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 | ||
|
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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- October 2, 2026
buzzer a couple of times. All right Thank
you, ma'am. Thank you. I hope, uh, yeah, you can take your visors back off, you don't have to leave them on.
You can take them back off. We don't, we're not gonna pass another resolution. It's already been done. So this is kind of what we're gonna do, just so you. Kind of know what's gonna happen. We'll go between 1:30 and, uh, 140, uh, and, and it
won't matter if we finish the bills or not, OK? Uh, 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 you 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, OK? So, um, I, 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 2. OK? So, we understand the hard stop.
That's why I was trying to tell y'all, let's quit asking questions. Let's just
Speaker 8
1:25
move through the process as quickly as possible.
the expunged bill though, right? If we can start there, that would be great.
Chair
Unverified
1:45
All right, I would like to give the House of Representatives some information 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, set up 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'll start with the expunge bill, House Bill 105. W Madam clerk, will
Speaker 23
2:32
you please read House Bill 1000. Will you please read House Bill 1005 by Representative Delegate
Chair
Unverified
2:46
Jackson to establish the study here Stay Here Act. Representative Jackson, you are recognized to
Speaker 28
2:59
explain your bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker. High Representatives again, um, 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 text 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, on 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 $2 million from one company for 4 years. It may only cost me $3000 to go to school. So the company will only receive $3000 off of their taxes, OK? Um 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 5 years is up. Um, and, OK, so back to, like, we may lose money initially as revenue, but if you think about it, if we have people staying in 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. Oh sorry No, you may continue. OK, sorry. Um, 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 tax incentive for businesses that invest in our future. Under this bill, companies will receive a $1 for dollar tax credit up to $2 million over 4 years when they
fund scholarships for Arkansans attending, attending 242 or 4 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 5 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 towards forward for Arkansas. I, are you just to support the study here, stay here Bill so that we
continue to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable futures for our great state. Representative
Chair
Unverified
6:29
Jackson. Has explained the bill. Would anyone like to speak against this bill. Presented Mickey, you're
recognized to speak against the pill. Thank you
Speaker 39
6:48
so much, Madam Speaker. I'm here yet again to
to explain to you why we should
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
6:54
not allow this bill to pass, uh, 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. Uh, 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, um. 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 you. 2 year and 4-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, um, I do believe that this would, um, uh, not encourage companies that already give scholarships like JB 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 This is only giving money and allowing companies 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 this bill. Representative
Speaker 41
8:17
painter for what purpose? Question, I recognize. Um, are you aware that the
Speaker 44
8:26
University of Arkansas has the school of agriculture, being that you're considering that a core industry. Yes, I
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
8:34
do, but like I said, core industry is not outlined in this, uh, bill and also, uh, you don't have to go to school if you want to do something in agriculture. Representative Aer for what purpose? Question, you're recognized.
Speaker 49
8:50
Personally, my dad's a farmer and like you said, you think agriculture is the core of
Arkansas, um, him and pretty much all of his colleagues have went to school and got a degree. Farming is not like permanent and it doesn't, it's not always good. So what 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. Uh, no,
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
9:13
I do not, but what I'm saying is this is a company initiative while your dad might have a degree, um, 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
9:32
school degree, uh, Representative Underwood, for what purpose? Question, you recognized. Um Why
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
9:37
would you say that like these tax incentives wouldn't work for companies like well, what I was saying with that, I'm sorry,
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
9:44
I might have not explained it better, but these companies, the big companies of Arkansas, Walmart, Tyson, JD Hunt, or JB Hunt already provides scholarships, so this is just giving them an incentive for something that they already do.
