2025 Girls State House Meeting
Video
Transcript
Bills discussed (9)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1005
Act 14
· 6 mentions in transcript
Matched: “you please read House Bill 1000. Will you please read House Bill 1005 by Representative Delegate”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING TUITION WAIVERS FOR ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS AND AIRMEN TO … | Ray | Notification that HB1005 is now Act 14 |
|
SB2
· 4 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…ation on the bills that were passed in the Senate. How, uh, Senate Bill 2 was passed, Senate Bill 3, Senate Bill 4, set up book 5, se…”
|
TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION PROGRAM; AND TO REMOVE THE MANDATE FOR WATER SYSTEMS TO … | C. Penzo | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB3
Act 116
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…re passed in the Senate. How, uh, Senate Bill 2 was passed, Senate Bill 3, Senate Bill 4, set up book 5, set up 6, and Senate Bill 8…”
|
TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION OR PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT BY THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND OTHER PUBLIC ENTITIES. | D. Sullivan | Notification that SB3 is now Act 116 |
|
SB4
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…e Senate. How, uh, Senate Bill 2 was passed, Senate Bill 3, Senate Bill 4, set up book 5, set up 6, and Senate Bill 8 was passed, but…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS; AND TO ALLOW VOTERS TO ELECT "FOR" … | C. Penzo | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB8
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…Senate Bill 3, Senate Bill 4, set up book 5, set up 6, and Senate Bill 8 was passed, but on Senate Bill 3, the emergency clause did…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT - DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY SUPPLEMENTAL … | J. Payton | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1000
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “you please read House Bill 1000. Will you please read House Bill 1005 by Representative Del…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB105
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “We'll start with the expunge bill, House Bill 105. W Madam clerk, will”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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SB5
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…how uh senate bill 2 was passed senate bill 3 senate bill 4 senate bill 5 senate bill 6 and senate bill 8 was passed but on senate bi…”
|
TO ADD THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG HARM OR HOMICIDE. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB6
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…bill 2 was passed senate bill 3 senate bill 4 senate bill 5 senate bill 6 and senate bill 8 was passed but on senate bill 3 the emerg…”
|
TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF VACCINE HARM. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
Machine transcript
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Speaker. She needs to hit her buzzer a couple of times so they know we're going back into session. All right. Thank
you, ma'am. Thank you. Yeah, you can take your visors back off. You don't have to leave them on. You
can take them back off. We're not going to pass another resolution. It's already been done. So this is kind of what we're going to do, just so you kind of know what's going to happen. We'll go between 1.30 and 1.40, and it won't matter if we finish the bills or not, okay?
And then after that, all the reps will come up here at the front, and we'll allow y'all to have some question time and give y'all a little bit of time to take pictures of anything you want to take pictures with or pictures with somebody that you might want to take pictures with, okay? I do want to say that I'm sorry
that we kind of rushed y'all at the end but we know y'all have a hard stop like you've got to be on the bus ready to go at two okay so we understand the hard stop that's why I was trying to tell y'all
let's quit asking questions let's just move through the process as quickly as possible. Madam
can start there, that would be great. All right, I would like to give the House of Representatives some
Chair
Unverified
1:43
information on the bills that were passed in senate how uh senate bill 2 was passed senate bill 3 senate bill 4 senate bill 5 senate bill 6 and senate bill 8 was passed but on senate bill 3 the emergency clause did fail we will now go back into session on I now order this house back into session. We will start with the expunged bill, House Bill 1005.
Speaker 23
2:27
Madam Clerk, will you please read House Bill 1005? Will you please
Speaker 25
2:34
read House Bill 1005 by Representative Delegate Jackson to establish the Study Here, Stay Here Act. Representative
Chair
Unverified
2:44
Jackson, you are recognized to explain your bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Speaker 28
2:57
Hi, representatives again. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to give my opening statement, so I would like to clarify some things about my bill. So, first of all, this is a tax incentive, meaning that the government does not give out dollars. While we may lose some revenue initially, we will not be paying companies to promote scholarships. We will only be taking off what they have to pay in taxes. Secondly, if everybody can turn to the bill, on page
one, line 29, it says, provide a student with a scholarship. This does not mean the company can only award one student one scholarship. The next couple lines down, it says that the scholarship money is dollar for dollar. So every dollar that goes to the school is how much is cut off their taxes. So if I'm given two million dollars from one company for four years, it may
only cost me three thousand dollars to go to school. So the company will only receive three thousand dollars off of their taxes, okay? Also, this is a scholarship. Nobody is required to apply for it. So if you don't want to live in Arkansas, you don't have to apply. If you think you might change your mind. You don't have to apply. It is optional. Like nobody is making anybody apply for this. And then again, you can move after the five years is up. And okay, so back to that, like we may
lose money initially as revenue, but if you think about it, if we have people staying in state with a secondary degree and they're spending money in the state, we are receiving taxes off of that. They pay property taxes because they live here on a property. They pay sales taxes because they buy commodities in our state. And finally, they will be paying income tax because they are working in our state. I would like to close with this statement.
