Heading for Week Ten

It seems like yesterday I was sworn in and now we are beginning week ten. Due to time constraints this will be a few weeks in pictures with brief descriptions.

The Kelsey Smith Act was signed in to Arkansas law on Friday. This was my second piece of legislation to be signed by the Governor. Above is Senator Bart Hester presenting in the Senate and next is the bill on the board in the Senate. The next two images are the signed bill and Kelsey's parents Missey and Senator Greg Smith holding the important piece of legislation. 

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette called this piece of legislation "the most humane legislation introduced in this legislative session or any other." WOW!!!! I passed this through the Judiciary committee HB1855 the "Courthouse Dogs Child Witness Support Act," these specially trained dogs will sit next to children in court while they testify after being sexually abused. After trained these dogs will let the children pet them or lay their head in their lap when the child becomes emotionally upset. It goes to the floor on Monday, I pray I can do it the justice it deserves. I cannot express how much I love this bill.

 This is a picture of one of my pages and constituents, 12-year-old Eagle Scout ,Seth Rippetoe from Rogers. I spent Friday with him and his family. This image is him taking a note to the Speaker of the House, Jeremy Gillam for me.

 This is an image of my friend and colleague, Representative Michelle Gray presenting her bill to continue to protect our 2nd Amendment rights. It was very highly debated, but passed. Great job Representative Gray.

This is a picture of the pro death penalty shell bill I filed. A shell bill only has a title that can be filled in before the session ends or never. There was a lot of media coverage about this bill that went from Arkansas to all over the country. The media stated I wanted to bring back the firing squad in Arkansas, to which I received many emails and phone calls with people saying how proud they were of me to suggest such an idea. I was pretty much hailed a hero, except by a few liberals, but as you can plainly see I never suggested in the bill that the firing squad be brought back. Sorry to disappoint my supporters. However, who knows what next week will bring, perhaps a solution to the death penalty issue????

We will see...

Week Seven

Wow! What a whirlwind. I have been learning so much and it is very exciting to serve the people of Arkansas and the best district in the state-94.

There have been a lot of bills and a lot of hard decisions, but I think I will leave this blog in pictures this time with slight descriptions. Enjoy!

Seth R. from Rogers is a young Eagle Scout from my district. Seth designed an awesome fire drill plan that took 2 minutes off of an escape route. I presented him with a flag that had been flown over the Arkansas House of Representatives chamber and a certificate. 

Also, my dog Wolfie made his first political debut. Seth really liked petting him and Wolfie liked it too. Seth will be visiting the Capitol and participating in our page program in March. I am excited about this for him. He's an awesome kid and I am so glad he is my constituent.  

The governor shut down the state offices last Monday because of inclement weather. I trudged around the Capitol grounds and took pictures (my hobby). This one is my favorite. It was flat cold.  

 Governor Hutchinson signed Andi's bill in to state law which gives crime victims rights during the course of a state execution. It was a very emotional bill for me to pass. It was my first bill and I am honored it is now in the books in her name.
I was also so honored that my family participated in the ceremony (including my fiance' and his awesome nephew Jared) and many from the legislative body. It was a really neat day. My bother-in-law Brant opened the prayer on the floor of the House and my sis was there for the whole thing, as well.

Wednesday my dear friend, Missey Smith, is flying in to Little Rock to testify on behalf of the Kelsey Smith Act. I have worked hard with the Smith family, AT&T, the Arkansas State Police, and the Arkansas Crime Information Center to make sure this very important piece of legislation is presented right. I have to hand it to Missey for her determination and to Cathy Foracre from AT&T for helping me spearhead this awesome effort. And of course, I would never leave out the Arkansas State Police and ACIC. Thanks everyone.
But, most of all this is for every child who has been kidnapped, harmed, and/or murdered.

Kelsey Smith age 18.

