Interview: A recap of the Legislative Session with KNWA News

I enjoyed sitting down with JR Davis of KNWA News to give a recap of the legislative session and talk about a few other things going on in Arkansas politics right now.

The whirlwind regular session of the 89th General Assembly is over now, and most state legislators are back to their “normal” lives at home, picking up where they left off four months ago. State Representative Duncan Baird (R-Rogers, Lowell) is no different. The 33-year-old Joint Budget Committee Chairman, and newly wed, has spent the last couple of weeks catching up on some of the rest he missed during the nonstop, rollercoaster ride that was the 2013 session.

Brummett looks at the potential of the ethics amendment filed last week

John Brummett writes in his column today about the ethics related constitutional amendment filed by Rep. Warwick Sabin and Sen. Jon Woods last week.

He mentions several items that could be included in the amendment, including restrictions on gifts to elected officials, and a 2 year ban before an elected official could become a lobbyists, both of which I support.

As I’ve said previously, I believe we have a great opportunity this session to make progress in the area of ethics and “good government” reforms. I plan on continuing to work in these areas and to help move these issues forward.

Walton College again ranks among the top 30 public undergraduate business schools

U.S. News & World Report again ranks the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas among the top 30 public undergraduate business schools in the country, the university announced today.

The Walton College was among seven public undergraduate business colleges tied for 26th in the annual assessment, up from a tie for 27th the previous year. Others ranked at 26th were Auburn University, University of Connecticut, University of Missouri, University of Oregon, University of Pittsburgh and the University of Tennessee.

Source: newswire.uark.edu

FiveThirtyEight: In Arkansas, the Lost Art of Splitting Tickets

Great article today from FiveThirtyEight on the changing political environment in Arkansas.

In the 12 years since Mr. Clinton’s run for re-election in 1996 to President Obama’s run for office in 2008, Arkansas has experienced the largest drop in Democratic support — a whopping 37 percentage points. Part of that is explained by Arkansas being Mr. Clinton’s home state. Race may have also played a role, and perhaps some of the decline stems from hometown unhappiness that Mr. Obama had ousted the former first lady of Arkansas, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the Democratic primaries.

Source: The New York Times