Today marks the start of Week 9 of legislative session. By now, you’ve seen a lot about bad bills coming our way. There are bills threatening the Buffalo River. There are bills targeting gay and trans Arkansans. There are bills targeting our immigrant neighbors. I'm fighting hard against those bills and have been so grateful to hear from so many of you on these and more. Please keep the outreach coming to me and to my colleagues. It matters.

This week, however, I want to use this space to share some news you may not have heard as much about.

State Agencies Committee To Hear Proposed Constitutional Amendments

First: Constitutional Amendments. We all vote on them, but how do they end up on our ballot in the first place?

Two types of Constitutional amendments get on the Arkansas ballot:

1) Citizen-led initiatives (minimum wage or medical marijuana were both citizen-led); and

2) Amendments placed on the ballot by the State Legislature (taxes for roads and term limits were both legislatively-referred).

While we’ve spent the last few weeks in State Agencies Committee fighting the bills that will make it harder for citizen-led initiatives to make it onto the ballot, this week we will hear proposed amendments for the legislature to potentially place on the ballot.

Democrats have put forward some great proposals. Rep. Andrew Collins has filed one proposal that would create a nonpartisan redistricting commission and another that would enshrine our strong Freedom of Information Act in the State Constitution. Rep. Jay Richardson’s proposal would remove legal slavery from the Arkansas Constitution. You can see all the proposed amendments by going here and looking them up individually – they are HJR1001 – HJR1020.

If you see any that you like (or don’t!) please reach out to members of the House State Agencies Committee and let us know.

Graduate Medical Education Funding

Now, for some very good news! Some of you may have read in the paper yesterday about the newly-dedicated funds to Graduate Medical Education (GME) in our state.

This work began back in 2021, when the Legislature approved $12.5m to expand Washington Regional Medical Center’s GME program. Building on that, the Legislature recently approved an additional $4.5 million to expand this work and allow UAMS and Mercy to benefit as well. This funding will add 26 new residency and fellowship positions in key specialties, addressing the physician shortage in Northwest Arkansas. More physicians lead to economic growth for the region and, most importantly, better health outcomes for the state for generations to come.

We are so fortunate to have had Larry Shackelford and Washington Regional take the lead (and early risk) on this critical work, and I’m grateful to have gotten the chance to help and vote this important funding through.

Standing Up for Safety: HB1641

In addition to voting for some good bills, I've brought a number of my own, too. HB1641 is one.

Over the interim, a courageous constituent named Erin came to me after a frightening encounter with her abusive and controlling ex-boyfriend. Without her knowledge or consent, he had placed a tracking device on her car and was following her every move. Arkansas law had not quite caught up to the technology of tracking devices, so Erin wasn’t able to bring charges and get the protection she needed and deserved.

When Erin came to me with her story, we got to work, and drafted and filed HB1641. This bill would close the gap in our law by adding digital tracking without consent to our state’s code section on the crime of harassment. Erin personally presented the bill to the Judiciary Committee last week, telling her story and highlighting the need for this legislation. The bill is scheduled for a vote on the House floor tomorrow.

Supporting Firefighter Families: An Update

Finally, a few weeks ago I told you here that I filed a bill to provide benefits for the surviving spouses of firefighters who lose their lives due to line-of-duty cancer. Firefighters risk their lives every day, and it's essential that we take care of their families who give us all so much. On Tuesday, I’ll present this bill to the Joint Retirement Committee and then hopefully the full House before the week is out. I remain so grateful for the chance to advocate for those who sacrifice everything for our communities.