Chair
Unverified
10:03
Representative Crawford, for what purpose? Question. You're recognized. Why would you
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
10:07
feel like it would discourage other companies. I wasn't discourage them from
Speaker 57
10:12
giving it. I was saying that they might
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
10:17
do less of the scholarships that they already give. Currently the scholarships that Walmart, Tyson, JB Hunt give or to any Arkansas citizen, not just ones that work for them, so they
might put less money into those type of scholarships, uh, because they're going
Speaker 34
10:38
to be spending money on these types of scholarships, if that makes sense. Representative Car John, for what purpose? The speaker
Chair
Unverified
10:48
has left 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
11:04
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm just gonna make this short and sweet. Um, I am really for this bill because of the fact
Representative Stetson Painter
Unverified
11:11
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 y'all go for this vote. Thank you. was a speech for the
Chair
Unverified
11:52
bill. Are there any representatives who should speak against this bill. Any for the bill?
Jackson, would you like to close your bill? You are recognized to close your bill. Thank
Speaker 28
12:16
you Madam Speaker. OK, I'm gonna 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. Who Just because the company is already giving scholarship, giving them incentive to give
more scholarship would not mean that they would give less in other areas. Well, 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 secondhand. Secondary educated, um, residents in Arkansas. We need more residents in Arkansas with secondary degrees in whatever
field they choose, not just in, 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
13:21
the bill. The question before the House is a passage of House Bill 1005. Prepare the machine, madam clerk. Has, has everyone voted?
Has everyone voted? Cast the ballot, Madam clerk. Thee is 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're gonna move to the Senate agenda, so everyone please flip their papers to the Senate bills. Our first bill will be Senate Bill #2. Madam clerk, please read the bill.
Speaker 25
14:10
Senate Bill 2 from Senator Delegate Rodu to ensure transparency of local government spending on recreational sports and to declare an emergency. Representative Schultz, you're recognized to explain this bill.
Chair
Unverified
14:21
Representative Schultz, you are now recognized to explain this bill.
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
14:45
You are recognized. Thank you, Madam Senator. This bill is to Ensure
Speaker 68
14:53
transparency for local governments in spending on recreational sports. OK
Chair
Unverified
15:17
Representative Schultz has explained this bill. Would anyone like to speak against this bill? Anyone for this bill? Wasn't it Representative Holliwell, you are recognized to speak for this bill. OK Good afternoon representatives.
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
15:44
Today I'm presenting a bill that requires local governments to
release quarterly financial reports. No 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 will be presented at public meetings and made e 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 the 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 and undeserved and undeserved populations when these programs failed 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 Speaker. That was
Chair
Unverified
17:27
his speech for the bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against this bill. And for the bill? Seeing none representative should do perfect closed. The question before the House is the passage of Senate bill number 2. Prepare the machine, madam
clerk. You're voting for the bill and the emergency clause representatives. Has everyone voted? cast up the ballot, Madame clerk. With a year of 74 and a nay of 0
and a present of 25, there has been a 2/3 present in voting, which means the emergency clause and
the bill has passed. Our next order of bills are it's gonna be Senate bill number 3. Madam clerk, can you please read
Speaker 25
18:39
the bill? Senate Bill #3 from Senator Delegate Shaikh. To increase education about the gynecology field of medicine to facilitate more medical students becoming obstetricians and gynecologist and to declare an emergency.
Chair
Unverified
18:51
Representatives for 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 to explain the bill.
Speaker 79
19:07
It is intent with the general assembly of Arkansas's girl State to increase the education in a uh and um 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 healthcare fairs per quarter. With an emphasis on the obstetricians and gynecology field of medicine. 2, incentivize hospitals to create residency programs for obstetricians and gynecologists through state funding. 3, create hospital programs for high school students that require hospital to
provide grants to high school students to operate the high school program and be, provide scholarships to interested high school students who submit an application and attend an interview. Number 4. Offer online standardized courses and statistics and gynecology to bridge education gaps in 5 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 data effective date of this act, the Senate has received overwhelming support for this bill, and there's no known position. Representative
Speaker 77
20:35
Dalby has explained the bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against this bill.
