Rebecca Petty Seeks Second Term In State House

ROGERS (KFSM) – Republican Rebecca Petty is seeking re-election to the state House from her district in Rogers, said told 5NEWS.

Petty, a child and crime-victim advocate, won the open House District 94 seat in the 2014 general election, defeating Democratic candidate Grimsley Graham.

Petty works as a consultant with the U.S. Department of Justice on Amber Alert training. Her 12-year-old daughter, Andi Brewer, was raped and slain in the woods near Mena in 1999 by Karl D. Roberts, the child’s uncle by marriage. Roberts is now on death row, records show.

Petty, who holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Arkansas Tech University, has said she is a pro-life candidate and supports gun rights. She has also said she supports lower taxes and limited government. She is currently seeking a master's degree from John Brown University.

End of July Update

Many of the laws we passed during the Regular Session went into effect this week.  Among those are several pieces of legislation designed to reduce the amount of prescription drug abuse in our state.

Overdose fatalities are now the leading cause of accidental deaths in America.  According to the Center for Disease Control about 44 deaths per day involve prescription painkillers.

Act 1114 is known as the Joshua Ashley-Pauley Act provides immunity for anyone in possession of a controlled substance if that individual is seeking his or her own medical assistance or seeking medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug overdose. This act was named after a 20 year old Conway man who died of an overdose. Those with him at the time said they were afraid to call for help for fear of prosecution.

We also passed legislation providing immunity from civil liability and professional sanctions to any health care professional who administers Naloxone to an individual experiencing an opiate overdose. Naloxone is a prescription drug that can counter the effects of an opiate overdose. The same immunity is provided for any person acting in good faith who believes that another person is experiencing an overdose as long as that individual obtained the drug through a prescription from a health care professional.

This year the General Assembly strengthened the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.  Act 1208 allows the Department of Health to develop a database program that would alert a physician if his or her patient is being prescribed pain medication by more than three physicians within a 30 day period.  It directs hospitals to adopt guidelines concerning prescribing in the emergency rooms.  This legislation also includes an education component, directing prescribers to obtain at least 2 hours of prescribing education within the first two years of being granted a license.

You also have an opportunity to limit abuse.  Since many times abusers steal prescriptions from individual medicine cabinets, the Arkansas Drug Directors office along with law enforcement from across the state team up twice a year to create secure drop-off locations for individuals who need to dispose of no longer needed medication.  The next Arkansas Take Back event has been scheduled for Saturday, September 26 from 10am to 2pm.  To find the drop-off location nearest you, visit www.artakeback.org.

Workforce Developement

Workforce development was a major focus in our most recent legislative session.  We passed several bills which will help to ensure that our workers have the skills they need for a rapidly changing business environment.

This week we received word that we will be able to extend even more services to put more Arkansans to work through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that it will award the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services with $537,758 to fund Arkansas’s Reemployment Services Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program.  This is expected to benefit more than 8,000 Arkansans looking for work.
  Currently, the Department of Workforce Services offers Arkansas Reemployment Services (RES) to those collecting Unemployment Insurance but are at risk of exhausting benefits before finding employment.

Through the Arkansas Workforce Centers the department provides additional assistance to these participants and requires completion of a job search workshop to maintain their UI benefits.
A job search workshop that lasts four to six hours is held once per month in each of the workforce centers that handle UI claims.  The workshop provides labor market information, job search assistance, resume preparation and interview skills training.

       The grant awarded to our state this week will create the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program.  The RESEA program include the RES processes, but will also require select claimants to participate in additional services in order to maintain benefits. Additional services include the Career Readiness Certificate, an occupational skills assessment and an individual reemployment plan contract.  The RESEA program will also provide one on one appointments and help our veterans returning home to find work. Initially, these services will be provided at Arkansas Workforce Centers located in and serving the areas of Helena, Hope, Benton, Searcy, Forrest City and Little Rock.

The goal of the RESEA program is not only to keep claimants from exhausting their benefits before moving on to employment, but also to reduce the number of weeks claimed and to reduce the total benefits paid to result in savings for the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

 Currently Arkansas’s unemployment rate is at 5.7%.  It is slightly higher than the national rate which stands at 5.5%
Although in recent years we have seen the number of unemployed decline significantly, our efforts will continue as long as there are Arkansans who do not have a job and want to work.
There are over 30 workforce centers across the state.  To find one near you visit www.dws.arkansas.gov