The Study Here, Stay Here House bill is designed to address two urgent challenges facing the state. The accessibility of higher education and the retention of our skilled graduates. We know that too many Arkansans, especially in rural communities, see college or trade schools as financially impossible. We know that too many who graduate take their talents elsewhere, leaving our communities and businesses struggling to fill key roles.
This bill proposes a solution that tackles both a tax incentive for businesses that invest in our future. Under this bill, companies will receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $2 million over four years when they fund scholarships for Arkansans attending two or four-year colleges and trade schools. But this isn't just about education, it's about commitment. To be eligible, students must remain employed in their field of study and in Arkansas for at least five years after graduation. In return, we keep talent in our state, strengthen our industries, and support students in their journey for success.
This is not a temporary fix. This is a permanent step forward for Arkansas. I urge you to support the Study Here, Stay Here bill so that we continue to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable futures for our great
Chair
Unverified
6:24
state. Representative Jackson has explained the bill. Would anyone like to speak against this bill? Representative
Mickey, you're recognized to speak against this bill.
Speaker 39
6:39
Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. I'm here yet again to explain to you why we should not allow this
Speaker 40
6:49
bill to pass. As I'm looking through this bill, I've read the entire thing, and I have a lot of concerns about the writing of this bill. The Speaker who spoke for this said that it is dollar for dollar, but I don't see this outlined anywhere in the bill, so that's not exactly clear. Also, it doesn't explain what a core industry would be, which can mean so many
things to a bunch of different people. And in my understanding, I believe that a core industry in Arkansas is agriculture. Where would you go to trade? Like two-year and four-year schools, like yes you can get agriculture degrees, but that's not typical. So if we're trying to support core industries like agriculture, I don't see how this would do that. Also, I do believe that this would not encourage companies that already give scholarships like J.B. Hunt, Tyson, and Walmart all
give scholarships. So if they're getting a tax incentive from something that they already do that doesn't necessarily seem fair, at the end of the day, this is only giving money and allowing companies to get more money. It is not helping our students, there are other ways that we can give our Arkansas students scholarship that isn't this. Please, I urge you all to vote nay on
Speaker 41
8:12
this bill. Representative Painter, for what purpose?
Speaker 43
8:15
Question. I recognize. Are you aware that the University of Arkansas has the School of Agriculture, being that you're
Speaker 44
8:22
considering that a core industry? Yes, I do, but like I said, core industry
Speaker 40
8:29
is not outlined in this bill, and also you don't have to go to school if you want to do something in agriculture. Representative Anker, for what purpose? Question. You are recognized.
Speaker 49
8:45
Personally, my dad's a farmer, and like you said, you think agriculture is the core of Arkansas. Him and pretty much all of his colleagues have went to school and got a degree. Farming is not like permanent, and it's not always good. So do you have any statistics on how many people you don't think do have a degree? Because pretty much everyone does, because you have to have something to fall back on. No, I
Speaker 40
9:08
do not. But what I'm saying is this is a company initiative. While your dad might have a degree, I applaud him for that. That's a great thing.
I do believe that we need people who have agriculture degrees. However, if you're working for an agriculture company, typically you're going to have a high
Chair
Unverified
9:27
school degree, in what I understand. Representative Underwood, for what purpose? Question.
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
9:32
You're recognized. Why would you say that these tax incentives wouldn't work for companies like-- Well, what I was saying with
Speaker 40
9:39
that-- I'm sorry, I might have not explained it better. But these companies, the big companies of Arkansas-- Walmart, Tyson, J.D. Hunt, or J.B. Hunt--
already provide scholarships. So this is just giving them an incentive for something that they already
Chair
Unverified
9:57
do. Representative Crawford, for what purpose? Question. You're recognized. Why would you feel like
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
10:02
it would discourage other companies if they have the opportunity to be the
Speaker 57
10:07
company to give the scholarship? I wasn't saying discourage
Speaker 40
10:12
them from giving it. I was saying that they might do less of the scholarships that they already give. Currently, the scholarships that Walmart, Tyson, J.B. Hunt give are to any Arkansas citizen,
not just ones that work for them, so they might put less money into those type of scholarships because they're going to be spending money on
Speaker 34
10:33
these type of scholarships, if that makes sense. - Representative Carr, John, for what purpose? - The speaker has left
Chair
Unverified
10:43
the well. Is there anyone that would like to speak for the bill? Representative Painter, you are recognized to speak for the bill.
Speaker 43
10:55
Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm just going to make this short and sweet. I am really for this bill because of
Representative Stetson Painter
Unverified
11:06
the fact that it really increases career exploration. It helps those who want to go into a certain industry have that already scholarship to be able to fund for that. It gives businesses an incentive on helping them out, especially those who may be a little stingy with being able to offer scholarships for students and I
really think that this would be a great opportunity on both ends and as far as what Senator I mean representative Joey Carl was saying about the fact that the money will be coming back into the state due to the taxes of them just being residents here so I would really appreciate if you all go for this vote thank you that was a speech
Chair
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11:47
for the bill are there any representatives who or should speak against this bill? Any for the bill?
