Freshman class of Arkansas lawmakers reflects on lessons learned during legislative session
After a nearly three-week recess, Arkansas lawmakers return to the Capitol Monday to officially adjourn the 2025 legislative session, which brand new legislators described as a busy and humbling experience.
Rep. Brad Hall, a first-term Republican lawmaker and cattle rancher in Rudy, said House Speaker Brian Evans, R-Cabot, mentored and prepared new legislators, but it was 'mindblowing' to see how much work was involved once the session got underway.
'It was really daunting, kind of overwhelming at first … it's like drinking from a firehose,' Hall said. 'The truth is you cannot really be effective as a freshman because you don't know what you're doing until it's almost over.'
Hall was one of thirteen non-incumbents elected in November to a two-year term in the Arkansas House. Twelve were brand new state legislators while Rep. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, previously served in the Arkansas Legislature from 1999 to 2013.
Steele filled the House District 72 seat left vacant by Sen. Jamie Scott, D-North Little Rock, who was elected to the Senate and was the only new member of the upper chamber.
Hall and other members of the House's freshman class agreed there was a big learning curve and said they were shocked by the sheer volume of legislation considered over the course of three months.
Freshman class of Arkansas lawmakers includes educators and ranchers
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed more than 1,000 bills into law and vetoed four others. Lawmakers can vote to override the governor's vetoes with a simple majority in both chambers before the sine die adjournment of a legislative session.
Once first-term legislators got a handle on the bill-making process, they learned the importance of relationships both inside and outside of the statehouse.
'The biggest takeaway was just really the amount of running that you do,' Siloam Springs Republican Rep. Randy Torres said. 'You must learn the what, the how and the who simultaneously and very quickly, especially if you want to be effective and run bills and do the full legislative responsibility in your first year.'
Torres said he learns by doing, so he filed his first bill a few days after being sworn into office in January. Presenting to a committee the first time was 'brutal' because of tough questions from his colleagues. His proposal had to be amended, but Torres, who works in banking, said he was grateful for the experience because it helped him better understand the process.
The legislation that Torres said he's 'very honored' and proud to have sponsored and that he feels will be most impactful is Act 147, which will allow a person's blood type to be placed on their driver's license or identification card. Every member of the House's freshman class signed on as cosponsors of Torres' bill.
After introducing his legislation, Torres said he was contacted by blood banks around the country excited about his proposal because they said it would encourage people to donate blood so they could learn their blood type.
'Then also in the rural areas of our state, blood supply is very limited and so really knowing that you're not going to have to use your universal O negative all the time will be very helpful,' Torres said.
Rep. Jessie McGruder, D-Marion, said he was proud to be the lead sponsor of a new law that will require an early voting location in cities that have more than 15,000 residents. The West Memphis teacher and football coach said he filed the legislation in response to a legal battle over early voting in his district last fall.
'It was embarrassing what happened in my district that the election commission couldn't come to a resolution on the fact that they needed to have an early voting location in West Memphis, which is the biggest municipality in Crittenden County, and we had to go before the [Arkansas] Supreme Court,' McGruder said. 'So I wanted to make sure that everybody has the access to early voting within my area.'
Fighting for constituents back home was very important to freshman lawmakers in the House, including Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen, D-Springdale. The longtime educator represents the state's first Hispanic-majority district and is the first Latina elected to the Arkansas Legislature.
'It was a very humbling experience to be the voice of 30,000 people, so they were carried in my heart as I was reading new bills and [considering] how this would impact my community,' she said.
House District 9 is one of the most diverse districts in the state, so Gonzales Worthen said she was especially proud of her ability to bring awareness to the benefits and consequences of immigrant-related bills.
'Our diversity, that's our strength, but a lot of times individuals do not see that as our strength,' she said.
Although the Republican Party has a supermajority in the Arkansas Legislature, Gonzales Worthen said it was still important to speak against bills she didn't agree with so people could gain a better understanding of legislation. The Springdale Democrat spoke in opposition to a number of bills, including one that would 'prohibit discrimination or public entities.'
