Thank you for subscribing to the ATRS Legislative Update email. Each week, you will receive an update of the week’s legislative activity relating to teacher retirement. And from time to time you may receive email alerts when there are important developments related to important bills. If you are receiving this email as a forward, you can subscribe to these legislative updates here. 

This coming Monday, January 13^th, the 95^th General Assembly will gavel into session at noon under the leadership of House Speaker Brian Evans of Cabot and Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester of Cave Springs. And then on Tuesday morning, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will present her State of the State Address in the House chamber.

JOINT PUBLIC RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY COMMITTEE

One thing to watch for in the first few days will be the Speaker’s announcement of the House Co-Chair and House membership of the Joint Public Retirement & Social Security Committee. This is the legislative committee that will hear most of the bills related to ATRS and the state’s other public retirement systems. Rep. Les Warren of Hot Springs served as the Committee’s House Co-Chair in the last legislative session, so we are waiting to see if he will be reappointed to this role.

The Senate has already decided their membership in the Committee. Sen. Jim Dotson of Bentonville will serve as the Senate Co-Chair, and he will be joined by the following Senators:

• Vice-Chair Sen. Fredrick Love of Mabelvale
• Sen. Greg Leding of Fayetteville
• Sen. Kim Hammer of Benton
• Sen. Clarke Tucker of Little Rock
• Sen. Ben Gilmore of Crossett
• Sen. Reginald Murdock of Marianna
• Sen. Matt McKee of Pearcy
• Sen. Clint Penzo of Springdale
• Sen. Justin Boyd of Fort Smith

The public can watch all of the committee’s meetings online at the Legislature’s website. On the main page, look at the calendar under “This Week’s Meetings,” find the entry for the Joint Public Retirement & Social Security Committee, and click on the “Video” button to the right. You can also click on the “Agenda” button to see what bills the Committee will be considering in the meeting, and on the “Docs” button to see presentations or other documents that the Committee may be reviewing.

No meetings have been placed on the calendar as of yet, but they will likely show up within the next week or two. Our understanding is that once the Committee starts meeting, they will be meeting on Tuesday afternoons. That is a change from previous sessions, when they met on Monday mornings.

TRACKING LEGISLATION

You can always check the Legislation page on the ATRS website to see lists of the bills that ATRS is tracking for their potential impact on the System and our members. One list will be of the bills that ATRS has proposed and is asking legislators to introduce, and one list will be all other bills that may impact ATRS. These lists will be available on our website once relevant bills have been filed.

And for any specific bill, you can find its current status and other information on the Legislature’s website. Just enter the bill number in the box in the top left-hand corner of their website.

MAKING YOUR VIEWS KNOWN

As a citizen of Arkansas, you always have the right to communicate with your elected representatives, to share with them your views on legislation, and to ask them to vote a particular way on a bill. When you do, make sure to let the legislator know if you are their constituent and live in their district. Every session, each legislator receives literally thousands of emails and phone messages about the bills they are voting on. And they pay much more attention to the messages from constituents who live in their districts then they do to messages from people outside of their districts.

You can find your elected Senator and Representative, as well as their contact information, by entering your street address in the House and Senate websites here:

• Senator Search
• Find Your Representative

You can look up contact information for any legislator at the Legislature’s website. And during legislative sessions you can always call and leave a message for your Senator at (501) 682-2902 or your Representative at (501) 682-6211.

If you have questions about how a bill may impact ATRS, or if you are concerned about something ATRS is proposing, please reach out to me at the email address or phone number below.

Mark White
ATRS Executive Director
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057