Arkansas House Democrats outlined four policy challenges for the 2025 legislative session at a news conference Tuesday. It was led by the chamber’s new minority leader and was attended by most of the caucus, including some new members.
House Minority Leader Andrew Collins, D-Little Rock, said he would introduce a series of bills Wednesday that would address the needs of maternal health care, mental health care, public education, access to voting and direct democracy. Ta.
“We recognize that we’re in the minority right now. That doesn’t mean we’re going to turn our tails around and go home,” said fellow Little Rock state Rep. Tippi McCullough. said Collins, who took over as minority leader. “We are putting forward bold policies that will make a big difference for Arkansas families…What we stand for and who we stand for – you. , and we would like to clarify how we will lead if you give us a chance.
Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate in 2014 and have increased their percentages every election cycle since. Two weeks ago, Congresswoman-Elect Diana Gonzalez Worthen I turned over the seat at Springdale House. Democrats achieved a net gain in Congressional seats for the first time since 2004.
As of January, Republicans maintained a majority in the House of Representatives with 81 seats to Democrats’ 19 seats, and the supermajority in the Senate remained unchanged with Republicans holding 29 seats and Democrats holding six seats.
The press conference was attended by 14 members of the House of Representatives and members-elect, including Gonzalez Worthen.
Collins acknowledged that he would need Republican support to pass the Democratic-led bill, but he was confident some of the proposed “Better Arkansas” policies would have enough Republican support. He said there was.
Arkansas has consistently high maternal and infant mortality rates and is also the only state that has taken no action. Adopt the federal option Extending postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months after birth. Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R-Knoxville) proposed a bill that would have created this policy in 2023, but it did not advance. Posted in X On Thursday, he announced he would push for a similar bill in 2025.
Rep. Ashley Hudson, D-Little Rock, said expanding coverage is a top priority for Democrats next year and calls it “one of the most effective and lowest-cost ways to protect mothers and babies in this state.” “One.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the policy would become “unnecessary” because the state has other coverage options for low-income Arkansans after giving birth. She created strategy committee Created in March to develop a plan to improve the state’s maternal health infrastructure and outcomes, Hudson noted: List of committee policy recommendations Does not include 12-month coverage extension.
“It was clear from the beginning that certain ideas were not on the table,” Hudson said.
He also said Democrats’ 2025 goals include restoring the child tax credit and creating a policy that would make insurance coverage for pregnant Arkansans start in the first trimester.
The Arkansas Legislature considered enacting broad maternal and reproductive health legislation in 2023
Hudson was one of three House Democrats, along with Fayetteville Rep. Dennis Garner and Rep. Nicole Clowney, to propose an exception to the state’s abortion ban. last year. Republicans rejected all three bills in committee.
Arkansas prohibits abortion at all stages of pregnancy and in all circumstances except when the life of the pregnant person is at risk. The “trigger ban” went into effect in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and leave abortion to states.
Collins said he would introduce legislation that would roll back the state’s abortion regulations and “bring us back to the standards of the 1980s.” At the time, abortion was legal before the fetus was viable, with exceptions in cases of incest and threats to life and vitality. Maternal health status after fetal survival.
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Further legislative goals
Democrats in both chambers introduced bills last year that: Raise starting salaries for teachers $36,000 to $50,000 per year. Although the bill did not advance, Sanders and legislative Republicans included this mandate in the bill. Learn Law 2023a broad-based omnibus pedagogy that also created a new school voucher program.
Collins said Tuesday that LEARNS is “one of the classic examples” of a “poison pill” that Republicans have introduced to advance an agenda that runs parallel to policies supported by both parties, and that Republicans will continue to use other policies in the future. He said he expected them to adopt the same strategy.
All 24 legislative Democrats voted against the LEARNS Act because their party opposed diverting public funds from public schools.
“We reject the voucher model,” said Rep. Tara Shepard, D-Little Rock. “Our focus is on public schools [which] They serve 95% of the children in Arkansas and they are excellent. ”
Democrats’ 2025 education policy priorities include expanding access to preschool, strengthening the early childhood education workforce, fully funding literacy programs created by the LEARNS Act, and increasing college and technical school tuition. These include making education more affordable and implementing “inclusive services” in higher education institutions. We need territory,” Shepard said.
He also said Democrats want to “ban books,” referring to conservative efforts to restrict children’s books on some controversial topics, such as LGBTQ+ issues.
“Public schools reflect our state because they serve every community. Wealth and privilege in some areas and poverty in others,” Shepherd said. “In prosperous communities, public schools achieve great results. In struggling communities, despite the tireless efforts of teachers and staff, the challenges presented at the door can overwhelm the school’s ability to serve.” There is a possibility that it will happen.”
Clowney said many social problems such as crime and poverty can be traced to mental health problems and substance abuse.
Clowney said lawmakers could address these issues by increasing the number of school counselors and social workers, as well as community behavioral health providers.
Another proposed remedy is a “red flag” law that would prohibit the sale of firearms to anyone who poses a threat to public safety.
She also proposed building a new state psychiatric hospital in northwest Arkansas, in addition to the existing psychiatric hospital in Little Rock. She said this would reduce “the backlog of pretrial evaluations that causes people to languish in county jails” waiting for psychiatric evaluations after arrest.
“When it comes to us, [state] “Unless it’s tax cuts for the wealthy, gift certificates, new prisons, that’s not a top priority,” Clowney said. “As a result, there never seems to be enough money to actually invest in things like mental health. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Incoming Congressman Jesse McGruder (D-Marion) laid out his party’s final priority: “Defending Democracy.”
McGruder will represent part of Crittenden County. legal battle In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election, a battle raged over two proposed early voting locations in West Memphis. arkansas supreme court ruled in october Initially, a 2-1 majority of election officials opposed it, requiring the county to provide two locations.
“People should be able to register to vote online at any time, including on Election Day,” McGruder said. “You should be able to vote absentee without an excuse until Election Day.”
Education, government transparency measures fail to achieve key goals
Arkansas currently does not allow people to register to vote on Election Day or during early voting in the same election.
State officials rolled out a rule earlier this year that would require voters to sign their voter registration forms in ink on paper in most cases. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the following decision in September: administrative stay This allowed state officials to implement “wet signature” rules while parties to regulatory litigation prepared court filings.
McGruder said Democrats support transparency in government, including efforts to enshrine access to government meetings and records in the state constitution. Citizen-led initiatives failed to gather enough support to conduct a statewide vote this year.
McGruder also said the state “has seen the consequences when politicians try to change the rules for their own benefit.” Efforts to make abortion a limited constitutional right There was also no statewide vote.and its supporters allege unlawful interference from the Secretary of State and the Arkansas Supreme Court.
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