Representative Jackson, would you like to close your bill? You are recognized to close your
Speaker 28
12:11
bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Okay, I'm going to make this quick because we're on a time crunch. There's two things I want to clarify. One, you do not have to come back and work for the company that provided you the scholarship. It does not say that anywhere in the bill. Two, just because a company is already giving scholarship, giving them incentive to give more scholarship
would not mean they would give less in other areas. While Walmart may be giving scholarship for, I don't know, like business degrees, this will allow them to give more scholarship money. All this is doing is promoting more scholarship money, But that second action of this bill is to also keep second hand, secondary educated residents in Arkansas. We need more residents in Arkansas with secondary degrees in whatever field they choose.
Not just, and oh, core industries refers to anything that is an industry in Arkansas. So whether it's like the smallest little bit of like metallurgy or agriculture. Thank you. Representative Jackson has closed for
Chair
Unverified
13:16
the bill. The question before the House is the passage of House Bill 1005. Prepare the machine, Madam Clerk. Has everyone voted?
Has everyone voted? Cast the ballot, Madam Clerk. With the yeas being 64, the nays being 22, and the present being 13, this bill does pass. We will now go on to our next order of business, which is, we are going to move to the Senate agenda. So everyone please flip their papers to the Senate bills. Our first bill will be Senate Bill No. 2. Madam Clerk, please read the bill.
Speaker 25
14:04
Senate Bill 2 from Senator Delegate Raju. To ensure transparency of local government spending on recreational sports and to declare an emergency. Representative Schultz,
Chair
Unverified
14:16
you are recognized to explain this bill. Representative Schultz, you are now recognized to explain this bill.
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
14:40
You are recognized. Thank you, Madam Senator. This bill is to ensure transparency
Speaker 68
14:48
for local governments in spending on recreational sports. Yeah. Okay.
Chair
Unverified
15:12
Representative Schultz has explained this bill. Would anyone like to speak against this bill? Anyone for this bill? Representative Hollowell, you are recognized
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
15:39
to speak for this bill. Good afternoon, representatives. Today, I'm presenting a bill that requires local governments to release quarterly financial reports on all funding and investments related to recreational programs.
These reports would be presented at public meetings and made it easily accessible to the community. This legislation is about transparency and public trust. I was moved to present this bill after witnessing a situation where a community recreational program, widely used and deeply valued, collapsed due to unclear financial management and conflicts of interest behind the scenes. The result was devastating. the program ended up in debt. Funding disappeared, and families who had invested their time and
resources were left without a program they relied on. This bill aims to prevent that. It also includes a provision that ensures if someone is harmed by mismanagement of these funds and they present a legal case against their local government, their legal fees will be fully covered. This bill may seem insignificant in comparison to bigger priorities such as education or infrastructure. Recreational programs are often overlooked, but they play a vital role in community health, youth development, and crime prevention. They offer safe environments, physical and mental wellness, and social engagement, especially for youth in undeserved populations.
When these programs fail due to financial mismanagement, it damages trust and harms the families who depend on them. This bill helps ensure these programs stay strong and accessible. Thank you, Madam
Chair
Unverified
17:22
Speaker. That was a speech for the bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against this bill? Any for the bill? Seeing none, Representative Schultz due. Perfect. Closed.
The question before the House is a passage of Senate Bill No. 2. Prepare the machine, Madam Clerk. You are voting for the bill and the emergency clause, representatives. Has everyone voted? Cast up the ballot, Madam Clerk.
With a yay of 74 and a nay of 0 and a present of 25, there has been a two-thirds present voting which means the emergency
clause and the bill has passed. Our next order of bills is going to be senate bill number three. Madam Clerk can you
Speaker 25
18:34
please read the bill? Senate bill number three from Senator Delegate Shaikh. To increase education about the gynecology field of medicine to facilitate more medical students becoming obstetricians and gynecologists and to declare an
Chair
Unverified
18:46
an emergency. Representatives, for some clarification, the emergency clause of this bill did fail, but the bill did pass. The clause only failed. Now, Representative Dalby, you are recognized
Speaker 79
19:02
to explain the bill. It is the intent with the General Assembly of Arkansas's girls' state to increase the education and increase the amount of gynecologists and address the scarcity of obstetricians in the state by increasing education about the
gynecology field of medicine and facilitating more medical students to become obstetricians and gynecologists. The Department of Education shall, one, require high school students to host one-week health care fairs per quarter with an emphasis on the obstetricians and gynecology field of medicine. Two, incentivize hospitals to create residency programs for obstetricians and gynecologists through state funding. Three, create hospital programs for high school students that require hospital to, A, provide grants to high school students to operate the hospital program,
and B, provide scholarships to interested high school students who submit an application and attend an interview. Number four, offer online standardized courses in ops statistics and gynecology to bridge education gaps, and five, offer incentives for medical schools and colleagues to offer interview-based scholarships for students entering obstetricians in the gynecology field of medicine for the pre-medical fields. This section shall expire 10 years after the effective date of this act. The Senate has received overwhelming support for this bill,
Speaker 77
20:29
and there is no known opposition. Representative Dalby has explained the bill. Are there any
Chair
Unverified
20:36
representatives wishing to speak against this bill? Any for this bill? Representative Dalby, do you wish to close for this bill? Question before the House is the passage of Senate bill number three. Prepare the machine, Madam Clerk. Has everyone voted? Cast up
the ballot, Madam Clerk. With the yeas being 72, the nays being
six, and the present being 19, this bill
has passed. The next order of business is Senate Bill number four. Madam Clerk, please read this
Speaker 25
21:31
bill. Senate bill number four from Senator Delegate Wilson. To increase Arkansas education standards and performance outcomes to medium international benchmarks. Representative
Chair
Unverified
21:42
Vaughn, you're recognized to explain this bill.
