Freshman class of Arkansas lawmakers reflects on lessons learned during legislative session

Yahoo

05-05-2025

Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen, a Springdale Democrat and the Legislature's first Latina, explains her opposition to a proposed law that would 'prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment' by public entities on the House floor on Thursday, February 6, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)
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.
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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.
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