Chair
Unverified
20:41
And for this bill? representative Dolby, do you wish to close for this bill? Question before the house is the
passage of of Senate Bill number 3. Prepare the machine, madam clerk. Is Has everyone voted? Cast up
the ballot, Madam clerk. With the yeahs being 72, the nays being 6, and the present being 19, this bill has passed. The next
order of business is Senate bill number 4.
Speaker 25
21:33
Madam clerk, please read this bill. Senate Bill number 4 from Senator Delegate Wilson to increase Arkansas education standards and performance outcomes to medium international benchmarks. representative, you are recognized
Chair
Unverified
21:47
to explain this bill. Thank you, madam, uh, speaker, sorry, I
Speaker 82
21:57
almost said Madam President, that was weird. OK,
Speaker 84
22:04
so, um, I just learned about this bill, so bear with me, guys. Um, but basically this bill. Intends to increase um the education standards in the state of Arkansas to match with like medium international benchmarks and standards. Um, it will it will start in kindergarten and continue all the way through high school and 12th grade. Um, it intends to improve performance in classroom, in classrooms, um, through things like test scores and overall
comprehension in classrooms. Um, it says that the division of elementary and secondary education shall amend existing state education standards and performance outcome requirements to match also the medium, median international benchmark performance results. Um, additionally, It will provide The adequate training and resources for teachers to be able to, um,
You know Teach So we can, um, increase the Arkansas State Education standards. Representative Pilkington
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
23:14
For what purpose? You're recognized.
Chair
Unverified
23:19
Um, so where exactly would funding for like changing all of these standards
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
23:24
be coming from because the bill does say that it's going to be providing training and um, that is a valid
Speaker 83
23:36
question and I'm not very aware of The answer right now. I'm so sorry. Um, thank you, Madam Speaker and everyone else. Representative What has
Chair
Unverified
23:45
explained the bill. Would anyone like to speak against this bill? Representative Torres, you're recognized to speak against this
bill. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker. So, I'd like to start
Speaker 89
24:07
by saying that I am absolutely all for getting the best education for our Arkansas students as possible. I am absolutely for education. Some of my biggest passions, but the big problem that I see with this bill is the fact that it's asking even more of our 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 student. 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, um. 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 or going out to work even harder to catch up in their um 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.
Chair
Unverified
25:39
That was a speech against the bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak for this bill. McGee, you're recognized to speak for this bill. Thank you,
Speaker 39
26:00
Madam Speaker. I'm going to make this very quick and concise, but right now, Arkansas has recently
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
26:04
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 or in are put at a disadvantage. Additionally, because we are going off a state standard, this can mean that um 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 so 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 much.
Chair
Unverified
26:44
was a speech for this bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against
this bill. Representative stuff, you're recognized to speak against
Representative Matt Duffield
Unverified
27:04
this bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Um, I wanted to address that this bill does not at all outline of our
test scores, um, and also I believe that there are underlying issues, um, get to school, they don't have feels coming from. And so I feel like a speech against this bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak
Chair
Unverified
27:39
for this bill. Representative McIlroy, you were
recognized to speak for this bill. I just want to address a big thing that I've been hearing. It's about funding, um, 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. Um, a couple of 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 day or something like that. We're staying.
Just to match the media and international benchmarks. We just want to make sure that all of ouransans 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 Educator they know more, right? Saying that we're going to support them in this, and that we will help.
Representatives, that was a speak speech
for this bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against the spill.
Speaker 95
29:18
Representative one you recognized to speak against this bill. I stand before y'all not we all want to succeed. Rather, I argue against the raising expectations sounds noble.
