Girls State in the House
Sidney Brandon ( left) and Alli Preston pose Thursday in front of the entryway to the House of Representatives while Hannah Cobb takes their photo. The high school students are Girls State participants.
When 17- year- old girls are in charge of state government, roads get paved, the unemployed receive a little extra help and “regulatory overreach” is reined in.
Girls State, an American Legion Auxiliary program that develops “young women as future leaders grounded in patriotism and Americanism,” took over the Arkansas Capitol on Thursday. Girls State members were sworn in to constitutional offices for the morning, convened the House and Senate chambers, and passed a variety of bills.
In the House, Shelby Freyaldenhoven, a 17- year- old Girls State member, sat where state Rep. James Sorvillo, R- Little Rock, normally sits.
She went to the well — the podium where legislators stand to present their bills — to urge support for her legislation mandating rear- facing car seats for infants and toddlers.
“Thank you, Madam Speaker. The purpose of this bill is to ensure the safety of our children while riding in vehicles,” she began. “The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Highway Safety Patrol and Children’s Safety Network all agree that children are more safe in vehicles when they are fastened in a carrier and facing toward the back of the vehicle.”
Arkansas Rep. Les Eaves, R- Searcy, stood in the background. He had introduced a version of Freyaldenhoven’s bill during the regular legislative session earlier this year, but it failed to pass.
“These girls came up with their own bills, we just told them about some of the bills we ran,” he said. “I tell you, these girls are astonishing. The questions that they have blow my mind.”
After Freyaldenhoven spoke and several other girls voiced their support, the House passed her bill, HB1010, voting 90- 4.
“It’s exciting, and it makes you feel like you accomplish something,” she said after the vote. “It’s empowering.”
In the Senate chamber, Mikayla Nash, 17, from Benton, argued that the gas tax should increase by 3 cents per gallon to improve the state’s roads.
“I see so many potholes, especially from ice, that have literally destroyed the roads,” she said on the Senate floor. “If you’re in an accident for road damage, you have to pay for it. The state doesn’t pay for it. You do.”
Nash said local governments could contact the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department when a bridge or road needs repair. The additional revenue from the gas tax would pay for the repairs.
Her bill passed 32- 2. Afterward, Nash said she wasn’t surprised by the vote.
“It seemed pretty straightforward,” she said.
Other bills that passed included one that limits what the Environmental Protection Agency can do on private land and another that increased unemployment benefits.
In both chambers, legislators beamed from the sidelines. House Speaker Rep. Jeremy Gillam, R- Judsonia, said he thought the girls were brilliant.
And Eaves said he hoped the experience would inspire some of the girls to serve as legislators some day.
“Maybe some of these girls will change their career path,” he said. “I would not be surprised to see some of these girls go on to be senators, representatives or governor. They certainly have the ability.”
Girls State has been an annual event in Arkansas since 1942. More than 55,000 girls have participated in the program since its inception.
Participants in Boys State, a similar organization for young men, will descend on the Capitol today.