Gonzales Worthen said she was disappointed in the passage of Act 116 of 2025, which eliminates required minority recruitment and retention plans and reports from public school districts and higher education institutions. The law also repeals language in state procurement proposals that encouraged minority participation or required bidders to adopt an equal opportunity hiring program designed to increase the percentage of minority employees.
CONTACT US
McGruder, a member of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus, said he cried and hugged his 10-month-old granddaughter following the law's passage because he's 'worried about the future when people don't have adequate representation.'
'It hurts me, because it wasn't that minorities are not comfortable or adequate or qualified for positions, it's that the implementation of that [law] will not allow us to even be in the room anymore,' he said. 'All we need is to be in the room. Most of the time we're overqualified for the position we're applying for, but that bill is going to hurt minorities in the future.'
For Arkansans who are considering a run for the Arkansas Legislature, this year's freshman class recommended reaching out to retired lawmakers for advice and visiting the Capitol when lawmakers are in session to get a better understanding of the process. They also suggested speaking with family and coworkers who would also be impacted by a decision to seek office.
Additionally, they emphasized the importance of listening to and being available to the constituents they represent and who helped them get elected.
'The lobbyists down there, they're going to be there whether you get elected or not, so you need to listen to the people that sent you there … just pay attention to what's going on back home, and if you make them people happy, then you'll be OK,' Hall said. 'You can't make everybody happy all the time, but you do the best you can.'
Despite the pace of the legislative session, Hall said he'll be back because he wants 'to fight for people that can't fight for themselves.' Torres, Gonzales Worthen and McGruder said they also intend to seek reelection for the 2026 election cycle. The filing period for candidates for the Arkansas Legislature is Nov. 3-12.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
40 minutes ago
- Axios
GOP leans into Trump administration's Obama accusations
Some Republican lawmakers on Sunday platformed the administration's recent claims that Obama-era officials waged a Russia-related conspiracy against President Trump — but stopped short of endorsing the president's allegations of "treason." The big picture: Trump is again bemoaning a years-long grudge against the widely held conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, following new accusations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of a " treasonous conspiracy" from former President Barack Obama to sabotage Trump's first term. The initial accusations centered around findings from the Obama-era intelligence community that Russia didn't alter vote tallies by hacking election infrastructure. But as Axios' Zachary Basu and Tal Axelrod note, no serious investigation ever claimed Russia changed them. Last week, Gabbard declassified a report from 2020 that she alleges proves the Obama administration "conspired to subvert the will of the American people" and engaged in a "years-long coup against" Trump. In a rare rebuke, a spokesperson for Obama slammed the administration's claims as "a weak attempt at distraction." Driving the news: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for an investigation into the matter Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If there is evidence of a crime being committed or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it," he said. "I think that's the best way to go." Asked by NBC's Kristen Welker whether the new controversy was an attempt to distract from the ongoing fallout from the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Graham argued he was trying to shed light on "something we didn't know before." The other side: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, slammed Gabbard as a "weapon of mass distraction" on "Fox News Sunday," arguing there was "no new information" released. "It's new to you, but all of this information has been available to the House Intelligence Committee, including in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, when all these investigations and reviews were done under the first Trump administration," Crow said, later adding that no information had been "purposefully hidden." In 2020, a Republican-led Senate panel affirmed the intelligence committee's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election and preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton. Zoom in: But Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), the chair of the House Intel Committee, slammed what he called the "Russia collusion hoax" in a "Fox News Sunday" interview, describing it as "a fraud perpetrated on the American people at the expense of President Trump." But "with regard to the claims of treason, I'll leave that to the courts to make that determination," he noted. The bottom line: As Trump launches fresh attacks against his predecessors, questions about his administration's handling of the disgraced financier's case are still rippling through Washington. The competing narratives of the ongoing Epstein fallout, over which the president has cried "hoax," and the reinvigorated anger over the Russia investigation are in many ways both rooted in Trump's vision of a "witch hunt" that's plagued his political career, Axios' Basu notes. Trump quickly seized on the Obama storyline, sharing a seemingly AI-generated video of the former president being arrested earlier this month, and more recently, an edited photo of himself pursuing Obama in a car chase.