Speaker 83
21:54
almost said Madam President. That was weird. Okay, so I just learned about
Speaker 84
22:00
this bill, so bear with me, guys. But basically, this bill intends to increase the education standards in the state of Arkansas to match with medium international benchmarks and standards. It will start in kindergarten and continue all the way through high school and 12th grade.
It intends to improve performance in classrooms through things like test scores and overall comprehension in classrooms. It says that the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall amend existing state education standards and performance outcome requirements to match also the median international benchmark performance results. Additionally, it will provide the adequate training
and resources for teachers to be able to, you know, teach so we can increase the Arkansas State education standards. Representative Pilkington, for
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
23:09
what purpose? Question. You're recognized. So
Chair
Unverified
23:14
where exactly would funding for, like, changing all of these standards be coming from?
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
23:19
Because the bill does say that it's going to be providing training and resources. So where is that going to come from?
Speaker 83
23:32
very aware of the answer right now. I'm so sorry. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker, and everyone
Chair
Unverified
23:40
else. Representative Vaught has explained the bill. Would anyone like to speak against
this bill? Representative Torres, you're recognized to speak against
Speaker 89
23:58
this bill. Thank you Madam Speaker.
So I'd like to start by saying that I am absolutely all for getting the best education for our Arkansas students as possible. I am absolutely for education, it's one of my biggest passions. But the big problem that I see with this bill is the fact that it's asking even more of Arkansas teachers who already dedicate so much of their lives and are doing so much in the classroom and have so much asked of them by students parents and administrators we're putting more pressure on them to teach a to learn and
teach a new and increased standard when they are already having to work so hard to help students who are struggling and behind so my mom is a teacher and I've been able to go and help her in the classroom and she has had higher numbers of resource students, so students that are struggling in a core subject than she has ever before had in some of the past years. And I just think it's too much on teachers to have them be expected to teach these more advanced curriculums
while still having students that are struggling and being left behind. And also, for the implication on the students, these students who are already struggling and having to work hard to catch up We're going to have to work even harder to catch up in their class standards, and I think it's just too much on the teachers and students. So I would urge you to vote no on this bill. Thank you. That was a
Chair
Unverified
25:34
speech against the bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak for this bill?
Representative Mickey, you're recognized to speak for this bill.
Speaker 39
25:55
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm going to make this very quick and concise, but right
Speaker 40
25:59
now, Arkansas has recently implemented the Atlas Test. This has taken us off a national standard, which means that the students who are prepared to go out of state are put at a disadvantage. Additionally, because we are going off a state standard, this can mean that the underfunding
that we have for teachers that we all care about so much, as well as political influence, can heavily affect our curriculum. That is why it is so incredibly important that we go off international standards or even a national standard, because we want Arkansas students to be prepared for not only Arkansas, but for the entire United States. Thank you so
Chair
Unverified
26:39
much. That was a speech for this bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against this
bill? Representative Duffin, you're recognized to speak against this bill.
Representative Matt Duffield
Unverified
26:59
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wanted to address that this bill does not at all outline how this issue is going to be solved. It just says that we should raise the standard of our test scores. And also, I believe that there are underlying issues, such as poverty. Students aren't able to get to school. They don't have transportation. Some of these students are more worried about where their next meal is coming from. And so I feel like there are too many underlying issues that need to be addressed before we can raise the standard.
Chair
Unverified
27:31
Thank you. That was a speech against this bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak for this bill? Representative Becleroy, you are recognized to
speak for this bill. Thank you, Speaker. I just wanted to address a big thing that I've been hearing. It's about funding. It's like, why is this our priority? I think education should always be a priority.
