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

Week One

Back in the district after a gracious early dismissal by the Speaker of the House, Jeremy Gillam. My week was filled with being sworn in to serve as State Representative for District 94, to settling in to my new apartment, being woke up every morning at 4:35 (on the dot) by a rickety trash truck outside aforementioned new apartment, working on a piece of legislation ie...the one I pre-filed in regards to crime victim's rights--Andi's Law, watching the new governor being sworn in twice (once in the house chambers, and once on the lawn of the Capitol, going to a ball, and finally voting on a few housekeeping issues to which my seat mate whispered that I now, officially have a voting record, and finally attending my first committee meeting in judiciary. Whew! Is that a run on sentence? Oh well....hmmmm....what else? Ah yes, here's a list of where I will be serving for those of you interested:

Committees Vice Chair:JUDICIARY- HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE & CHILD SUPPORT SUBCOMMITTEE ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - JOINT ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE AGING, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LEGISLATIVE & MILITARY AFFAIRS- HOUSE

I am learning my way around the Capitol, meeting many different folks, but I am so pleased to say that I have received so many, "thank yous" from people who have been or have had a loved one who has been a victim of crime and are so happy to have a voice through me now. It is astonishing how many people have been victimized and have never been heard. The one thing I hope everyone realizes is they have a voice now. I will be that voice. I will fight for them. 

Also, I am pleased to be vice-chair of juvenile justice and child support subcommittee. I am a firm believer that both parents should be responsible for their children. One thing I hate to see is a non-custodial parent being taken advantage of by a custodial parent who just wants to leech off the non-custodial parent. I believe things should be fair. Both parents brought the child in to the world and one parent should not have the luxury of sitting back doing nothing except collecting a huge check while barely allowing the child to have a relationship with the non-custodial parent except for four days a month. To me it is all about the child having a good relationship with both parents.And for those who don't pay your child support....PAY IT!!!!! It isn't a difficult concept to understand. Everyone should do their part. How do I know all this? Because I had a step-mother for a few years growing up who hated me and my sister. She got mad when my dad paid child support. He did it any way, but it was always a struggle and fight for him every month to do the right thing. And he truly wanted to do the right thing because he loved me and my sister, still does. My stepmother would always say, "One day those girls of yours will be grown and gone and all you will have is me." Well, she and my dad divorced many, many, many moons ago and my sister and me are very close to our father. You don't say, huh? My point, if you are divorced, leave the kids out of it, they love both parents. 

That is all for now. 

Welcome

This is my new blog and it is dedicated to the constituents of District 94 Rogers-Bentonville and to all of the great folks of our wonderful state. I am by no means a politician, although yesterday a reporter told me that indeed I was. However, it feels very unfamiliar to me. God has a way of pushing you out of your comfort zone to help you grow. So for now, I will be content to say I am a humble servant, a person who wants to serve the average, everyday person. I am not perfect by any means, but I always try to do and be my best. I have made mistakes in my life, sure, but I want to be better and do better. I want to serve you.

A little about me...I am a child and crime victim advocate. I have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Arkansas Tech University. I am half-way through the master's program at John Brown University. And if all goes well I should have my MS in leadership and ethics this time next year. I have decided to take the spring semester off so I can serve in the House of Representatives and dedicate myself to my constituents.

I am engaged to a civil engineer named William, most call him Bill.

 We plan on getting married this summer. He is my best friend.

We laugh together.Tour around on a Harley together. Have everything in common politically together, kayak together, hike together, and he has agreed to take care of my dog,Wolfgang, while I am serving in Little Rock. What a blessing. He's the best. I love him with all my heart. I am so honored he asked me to marry him.

More about me: I am a conservative Republican. Know the pain of losing a child to murder. Know the pain of going through divorce. Have two beautiful grown daughters, Melanie and Kristin, who are awesome. Know the terror of almost losing a grandson (Dex) to premature birth (he's perfectly healthy now). Know the joy of having a second grandchild (Emma) born perfectly healthy. And have been down my own road called life. Sometimes I have gotten in the ditch and other times have had complete victory and awesome milestones. Like I said before, I am not perfect, but I am me and I am real and if you live in District 94 in Arkansas, I am your state representative. I want you to know that I am here for you. Please know that you can reach out to me and I will do my best to contact you back and together we can address any legislative issue you may have. And I am honored to be in the place the voters put me. I am fully aware and appreciative of who put me here and how I got here.  I will do the best I can and serve you to the best of my ability. Please know you can reach out to me. rebecca.petty@arkansashouse.org

Thank you. And God bless.