Which it is, but it's not always wise when the system. Let me explain why this bill as it stands, Arkansas is already struggling with basic education outcomes. According to the nation's report card NAEP, Arkansas students rank thirty-seventh in 4th grade math and 30. And uh we are not yet mastering current standards, pushing the bar higher without further the
existing one is unfair and frankly dangerous to the enemy. 2 teacher shortages are at a crisis point. Arkansas is and I know this because my grandma is a teacher and she talks about this all the time. And it's particularly particularly in rural and low income districts. Um, I read a 2023 report and its
1100 teaching positions were either vacant or filled by. Um, and number 3, increased standards disproport students. And for the funding does not match match the ambition. You cannot build a skyscraper on a cracked foundation. Yet Arkansas ranks 46 people spending,
according to the US, raising standards without increasing. Thank you for your time and please consider voting no. Is speech going
Chair
Unverified
31:24
against this bill. Are there any representatives wishing to speak for this bill? Presentative Long, you recognize to speak. For this
bill. I, I'll take that motion consideration that is, that is a proper motion and it is non-debatable. We're now going
into voting on moving into immediate into immediate. Immediate
consideration. All those wishing to pass a motion, say yay. All those, all those opposed. This motion does pass. The question before the house is a passage of Senate bill number 4.
Prepare the machine, Mr. Clerk, or Madam clerk. Everyone voted? Has everyone
voted? Cast up the ballot, Madam clerk. With the e 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 5. Madam clerk, will you please read the bill.
Speaker 25
32:56
Senate Bill 5 from Senator Delegate Lopez for long. 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 language is framed. Representative Maddox,
Chair
Unverified
33:14
you were recognized to explain this bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Speaker 103
33:28
Uh, good afternoon represents. Today I'm speaking for a bill that encourages students of Arkansas to educate and to all around decrease the stigmatists in learning environments. This bill will encourage schools to reframe and promote bilingualism as an asset in a student's life as early as and as often as possible, beginning as early as grade 4.
It will too introduce students to information. In regarding English as a second language in a positive manner, including without limitation discussing the opportunities of bilingual bilingualism will bring, and 3, encourage schools to award seal of biliteracy to qualifying high school graduate. Um, lastly, I'd like to know, each school may award a seal a biliteracy to an enrolled student who graduates high school and who has demonstrated proficiency in two or more
languages. Thank you. Representative Maddox has explained the bill. Are
Speaker 36
34:34
there any representatives wishing to speak against this bill.
Chair
Unverified
34:37
For the bill? Representative Holliwell, you are now recognized to speak
for the bill. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Um, I actually was supposed to explain
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
34:54
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, the ability to speak more than one language is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity today I'm 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, Esel provides a language support to students whose primary language is not English. While its intent
is to foster academic success and 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, 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 school. culture. These reforms are simple and cost effective. There's 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 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. Are there any representatives wishing to speak against this bill.
Chair
Unverified
37:03
And for the spill. Representative Maddox, would you like to close
for your bill? The question before the House is the passage of Senate Bill 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
95, and a nay of 1 and a. Present of 3, this bill does pass. I recognized Representative Vott. Thank you, Madam Chair, or
Madam Speaker. Uh, we're gonna give y'all a little bit of
time. First, give yourselves a hand, because y'all did amazing today.
And there were some people in the Capitol 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, I commend you on a job very well done. Usually what we try to
do right now is, uh, 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, right? Uh Madam Speaker Representative
Chair
Unverified
38:49
Torres, for what purpose? Question. Uh, recognized. OK, so I wanted to ask y'all
Speaker 89
38:55
about how long does it take you to debate a bill once it's gotten past committee into this point. around.
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
39:09
You mean from the time we file it? Oh 00,
not long, usually unless it's a really controversial bill. And then we have a good idea, it's gonna be a pretty controversial bill and it may take a while, you know. Yeah, uh, what representing Val'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, uh, 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, uh, comfortable with it and it gets, you know, enough votes to get out, then it, when it gets here, if it's universal, 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
40:20
up. Representative Bentley, for what purpose? You're recognized. OK, 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 time in here?