But yeah, so let's talk about the money part. As of now, Arkansas has a surplus of $700 million. A couple years ago, it was like $640 million, so we can see that it's increasing. It's not going down, so I think we have the proper funds to do this. And again, we're not saying we want to be like the best state or something like that. We're saying just to match the media and international benchmarks. We just want to make sure that all of our Arkansans are ready for whatever the world, you know, puts against them. And we want to make them competitive students so that they can be successful in their careers.
or whatever their endeavors are in education so you know we can totally do this this isn't hard and yes it's vague but the vagueness helps the department of education have some leniency on this because they know more right and teachers know more so we're just saying that we're going to support them in this and that we will help thank you for your time representatives
that was a speak for speech for this bill
are there any representatives wishing to speak against spill Representative Wooden, you're recognized to speak against this bill.
Speaker 95
29:11
I stand before y'all not to argue against quality education. We all want to succeed. Rather, I argue against the timing and implementation of this proposed bill that seeks to increase education standards in Arkansas. Raising expectations sounds noble, which it is, but it's not always wise when the system is not ready to meet them. them. Let me explain why this bill as it stands could do way more harm than it could do good. One, Arkansas is already struggling with basic education outcomes.
According to the nation's report card, NAEP, Arkansas students rank 37th in 4th grade math and 39th and 8th grade reading. And we are not yet mastering current standards. Pushing the bar higher without first ensuring students and teachers can clear the existing one is unfair and, frankly, dangerous to the future of our state and our future economy. Two, teacher shortages are at a crisis point. Arkansas is experiencing severe teacher shortages, and I know this because my grandma is a teacher and she talks about this
all the time. And it's particularly in rural and low-income districts. I read a 2023 report and it stuck with me, but it's from the Arkansas Department of Education and it showed that over 1,100 teaching positions were either vacant or filled by underqualified personnel. And number three, increased standards disproportionately harm rural and low-income students.
And four, the funding does not match the ambition. You cannot build a skyscraper on a cracked foundation, Yet Arkansas ranks 46th in the nation per pupil spending. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, we are asking our schools to deliver world-class outcomes on a bargain bin budget. Raising standards without increasing funds is like telling a mechanic to rebuild an engine with no tools. And with that, thank you for your time, and please consider voting no. That was
Chair
Unverified
31:19
his speech going against this bill.
Are there any representatives wishing to speak for this bill? Representative Long,
you're recognized to speak for this bill. I'll take that motion. For immediate consideration. That is a proper motion, and it is non-debatable. We're now going into voting on moving into immediate consideration.
All those wishing to pass the motion, say yay. All those opposed? This motion does pass. The question before the House is a passage of Senate Bill No. 4. Prepare the machine, Madam Clerk. Everyone voted? Has everyone voted?
cast up the ballot madam clerk with the yeas being 15 and the nays being 66 and the present being 14 this bill does
fail our next order of business is Senate bill number five madam clerk will you please read
Speaker 25
32:51
the bill Senate Bill 5 from Senator Delegate Lopez Furlong. To expand education
opportunities regarding English as a second language, to encourage schools to award seals of biliteracy to high school graduates, and to alter the way in which English as a second
Chair
Unverified
33:09
language is framed. Representative Maddox, you are recognized to explain
Speaker 103
33:20
this bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good afternoon, Represents. Today I'm speaking for a bill that encourages students of Arkansas to educate themselves about English second language users and encourages students that use English as a second language to gain award seals of biliteracy and to all around decrease the stigmatism around second language users in learning environments.
This bill will encourage schools to reframe and promote bilingualism as an asset in a student's life as often as possible, beginning as early as grade four. It will, two, introduce students to information regarding English as a second language in a positive manner, including without limitation discussing the opportunities of bilingualism will bring. And three, encourage schools to award a seal of biliteracy to a qualifying high school graduate.
Lastly, I'd like to know each school may award a seal of biliteracy to an enrolled student who graduates high school and who has demonstrated proficiency in two or more languages. Thank you. Representative
Speaker 36
34:29
Maddox has explained the bill. Are there any
Chair
Unverified
34:32
representatives wishing to speak against this bill? For the
bill? Representative Hallowell, you are now recognized to speak for the bill.
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
34:46
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I actually was supposed to explain this one and then I didn't know how to
sign up for it. So it's kind of long and I'm sorry. Hello, esteemed representatives. In an ever evolving and increasingly interconnected world, the ability to speak more than one language is no longer a luxury. is a necessity. Today I am proposing a bill centered on a crucial issue in our educational system, particularly relevant to Arkansas, the English as a
second language. For those unfamiliar, ESL provides a language support to students whose primary language is not English. While its intent is to foster academic success, an abundance of research, including my own, reveals that the current structure of the ESL program may inadvertently foster harmful self-perceptions among students. These include feelings of inferiority, isolation, and the mistaken belief that they are less intelligent than their peers. This is due in part to the way the program separates students from mainstream classrooms, reinforcing an us versus them
dynamics. ESL students often face discrimination, stereotyping, and a loss of social status as a result of the negative stigma associated with the label. The goal of the bill is to reframe the perception of the ESL program by promoting bilingualism as a strength, not a barrier. We must help students, families, and educators recognize the cultural, cognitive, and professional advantages of being multilingual and embed this perspective into everyday curriculum and school culture. These reforms are simple and cost effective.
