Arkansas lawmakers gathered Thursday to discuss the recent legislative session. At a summit held by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Democratic Reps. Andrew Collins and Ashley Hudson and Republican Rep. Julie Mayberry were critical of the pace at which the legislature moves.
“We have too many bills too fast,” Mayberry said. “We don't spend enough time in the interim working on those bills before they come forward."
After studying it, Mayberry says 41% of bills were sent to the governor's desk in the last three days of session.
“Many members were walking around those last few days of session asking ‘What am I doing?’”
The three lawmakers talked about the legislation they passed helping children and families. Mayberry described herself as “unapologetically pro-life,” acknowledging that the reversal of Roe v. Wade could cause many more babies to be born in Arkansas. After realizing her own local fire department did not have a Safe Haven Baby Box, she worked during the session on bills to strengthen related laws.
“We know that they work,” she said. She also passed a law that said every new mother gets a visit from a nurse in their home.
Democratic Rep. Ashley Hudson worked on legislation to give new mothers a “private” and “clean” place to pump breast milk during the school day.
Hudson still wishes lawmakers would do more to address Arkansas's high infant and maternal mortality rate. She said lawmakers “missed out on many opportunities,” referencing an unsuccessful bill put forward by Rep. Aaron Pilkington to expand Medicaid coverage for mothers for the first year after birth.
She was upset by the laws regulating transgender rights passed during the session.
“We also know the effects of this legislation is direct, that kids are trying to harm themselves as a result of this session and the last,” she said, calling the session a “mixed bag.”
Rep. Collins talked about the omnibus education bill known as LEARNS passed by the session this year.
“Fundamentally, it's a voucher bill,” he said. “It's a bill that takes money that would go to public schools and allows people to use it at a private school.”
Rep. Mayberry was one of the only Republicans to vote against LEARNS. She said she wanted more time to read the 144-page bill. She said she received many texts, phone calls, messages and emails from people expressing concern over the bill. Of those people she “could only count four or five people who said something positive or were somewhat encouraging to vote for it.” She said she did not meet anyone who was ecstatic about it.
Mayberry said she stands behind her decision to vote no, even though she took “political heat.”