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
40:44
So good question. Normally, the debate process on the floor to Representative Dalby's point that is very short and sweet. Uh, 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, 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. We're 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. I, I'll file this one or that one, and then when you're here, 00, representative Purrier decides he needs to file 10 more and he's gonna file them all tomorrow and then again, it goes through the committee process. So by the end of session, your calendar may be 4 to 5 pages, so we're in here hours going through these 77 pages, yeah, at one time, so. It, it can be a lengthy process. I hope that answers your question.
Chair
Unverified
42:17
Representative Wang, for what purpose? Question I just wanted
Representative Tara Shephard
Unverified
42:23
to add on to what rights. So this past session, between the time we were here, there were over 2000 bills that were filed, thousands of those actually became. May I continue your question? Are there any other ways outside of girls state that those of us
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
42:52
who are interested in House of Reprep or learn from any of the house. Yeah, we, we do have a website. Where it's called Women, our, our 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 are cell phone numbers, um, 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, um, or senator, and they can help you arrange to talk to the person that can get
you here to be a page for, 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, 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 to be here in person.
Speaker 47
44:25
Representative Pierce, for what purpose? Question, you recognized.
Speaker 129
44:30
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. separated.
That was a very, very long debate. Another one.
I think the library bill that was presented to y'all yesterday, uh, that went on for a while also. Yeah, 2 or 3 hours, yeah. Go ahead and
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
45:10
sometimes some of the longest debates are in our committees. You know, there have been bills. One session I sat 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 4 or 5 hours and
then come back that evening, spend 4 or 5 hours, and then come back another day.
Speaker 113
45:40
It was. Representative Shepherd for what to add
to that, please, ma'am. So there was a bill before I was, uh, elected, the session before I was
elected, that was private option and it went on 5 days, 5 times, and it was presented 5 times and debated 5 times. I said on education, and we did learns, and we did learns
for 2 full days into the night. Um, there was some people that's on state agencies and pretty much every time. Agencies met this session. They had to meet after session, and they went on for Days. Um, 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 certain bills.
Chair
Unverified
46:27
Representative Shepherd, for what purpose you recognized how
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
46:32
our committees decided. OK, so when we're elected, we could what it's an easy one. I can do this. Um, 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. Um, if you already are elected, you're seniority just moves up. And, um, and then after that we go through a process of selecting our committees. We have 8 committees and 2 committees, and they're similar to the committees that y'all had, the
education, uh, tax and revenue. I'm not sure what else meant for y'all. County locals. So those are your standing committees that we have. And so by seniority, you get to pick where you sit on what committee you wanna be on. And there'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 sonority, you get what you want, and if you're brand new, you kind of get stuck on
probably transportation and and AG children and
Chair
Unverified
47:37
youth. Representative McCollum, you're recognized for a question. Uh, thank you. I was wondering, is
Speaker 79
47:42
there any like particular order to the seating or is it just random? Minority members. So 1 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
Chair
Unverified
48:05
at, we've been there for a couple
Speaker 103
48:14
of times for sure. Representative Perry, you're recognized for a question. Oh, hold
Representative Tara Shephard
Unverified
48:24
on What areas of y'all representing? start I am Representative Tara Shepherd, and I represent District 79, that's Otter Creek, Maplevale, Southwest Little Rock area to my second term.
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
48:40
High and Representative Denise Sennet. I have District 80, which is Pulaski County, um, Who's who lives in downtown South at 6:30. Alright, OK. Um, I have parts of downtown Little Rock. I have all of Riceville College Station, um, Rice Bill Hensley, all 365, and, um, Yeah Oh, this is my 3rd term, and I would like to get with you all who live in my area so I can say
hi to you all and give you my number if that's, if you. Hey,
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
49:16
I'm Nicole Clowney, um, I represent District 21, which is Fayetteville, uh, representatives each are allotted a district of about 30,000 people. So that's how they're decided. So bigger cities like Fayetteville have, um, more representatives. The part of Fayetteville that I represent is right in the middle. UA campus, go hogs, um,
Representative Cameron Cooper
Unverified
49:44
come find me if you're in the area. I'd love to take a picture, 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
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
50:06
lot of cattle country there. Representative Tipy McCullough. This is my 4th term. I represent Little Rock, um, my area of Little Rock is downtown River Market, uh, 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, uh, uh, Highway 4:30.