There is no financial cost for being able to certify students as it is sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Education, the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association, and the Arkansas teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Together through reframing communication, celebrating achievement, and informing students of lifelong benefits, we can reshape how ESL is viewed and experienced. Representatives, this is not merely an education policy. It is a matter of identity, confidence, and opportunity. This affects real children, real students,
the very future of our nation. Thank you. Are there
Chair
Unverified
36:54
any representatives wishing to speak against this bill? Any for
this bill? Representative Maddox, would you like
to close for your bill? The question before the House is the passage of Senate Bill No. 5. Madam Clerk, please prepare the machine. Has everyone voted?
Has everyone voted? Madam Clerk, please cast up the ballot. With an overwhelming majority of yeas, 95, and a nay of one, and a present of three, this bill does pass. I recognize
Representative Vaught. Thank you Madam Chair, or Madam Speaker.
We want to give y'all a little bit of time. First, give yourselves a hand because y'all did
amazing today. There was some people in the capital that came through and was watching, and some of them stopped me at lunch and was like, "Oh my gosh, those girls are so impressive." So I commend you on a job very well
done. usually what we try to do right now is you're welcome to ask any of us questions um if there was something about the process or something about uh how we when we ran or whatever it might be what
committees we sit on stuff like that we want to give y'all a moment to be able to understand the process even better instead of uh running another another bill all
Chair
Unverified
38:44
right uh madam speaker representative torres for what purpose question uh recognized okay so i wanted to
Speaker 89
38:50
ask y'all about how long does it take you to debate a bill once it's gotten past committee and to this point
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
39:05
you mean from the time we file it or
Oh, not long, usually, unless it's a really controversial bill, and then we have a good idea it's going to be a pretty controversial bill, and it may take a while, you know. Yeah, what Representative Vought's reminding me of is all of our bills have gone through a committee process, and in the House there are 20 members on the committee, so it takes 11 to get it out of there,
and at that point in time, lots of questions are asked, And if there are problems with the bill, then the bill sponsor has an opportunity to pull their bill down, make amendments to the bill until they get it to where the committee is fairly comfortable with it and it gets enough votes to get out when it gets here. If it's controversial, yes, but I dare say most of our bills don't take but just a few minutes.
you don't have a lot of yes and no's but we usually know if those are coming
Chair
Unverified
40:15
up because we know it's controversial representative bentley for what
purpose you're recognized okay so like how does this work like saying is how long y'all been here how often do y'all come every day like how does that work and also like with the bills how many bills do y'all have per
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
40:40
time in here? So good question. Normally the debate process on the
floor to Representative Dalby's point is very short and sweet and depending on how long we're on the House floor depends on the calendar. So you received the calendar this morning that had the number of bills on there, so depending on how many of the 99 members file bills, how quickly it gets to committee, how many are in committee, how quickly it gets through committee, it's this whole scheduling process, and then it takes so many days, it's kind of complicated to explain, but
that's basically the process. Someone else had asked me that question earlier, and it starts very slowly, and then it is like a speed train at the end of session. Again, you probably don't know this, the state of Arkansas is in the session every other year, and it's for 60 days. So in that 60 days is when all the lawmakers have time to file bills, and again, you know, it starts out kind of slow, oh, I'll file this one or that one, and then when you're here, oh, oh, Representative
Puryear decides he needs to file 10 more, and he's going to file them all tomorrow, and then that again it goes through the committee process so by the end of session your calendar may be four to five pages so we're in here hours going through these seven seven pages yeah at one time so it can be a lengthy process i hope that
Chair
Unverified
42:13
answers your question representative wing for what purpose question and i
Representative Tara Shephard
Unverified
42:18
just wanted to add on to what representative moore stated she's absolutely
rights so this past session between the time we were here there were over 2 000 bills that were filed over 2 000 and over a thousand of those actually became law may continue your question are there any
Speaker 124
42:39
other ways outside of girls state that those of us who are interested in house of representative can learn more about being a house rep or learn from any of the house
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
42:55
reps yeah we do have a website where it's called women are women lead is that right arkansas women
lead so you can look at that i know that some some reps are sometimes open to um maybe interns i'd say unpaid probably interns but you know many of us are open to that if anybody's interested in working. We also sometimes during session, especially if you want to shadow us for a day and you're in our district or whatever, just get in contact with us. All of our information is on the website. It has our emails, has our most of us our cell phone numbers. So you can get in touch with any of us and there might be opportunities for both of those types of things. And being a
page also, you can come up here and be a page during session also. And that's the same process. Just contact your rep or senator, and they can help you arrange to talk to the person that can get you here to be a page for a certain day. Yeah, that's true. And everything is live streamed up here. When we have a meeting, whether it's on the floor, whether it's in committee, all things are live streamed. The website's really incredible because you can watch a bill. You can track a bill through committee. From the time it's filed, you can track it through committee to the House floor, back to Senate committee to the Senate floor.
