Rogers Republican plans to seek re-election in state Senate

ROGERS — State Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, is seeking another term for the District 3 seat, she announced last week.

District 3 includes part of Rogers, Pea Ridge, Garfield and Avoca along with much of eastern Benton County. She has no announced opponent.

Bledsoe is one of 35 state senators. She is chairman of the Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor, and a member of the Joint Budget Committee.

She served three terms in the state House ending in early 2004, when the state’s constitution still limited House members to three terms. She ran for the Senate in 2008 and has served there since.

The Public Health Committee plays a major role in overseeing Medicaid financing and how Arkansas implements the federal health care law.

“Until we can agree on a formula that is financially sustainable, health care will continue generating controversy for elected officials,” Bledsoe said in a statement. “My hope is that we can adopt a long-term solution so that future generations of leaders will be able to focus on other pressing issues.”

The senator reached an agreement with doctors, hospitals and other health care providers in drafting and passing Act 203 of 2017. That act allows greater use of telecommunications equipment for making medical diagnoses while balancing quality of care issues, privacy concerns and preventing abuse of such a system for acquiring drugs for improper use.

Bledsoe is married to a surgeon, and she is a former vice president and office manager for a surgical clinic. Her son, Greg, is the state’s surgeon general.

Abortion bills in the Senate usually go before the Public Health Committee. Bledsoe is known for her support of anti-abortion legislation. She also sponsored Act 904 of 2011, which allowed the multiyear registration of personal use vehicles.