Entering the fourth quarter of the session meant two-a-days for lawmakers, with the House convening twice a day and legislative committees holding multiple daily meetings. Monday the House passed a bill to decrease voter fraud and ensure fair elections. The measure requires Arkansans to present a voter ID card when casting a ballot at the polls, and would allow county clerks to issue identification cards to individuals without driver’s licenses.
Arkansas owes $330 million in unemployment benefits to the federal government. In order to responsibly address this debt, we passed a bill to place a cap on unemployment benefits and cut the benefit period by a week. The measure could potentially save our state $50 to $75 million annually, thus shoring up money to begin balancing our unemployment trust fund.
Midweek, the marble halls of Capitol Hill echoed with concerns of over four-hundred Arkansans who gathered to protest several bills threatening the livelihood of our state’s natural gas industry. The five measures would have imposed burdensome regulations on an industry that provides jobs for Arkansans and revenue for our state. After mounting opposition from conservative lawmakers and hundreds of citizens, one bill failed to pass the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, while the remaining four were successfully removed from consideration and sent to interim study.
This week, the State Democratic Party endorsed a proposed congressional redistricting map that unfairly gerrymanders Arkansas’ four congressional districts. Conservative legislators believe the proposed "Fayetteville Finger" map ignores the traditional communities of interest in Arkansas and only exists for raw partisan purposes. Most notably it puts the northwest city of Fayetteville into the fourth congressional district, which currently encompasses the southern region of our state. IT PUTS YOU IN THE 4TH DISTRICT, I SPOKE HARSHLEY AGAINST THIS MAP. The full House is expected to vote on this matter, but there is not enough votes. So it’s a wait and see vote, and I intend to fight this partisan power grab to protect the people of Arkansas. You can view the map at www.arkansasgop.org.
A bill to implement OBAMACARE in Arkansas passed in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee. House Bill 2138 establishes insurance exchanges necessary to the implementation of OBAMACARE. More than half the states, 28 and counting, are challenging the law in court on the grounds it violates the constitutional rights of their citizens. Until we know how the Supreme Court will rule on the federal healthcare law, we do not need to spend more money implementing the law in Arkansas.
House members also approved a bill that would allow public schools to adopt curriculum standards to teach the Bible for academic significance. The measure, which passed our chamber with a vote of 71-16, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Two pro-life Senate bills are headed to the Arkansas House for consideration. As a pro-life conservative, I intend to support these vital pieces of legislation.
A battle is brewing over congressional redistricting. Stay tuned for the finishing results.
The final significant piece of legislation lawmakers will approve before the session’s end is the budget bill, also known as the Revenue Stabilization Act. Because we held the line on spending to reduce taxes for Arkansans, the final balanced budget will be much smaller than originally proposed.
As your Representative, I am honored to serve you in the Arkansas House of Representatives.
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Justin Harris is Arkansas State Representative (R-District 87). Although he directly represents Crawford and Southern Washington Counties, he also represents all Arkansans with his public stands for limited, transparent and responsible government. He is both a fiscal and social conservative and is the owner of Growing God's Kingdom preschool in West Fork, Arkansas.
Tags: Justin Harris, Arkansas, legislature, State Representative, Arkansas House, Congressional Redistricting, gerrymandering, pig trail, voter ID, unemployment, Obamacare, Beebecare, budget To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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