The Hill
40 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrats hear some criticism as redistricting talk picks up
Outside groups are raising concerns that Democrats risk violating the Voting Rights Act with redistricting plans, creating a new problem for the party as it seeks to answer GOP efforts to redistrict its way to more power. Democrats say they have to take action to draw new House districts in states they control in response to power plays by a Trump-driven GOP in Texas and other states. But the tit-for-tat has left groups leaving the door open to litigation. They also are making a moral case, arguing Democrats are thwarting the democratic process. 'This is dead wrong from a democracy perspective, I think it's very problematic for Democrats from a political strategic perspective,' explained Dan Vicuna, director of voting and fair representation at Common Cause. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the only Democratic governor so far to signal he's considering several ways to counter the GOP's efforts in Texas. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Newsom said any move by California 'is predicated on Texas moving forward' with its own redistricting plan, which some have seen as a way for the Lone Star State to make it more likely to hold on to five House seats. Several other Democratic governors, including Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and JB Pritzker of Illinois have left the door open to possibly changing their maps. The GOP may also not be done. The White House is reportedly pushing Missouri to consider redrawing its map. Civil rights and voting groups are worried actions by both parties could undermine or weaken the political power of historically marginalized minority communities. The issue is a thorny one for Democrats, who have positioned themselves as the prodemocracy party and championed racial justice initiatives. At the same time, Democratic states just like Republican states have been sued by civil rights groups over Voting Rights Act violations. Both Democrats and Republicans have also been found guilty of creating gerrymandered maps. 'We have sued both Democrats and Republicans on these issues,' said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 'So yes, we are concerned that when leaders of either party seek to take maximum advantage, partisan advantage of redistricting, they often neglect, if not ignore, the imperatives of the Voting Rights Act with respect to reliably Democratic voting groups.' Some groups are also frustrated given efforts by blue states to move beyond gerrymandering. 'Independent commissions like the gold standard in California were created specifically to avoid what's being considered here, which is voting maps drawn for the sole purpose of protecting incumbent politicians and political party interests to the exclusion of community needs and community feedback,' Vicuna said. California Common Cause was intimately involved in the creation of California's independent commission. It could be difficult for some Democratic-held states to answer Texas. Several would likely need to change their state constitution and work around their respective redistricting commissions. Should the Lone Star State craft new House lines, John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates, in a statement said they would be met 'with a wall of resistance and a wave of legal challenges.' His statement did not address Democratic-led states mulling their own midcycle redistricting. Democrats argue that if Republicans are headed down that road, nothing should be off the table for them as well. 'Republicans should be careful what they ask for,' Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, told The Hill in a statement. 'And if they go down this path? Absolutely folks are going to respond across the country. We're not going to be sitting back with one hand tied behind our back while Republicans try to undermine the voices of the American people.' Democrats are also leaning into the issue of democracy, saying the longevity of the country is at stake if the party does not respond. Newsom painted the situation in grim terms, saying on Friday, 'I believe that the people of the state of California understand what's at stake. If we don't put a stake into the heart of this administration, there may not be an election in 2028.' 'We can sit back and act as if we have some moral superiority and watch this 249, almost 250-year experiment be washed away,' Newsom said. 'We are not going to allow that to happen. We have agency, we can shape the future.' Civil rights and voting-focused groups, however, are concerned about the ramifications midcycle redistricting could have moving forward, including the possibility of what was once considered a decennial process after each U.S. census turning into a cyclical issue. 'One of the concerns that we have is, even if blue states have power and have a majority in their legislature to redraw maps, our concern is that this could set a bad precedent, because those states could, at the same time, flip in the future,' said Jose Barrera Novoa, vice president of the far west for the League of United Latin American Citizens. 'And the same thing is going to happen where … other parties are going to look to redraw the map midcycle or even quarterly. Who knows?' he asked. 'It's all hypothetical, yet it's still very possible.' Not only could a potential redistricting tit-for-tat raise questions over whether this could be repeated in the future, experts also worry about the financial toll it could take on their resources and voters themselves. 'These are judges managing these cases, hearing these cases. Many of these people are paid out by state funds, and federal cases, of course, are also paid by voters directly,' explained Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, noting cases that use taxpayer funds. 'Do we really want to spend this time doing this highly unusual activity when we're all going to have to pay for it?'
