Scroll down for the video.
An early morning crowd of around 200 Saline County citizens came to ask questions about current legislation in Arkansas, including the Arkansas LEARNS bill for K-12 education, put forward by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. MySaline was there to get video of the hour-long discussion. See the video and more below.
Pro-tips for watching the video:
- Don’t skip their opening statements. There’s a lot of info in them.
- Use the times in the list below to jump to a topic.
- Hover on the video and use the gear icon to change the speed of the video so you can watch it faster.
State Representatives and Senators each introduced themselves and talked about bills they are currently working on, and then took questions from the crowd. See below ??for more on LEARNS, as well as a list of topics in the video, and the times.
Here’s a link to the text of the Arkansas LEARNS bill, who proposed it, who is already voting for it (as of Feb 23, 2023) and more updates.
Legislators Each Tell What Bills They Are Working On:
00:06:50 – Rep Julie Mayberry
00:10:45 – Rep Keith Brooks
00:12:10 – Rep Lanny Fite
00:13:45 – Rep RJ Hawk
00:17:05 – Rep Mary Bentley
00:19:48 – Sen Kim Hammer
00:24:48 – Sen Richard McGrew
00:26:30 – Sen Alan Clark
(Saline County legislators not present were Sen Matt McKee and Rep Tony Furman)
Q & A:
00:29:00 – Solar
00:33:45 – LEARNS vouchers, teacher salary
00:38:15 – Special Elections
00:42:10 – Separation of Church and State
00:45:20 – NIL (name, image & likeness) rights for high school students, and LEARNS school choice
00:49:40 – LEARNS vouchers
00:53:00 – NIL, Solar
00:54:15 – Protecting consumer info for small businesses
00:55:45 – Cost per square foot for construction of school faciliities
01:01:45 – LEARNS urgency to pass it VS due diligence
01:07:00 – Sen. Hammer makes final statement on LEARNS
This event was hosted by the Benton, Bryant & Hot Springs Village Chambers of Commerce and was sponsored by Baldwin & Shell Construction. This is the second Legislative Breakfast during this session. Watch MySaline for the next one in Saline County. The public is always invited.