Next, I have been approached to work with the Attorney General's office on some other crime victims reparation issues and I got a call today from Parent's of Murdered Children in Little Rock letting me know that I have received mail at their office, I suppose the person didn't know where else to send the letter. I will go pick it up tomorrow. Someone told me last week, "Because of you victims in this state finally have a voice. Thank you." I could barely keep from crying because victims have been silenced for so long in this state. 

I also spent some time this weekend with a wonderful firm in my district, Crafton Tull. I appreciated their conversation and insight to their business. Thank you, Mr. Tom Hopper for the kind words of encouragement you offered. I really enjoyed sitting with you and your lovely wife at dinner. 

That is it. Back to Little Rock.

God bless.  

Legislative Week Four.

Greetings all!

Being home on the weekends does not mean a legislator is off work. Last weekend, I took some food and Gatorade to the two fire stations in my district. Rogers Station 4 and Bentonville Station 2. It was great to meet the men and women who serve as firefighters in the district. They showed me the firetrucks and ambulances and all around the station. Great group of folks. I appreciate them more than they know.

I presented my first bill, Andi's Law, on the floor of the House on Monday. It passed 95-0

This bill gives crime victim's the right to choose whether or not they want to witness the execution of a person who has been convicted of capital murder for the death of their loved one. Arkansas did not allow this as many other states do. It gives respect and dignity to victim families and allows them to see to the last bit of business their loved one has on the planet (if they so choose). Tomorrow it goes to the Senate floor. I testified in front of the Senate Judiciary and was met with some very tough questions. In the end it passed unanimously. Very tough, but I did it. It goes to the Senate floor on Monday. 

This has been the busiest  and by far the most stressful week as a legislator I have had. We tackled some issues in regards to Arkansas' health care reform, something that I feel almost destroyed the 89th General Assembly, and we faced it early and head on. The body of legislators and our governor came together and there is a lot of unity on how to face, address, and fix this issue. This will not plague the 90th General Assembly as it did in the previous session. There were some very tough issues to it all and I appreciate and respect our Speaker of the House, Jeremy Gillam, for his leadership. 

Yesterday was my first legislative forum at Northwest Arkansas Community College. Several of my colleagues from this area were there and we sat on a panel and discussed issues we are working on in Little Rock. I talked about Andi's Law and the Kelsey Smith Act that I will be filing on Monday. There was also some discussion with firefighters about them developing cancer due to carcinogens and them not being able to receive workman's compensation. With me being closely tied to the fire service with Bill and my cousin Jenn, this issue really struck a chord with me. God bless them.  I cannot even imagine losing a loved one in the fire service, much less having no support. This will be an issue I will really research and most likely support with the help of Representative Dotson and Representative Della Rosa. This picture is us at NWACC yesterday morning. Thank you NWACC for hosting us. 

  

Today before I leave to go back to Little Rock I am presenting two Arkansas flags that were flown over the Capitol and a certificate from the Secretary of State to some children in my district who have done some pretty cool things.

One is an Eagle Scout who constructed an emergency path for fire drills at the NWA Sunshine School and Development Center. And another to the sweetest little brother and sister whom I was able to discuss politics with while I was campaigning and after I won the election. I believe encouraging children is the pathway for them to get involved in their local, state and federal government. These kids deserve to be recognized and I truly feel honored to honor them. 

Tomorrow I am filing the Kelsey Smith Act. The Kelsey Smith Act provides law enforcement with a way to quickly ascertain the location of a wireless telecommunications device if a person has been determined, by law enforcement, to be at risk of death or serious physical harm due to being kidnapped and/or missing. I want to really thank the Smith family, Senator Greg Smith of Kansas and his awesome wife, Missey for helping in this endeavor and Cathy Foraker from AT&T for helping me in this process. I wanted it to be perfect before I presented it and the effort and rally behind this was amazing. Thank you! I am truly sad that there is even a need for this legislation. But, honored to do it. But, it wasn't without the help of many wonderful folks. 

Kelsey Smith

I hope everyone has a blessed week. Please feel free to contact me at any time. rebecca.petty@arkansashouse.org

Rebecca

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.