Week Three

Home from my third week of session. I feel so very honored to be representing District 94 and the citizens of Arkansas. I won't lie, there are many things I am learning, but it is all coming together. The big things like parliamentary procedure (I've been reading my book refreshing myself) to the ends and outs of the Capitol building. Yesterday I found a hair salon in the Capitol and a secret door out of the basement. There is also a fully functioning post office and an infirmary if anyone gets sick.

The House staff is wonderful and so are my colleagues. The experience has been exciting,even in the midst of some hard decisions we had to make this past week in regards to the new Governor's budget and tax cuts and an issue with capital gains. I have learned so much.

I am a deputy whip. Which, at first, made me a little bit nervous. But, now that I have gotten my feet wet I believe I will be pretty good at it. I like knowing the ins and outs of the bills that are on the agenda the next day. It helps me be a better legislator. And I enjoy helping my colleagues.

I presented my first bill in Judiciary committee. It was in regards to crime victims rights during an execution, otherwise known as Andi's Law, HB 1012. It is an issue that is near and dear to me since Andi is my daughter and I believe that crime victims should have rights. It is a common sense bill and it passed through committee. I won't discuss the bill on my blog in depth, as you can go read it on ArkLeg, but I will say that some things happened to sabotage the legislation the night before and my wonderful friends and fellow law makers on Judiciary recognized this and stopped it. They totally got my back. My sister testified powerfully on behalf of her niece, Andi and Representative Nate Bell from Mena hit the ball out of the park for me. I am grateful for all the parties involved who got my back from Democrats to Republicans. What an awesome bipartisan effort. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Representative Rushing, a special thanks to you, too. Heck, I am in awe at the entire committee. Each and every one of you are class acts. I am honored to serve with you.

This is sis testifying.

I am co-sponsoring a few bills, but personally I have decided that I am not going to co-sponsor just anything and everything. I am halting making quick decisions to sign on to anything and everything put in front of me. I will be sponsoring two more bills, the Kelsey Smith Act and a bill that honors EMT's and Paramedics with a flag if they are killed in the line of duty. I have been working close with the Smith family and AT&T on the Kelsey Smith Act. And just yesterday began working on the Paramedic one. I like bills that I feel passionate about, are common sense, and don't cost the tax payer much, if anything at all. Other than that I am doing my best to stay in contact with folks in my district and trying to vote smart. If anyone has contacted me and I haven't responded back I am asking to please try again. My email and voice mail is filled with messages and I am sorting back through trying to play catch up and it is nothing personal if I haven't contacted you yet. I am doing my best to make sure everyone is contacted. I really appreciate you all. Again, I am here to serve you to the best of my ability. If you need anything please send me an email to rebecca.petty@arkansashouse.org

Kelsey Smith