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
50:28
Representative Mindy McAlinden. I represent the 10th District. So if you're anyone from Benton County I've been here. We got a couple, right, so I am Bentonville 14th Street North up into Bella Vista from NWAC to Centerton, and this is my 2nd term.
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
50:51
I'm Carol Dalby, District 100, and I represent Texarkana. And that's pretty my whole district and this is my 5th term. Representative Kendra
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
51:24
for you. So if you have questions, if you want to learn more, uh, to represented 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 Dianne Vo. I have severer County, Little River County, and parts of Howard County. So it's very rural, uh, area in which I
Chair
Unverified
51:56
serve, and this is my 6th term. Representative Pilkington, you're recognized for a
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
52:04
question. OK, so there's 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 or some of them like, do they apply for those jobs, hey, I'm Sherry Stacks and I'm the chief clerk of the house.
Speaker 161
52:28
I've been here for 26 years, and most of the, the ladies and the gentlemen that work up here on the front line and do our work for us during session. We're also here all year round, so we have dual roles. We have our session rolls 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 this each high yes, the regular employees, the regular staff, they're permanent. We have our dual roles during session, as well as not. They're in the interim.
Chair
Unverified
53:03
Representative Underwood, you are recognized for a question. Um, I
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
53:07
was just wondering what you guys do when you're not in session.
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
53:19
We're considered part-time. We, we say that jokingly, uh, we're not always part-time. I think I can get through what most everybody does. Denise takes care of 3 of her 3 children. Uh, Representative in it. Representative, uh, Cooper. Farming
dairy farming too, I think some maybe a Yeah. It does a lot of that. He often brings, uh, agriculture bills to us, Representative McAlinden is in real estate. She's also a national committeewoman for one of the political parties, uh, Representative Bot lives on a farm and with 7 grandchildren, which keeps her busy. They have, um, 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, that kind of thing, representing McCullough, a retired English teacher. Who tells me she's traveling the world this this summer and having a great time representative Clowney, uh, 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, um, then Representative Shepherd, I would say is a community activist, uh, and you work, yeah, shorter college. I, I knew it was one, but I couldn't remember exactly which, uh, and so she's very active in the
community here in Little Rock and then, uh, I am an attorney. Representative Furman, you're recognized for her question.
Speaker 162
55:16
common for y'all to file a motion for immediate consideration. Like, does that
Representative Tony Furman
Unverified
55:26
happen in all? Anyone else, uh, representative Richmond, you're now recognized for a question. I
Chair
Unverified
55:36
wanted to know how do you guys involve yourselves with your
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
55:52
constituents and make sure you are accurately representing. So for me, um, sometimes it starts with a simple phone call, and they'll say, hey, I have an issue, um, I 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 the next person that calls.
And you can follow us on social media. 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 close this out. There being no further
Chair
Unverified
57:21
business, I moved the session of the Arkansas Girls State to be adjourned.
Agenda
No agenda available.
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair
Unverified
Speaker 8
Speaker 11
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 23
Speaker 28
Speaker 39
Brittany Stockton
Unverified
Speaker 41
Speaker 44
Speaker 49
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
Representative Bart Schulz
Unverified
Speaker 57
Speaker 34
Speaker 43
Representative Stetson Painter
Unverified
Speaker 25
Speaker 68
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
Speaker 79
Speaker 77
Speaker 82
Speaker 84
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
Speaker 83
Speaker 89
Representative Matt Duffield
Unverified
Speaker 95
Speaker 103
Speaker 36
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
Representative Tara Shephard
Unverified
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 161
Speaker 162
Representative Tony Furman
Unverified