Arkansas lawmakers spent much of this week applauding official speeches and getting themselves organized for the session ahead. For AR People kept an eye on Capitol happenings to bring you this rundown of the first four days.
Rep. Matthew Shepherd elected for third term as Speaker
Known for his pragmatic leadership, Rep. Matthew Shepherd (R-El Dorado) was elected for a third term as leader the House. In his speech, Shepherd called for members to listen to one another and commit to hear one another’s perspectives. He also dodged a request from extremist GOP members who asked him to bar Democrats from committee leadership. Ultimately Shepherd selected two Democrats to serve in vice chair positions in the House.
Gov. Sanders shows two faces on inauguration day
After being sworn in, Governor Sarah Sanders gave a tempered speech in an address to the legislative body. But just a few hours later in a speech outside to the public, she stoked division, brushed off unity and played to extremists in her base. It’s clear there’s a messaging difference in how she speaks to lawmakers and how she speaks to the public. Optimists note there’s a difference between messaging and governing, and what will happen on the governing side remains to be seen. But the culture wars got another shout out this week when Sanders signed multiple executive orders that:
- freeze government spending
- ban CRT in schools
- ban the term “LatinX” from state documents
On Wednesday, she signed another executive order that expands pre-K and also expands charter schools. During live coverage of her inauguration on PBS, Jay Barth pointed out that expanding pre-k (as well as increasing teacher pay) conflicts with expanding charter schools. How will the state fund pre-K and salary raises if fewer dollars go to public schools? We will see if her office can make clashing policies fit together.
Icky anti-trans bill gets backlash
Sen. Gary Stubblefield filed SB43, which would label drag shows as adult performances only, enraging LGBTQ supporters. And rightfully so. If passed, this cookie cutter bill, whose wording is a cut-and-paste of bills being shopped around in other red states, would overwhelmingly target members of the trans community.
It’s likely we’ll see more hateful and unhelpful legislation targeting libraries, schools and transgender people this session.