So you can really watch a lot of what happens without having
Speaker 47
44:21
to be here in person. Representative Pierce, for what purpose? Question. You're
Speaker 129
44:25
recognized. This is kind of like a silly question, but like what's like in your experience, what's like the longest you've gone back and forth for like one bill, like the longest you've been going debating
one bill? I think probably the longest one I went through was
Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King being separated.
That was a very, very long debate. Another one? I
think the library bill that was presented to y'all yesterday, that went on for a while also. Two or three hours? Yeah, two or three hours,
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
45:05
yeah. and sometimes some of the longest debates are in our committees you know there have been bills one session I said on city-county local and we had the short-term rental bill that session a couple of sessions ago and we spent days
I mean we would literally go in and spend four or five hours and then come back that evening spend four or five hours and then come back
Speaker 113
45:35
another day so Representative Shepard for what
so there was a bill before I was elected the session before I was elected that
was private option and it went on five days five times and it was presented five times and debated five times I said on
education and we did learns and we did learns for two full days into the night There were some people that's on state agencies, and pretty much every time state agencies met this session, they had to meet after session, and they went on for days. So some of the committees, it just kind of depends on what committee you're on. I know you were talking about the floor, but some of our committees get pretty lengthy also on just
Chair
Unverified
46:22
certain bills. Representative Shepard, for what purpose?
Speaker 34
46:24
Question. You recognized. How are committees decided? Okay,
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
46:32
so when we're elected, we come down before session starts, and we get our seniority. So if you're brand new, you draw out of a hat for your seniority. If you already are elected, your seniority just moves up. And then after that, we go through a process of selecting our committees. We have A committees and B committees.
And they're similar to the committees that y'all had, the education, tax, and revenue. I'm not sure what else meant for y'all. City, county, local. So those are your standing committees that we have. And so by seniority, you get to pick where you sit on what committee you want to be on. And it's a little more complicated to it because we try to make sure it's evenly distributed among the four congressional districts as well. But within that, you go through seniority and you pick. And once everybody's picked one committee seat, then we go to the next set of committees and we do it again. And so that's kind of how they're picked. So if you have a high seniority, you get what you want. And if you're brand new, you kind of get stuck on probably transportation and agey children and youth.
Chair
Unverified
47:32
Representative McCollum, you're recognized for a question. Thank you. I was wondering, is there
Speaker 79
47:37
any particular order to the seating, or is it just random? It's the same thing. It's picked by our
seniority numbers. So one through 100, every single time we go back and repick our seats. You get to pick your seats. Most of the time, I mean, like several
of us now, where we're at, we've been there for a couple of times, for sure.
Chair
Unverified
48:03
Representative Perry, you're recognized for
Speaker 103
48:09
a question. What areas are each of y'all representing? I
Representative Tara Shephard
Unverified
48:19
am Representative Tara Shepard, and I represent District 79, that's Otter Creek, Maplevale, Southwest Little Rock area. It's my second term.
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
48:35
Hi, I'm Representative Denise Ennett. I have District 80, which is Pulaski County. Who lives downtown? South of 630. all right okay um i have parts of downtown little rock i have all of riceville college station um riceville hensley all 365 and um yeah oh this is my third term and i would like to get with you all who live in my area so i could say hi to you all and give you my number if that's
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
49:09
if you want that thank you hey I'm Nicole Clowney I represent district 21 which is Fayetteville representatives each are allotted a district of about 30,000 people so that's how they're decided so bigger cities like Fayetteville have more representatives the part of Fayetteville that I represent is right in the middle U of A campus go hogs come find me if you're in the area I'd love to take a pic
Representative Cameron Cooper
Unverified
49:39
I'm Cameron Cooper, District 57. It's Western White County, east part of Faulkner County, northwest corner of Lone Oak County. It's largely a rural district, a lot of cattle farms, a lot of cattle country there.
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
50:01
This is my fourth term. Representative Tippie McCullough, this is my fourth term. I represent Little Rock. My area of Little Rock is downtown, River Market, it, kind of Museum of Fine Arts, MacArthur Park Law School, and then I go up through the
middle, headed west, up through the middle of Little Rock, almost Highway 430. I'm
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
50:23
Representative Mindy McAlinton. I represent the 10th District. So if you're anyone from Benton County, I'm in here. We've got a couple. All right, so I am Bentonville, 14th Street north, up into Bella Vista, from NWAC to Centerton, and this is my second term.
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
50:45
I'm Carol Dalby, district 100, and I represent Texarkana, and that's pretty my whole district, and this is my fifth term. Representative
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
50:56
Kendra Moore, my district is 23, which is West Washington County, so little towns Lincoln, Prairie Grove, West Fork, Greenland, and just a little bit of Fayetteville. This is my second term, and I think there was a question earlier about how to learn more about the process, and I love that I've gotten so many of those questions, and I know the other representatives have too.