Boston Globe
40 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
It's a year of rapid change, except when it comes to Trump's approval numbers, AP-NORC polling finds
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Advertisement But even those shifts are within a relatively narrow range, which is typical for Trump. Advertisement Those long-term trends underscore that Trump has many steadfast opponents. But loyal supporters also help explain why views of the president are hard to change even as he pursues policies that most Americans do not support, using an approach that many find abrasive. Trump has not had a traditional honeymoon period in his second term. He did not in his first, either. The recent slippage on immigration is particularly significant because that issue was a major strength for Trump in the 2024 election. Earlier in his second term, it was also one of the few areas where he was outperforming his overall approval. In March, about half of US adults approved of his handling of immigration. But the July AP-NORC poll found his approval on immigration at 43 percent, in line with his overall approval rating. Other recent polls show growing discontent with Trump's approach to immigration. Advertisement 'I understand wanting to get rid of illegal immigrants, but the way that's being done is very aggressive,' said Donovan Baldwin, 18, of Asheboro, N.C., who did not vote in the 2024 election. 'And that's why people are protesting because it comes off as aggression. It's not right.' Ratings of Trump's handling of the economy, which were more positive during his first term, have been persistently negative in his second term. The July poll found that few Americans think Trump's policies have benefited them so far. Even if he is not a fan of everything Trump has done so far, Brian Nichols, 58, of Albuquerque, is giving him the benefit of the doubt. Nichols, who voted for Trump in 2024, likes what he is seeing from the president overall, though he has his concerns both on style and substance, particularly Trump's social media presence and his on-again, off-again tariffs. Nichols also does not like the push to eliminate federal agencies such as the Education Department. Despite his occasional disagreements with Trump, though, Nichols said he wants to give the president space to do his job, and he trusts the House and Senate, now run by Republicans, to act as a safeguard. 'We put him into office for a reason, and we should be trusting that he's doing the job for the best of America,' Nichols said. Trump has spent the past six months pushing far-reaching and often unpopular policies. Earlier this year, Americans were bracing themselves for higher prices as a result of his approach to tariffs. The July poll found that most people think Trump's tax and spending bill will benefit the wealthy, while few think it will pay dividends for the middle class or people like them. Advertisement Discomfort with individual policies may not translate into wholesale changes in views of Trump, though. Those have largely been constant through years of turmoil, with his favorability rating staying within a 10-percentage-point range through the COVID-19 pandemic, a felony conviction, and attempted assassination. To some of his supporters, the benefits of his presidency far outweigh the costs. Kim Schultz, 62, of Springhill, Fla., said she is thrilled with just about everything Trump is doing as president, particularly his aggressive moves to deport anyone living in the country illegally. Even if Trump's tariffs eventually take effect and push prices up, she said she will not be alarmed. 'I've always had the opinion that if the tariffs are going to cost me a little bit more here and there, I don't have a problem with that,' she said. Across the country, Hildenbrand dislikes Trump's personality and his penchant for insults, including those directed at foreign leaders. But he thinks Trump is making things happen. 'More or less, to me, he's showing that he's on the right track,' he said. 'I'm not in favor of Trump's personality, but I am in favor of what he's getting done.'
