills around gambling, alcohol, ethics, and tobacco.
|
|
|
|
I was happy to welcome newly-elected Senator Jamie Scott back to the House floor. I will miss having her on our side of the building, but as a friend and Arkansan, I'm thrilled to see the good work she'll do as a State Senator.
|
|
How can you get engaged?
I’ll be updating constituents via e-mail every week, but once we get past the first few weeks of session, things start moving very quickly. Remember that the first step for every bill is to make it past a committee. You can find rosters for each committee here. Those 20 people will determine whether it ever makes it to the floor, so public feedback during committee consideration is absolutely critical. Committee hearings are also the only opportunity for members of the public to speak directly to legislators about a bill, on the public record.
If there’s a bill you’re particularly interested in following, keep an eye out for it here and contact the members of the committee with your thoughts. (You can see each committee’s list of bills by pressing the “agenda” button next to the meeting info.) One important thing to know is just because a bill is listed as on the agenda, it does NOT mean that bill will be heard at the next meeting of that committee. It’s a fault of the legislature that we make it so hard for the public to know when a bill will actually be heard, when so many need to come from so far away to get their voices heard. Committee members typically (but not always) know what will and won’t be heard in advance of any given meeting, so if you’ve got questions about scheduling, reach out to a member on the committee who may be able to help.
|
|
Looking forward
Governor Sarah Sanders announced some legislative priorities in her State of the State speech. I'm obviously paying special attention to the Governor’s focus on higher education. We know, for instance, that she's looking to make some changes to the higher ed funding formula and increase attention to workforce development. However, specific details remain unclear, as we have yet to see the legislation she will propose to address these areas.
I fully support increasing access to Arkansas’s institutions of higher education and a higher ed model that recognizes that a 4-year college degree is not a one-size-fits-all solution for every Arkansan. However we must take a careful look at what stands to lose funding in order to accomplish these goals.
Further, I will staunchly defend faculty and staff members' First Amendment right to free speech. Any government overreach when it comes to either curriculum or hiring/tenure will severely hamper our state universities ability to continue to attract the best and the brightest to this great state. That hurts us all.
|
|
|
Evie and Kit at my first swearing-in in 2019 and again this year.
Now ages 14 and 10, they've been with me the first day of every session and they inspire me more than they'll ever know!
|
|
I’ve spent the last two years listening to you and currently have bills in the works to address some of the areas I know Fayetteville is most concerned about. They'll cover a broad range of topics from housing access and affordability, domestic violence, and criminal justice reform and I'll have more to say on them in the weeks ahead.
In short, I look forward to dedicating my time this session to solving actual problems Arkansans are facing. That work will come in the form of communicating what’s going on in your State Capitol, filing legislation, fighting for my colleagues’ bills that meet these same goals, and against others that do not.
You can always follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and X for real-time updates. I’m @NicoleClowneyAR on each of those platforms.
And if you want to be in touch directly, the best way to do that, especially during session, is text. Feel free to send me a message anytime – (479) 445-5337 – and let me know what’s on your mind.
|
|
|
|
Just a few of the Democratic women who will be working hard for you this session!
|
|
The next few months won’t always be easy. There will be moments that make us angry or sad or fearful. There always are. But there are also always opportunities to do good. I’ve always spent my time in Little Rock looking for those. This session will be no different, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to get to work with you and for you!
Love,
Nicole
|
|
|
|
|