Our job is to work for you, so if you have questions, if you want to learn more, to Representative McCullough's point, get on the website, look up your representative and say hey I'd like to have coffee or lunch and I promise you they will make time for
you and if they don't call me I'm representative Deanne Vaught I have Sevier County Little River County and
parts of Howard County so it's very rural area in which I serve and this is my sixth term
Chair
Unverified
51:55
Representative Pilkington, you're recognized for a question. Okay, so there's
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
51:59
a lot of roles up in this, like, front area. I'm just kind of curious of, like, how each person gets the roles of, like, the clerks and different stuff. Are some of them, like, do they apply for those jobs? Are they voted into those jobs? I'm just curious.
Speaker 160
52:19
Hey, I'm Sherry Stacks, and I'm the Chief Clerk of the House. I've been here for 26 years,
Speaker 161
52:23
and most of the ladies and the gentlemen that work up here on the front line
and do our work for us during session, we are also here all year round, so we have dual roles. We have our session roles, and then we do things during the interim as well. So it's just a little process that we have, and then we also have temporary employees that work for us just during the session. But they're each, yes, the regular employees, the regular staff, they're permanent. We have our dual roles during session, as well as not during
Chair
Unverified
52:58
the interim. Representative Underwood, you are recognized for a question.
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
53:02
I was just wondering what you guys do when
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
53:14
you're not in session. We're considered part-time. We say that jokingly. We're not always part-time. I think I can get through what most everybody does. Denise takes care of her three children, a representative in it. Representative Cooper, farming, dairy farming too, I think some, maybe a little bit.
Representative, yeah, does a lot of that. He often brings agriculture bills to us. Representative McElindon is in real estate. She's also a national committee woman for one of the political parties. uh representative bought lives on a farm and with seven grandchildren which keeps her busy they have uh chicken houses and they grow lots of lots of beautiful
flowers that they do representative uh more is also uh she's a builder she remodels and does building and it's called
Redeem Construction. She also lives out in the country in Lincoln and has a farm, that kind of thing. Representative McCull is a retired English teacher who tells me she's traveling the world this summer and having a great time. Representative Clowney teaches at the University of Arkansas. She has a law degree from that far eastern school of Harvard, and her husband also teaches at the law school, then Representative Shepard. I would say is a community activist and you
work, yeah, Shorter College, I knew it was one but I couldn't remember exactly which and so she's very active
in the community here in Little Rock and then I am an attorney. I have time for one more
Chair
Unverified
55:05
question. Representative Furman, you're recognized for a question.
Speaker 162
55:09
just wanted to ask is it common for y'all to file a motion for immediate consideration like does that happen or not a lot
Representative Tony Furman
Unverified
55:21
not a lot we didn't have one old session we had a couple we had a couple
Chair
Unverified
55:31
anyone uh representative richmond you are now recognized for a question I wanted
Speaker 170
55:38
to know how do you guys involve yourselves with your constituents and make sure you're accurately representing them to the best of
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
55:51
your ability. So for me, sometimes it starts with a simple phone call and they say, hey, I have an issue. I'd like to speak with you about it.
So normally I just ask them to meet me at a coffee shop or somewhere in public and we'll have a nice conversation and we'll see what the problem is and i'll help them and go on to
Speaker 172
56:16
the next person that calls i will say our member services
malicia is part of member services member services helps us out a lot especially if we don't know who we should
contact or if it's a very long drawn out something we can call there's one two per
for district uh so there's four of four caucuses two per caucus that gets to and they help us out a whole lot a lot and you can follow us on social media uh we most everybody has a rep page yeah email text messages phone calls things such as that yeah so right now what we'll
do is um we'll let you if you want to take a quick picture with somebody before you head out, run down here and
do it and then you can head out. So Madam Speaker, congratulations, you did an amazing job. And it's time for you to
Chair
Unverified
57:16
close us out. There being no further business, I move the session of the Arkansas Girls State to be adjourned. Thank you.
Agenda
No agenda available.
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair
Unverified
Speaker 8
Speaker 11
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 23
Speaker 25
Speaker 28
Speaker 39
Speaker 40
Speaker 41
Speaker 43
Speaker 44
Speaker 49
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
Speaker 57
Speaker 34
Representative Stetson Painter
Unverified
Speaker 68
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
Speaker 79
Speaker 77
Speaker 82
Speaker 83
Speaker 84
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
Speaker 89
Representative Matt Duffield
Unverified
Speaker 95
Speaker 103
Speaker 36
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
Representative Tara Shephard
Unverified
Speaker 124
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
Speaker 47
Speaker 129
Speaker 113
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
Representative Cameron Cooper
Unverified
Speaker 160
Speaker 161
Speaker 162
Representative Tony Furman
Unverified
Speaker 170
Speaker 172