GOP women’s caucus sets goals
Sen. Missy Irvin (top left) of Mountain View and Rep. Robin Lundstrum of Elm Springs talk with former Arkansas first ladies Betty Tucker (in red) and Gay White (center) along with Stuart Cobb (lower right) and Barbara Hoover of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute board after the 21 Republican women legislators announced their goals for the legislative session, including a bill to help the Rockefeller Institute gain a National Cancer Institute designation.
A new initiative surrounding five pieces of health, education, broadband, child care and juvenile justice legislation was unveiled Wednesday by the 21 Republican women in the Arkansas Legislature.
A keystone of the lawmakers’ “Dream Big” initiative will be legislation to assist the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in its ongoing efforts to gain a National Cancer Institute designation.
That effort, announced in September, will require an additional $10 million to $20 million in annual recurring funds, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson said Wednesday. Legislation introduced Wednesday by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, would set up a state fund for the designation, though talks for actual funding are ongoing, she said.
Other proposals laid out Wednesday by the Republican women’s caucus aim to eliminate regulations on broadband and child care facilities; create new literacy requirements at schools; and overhaul the juvenile justice system to divert more children from youth lockups.
“Yes, we are women who happen to be Republicans, but these issues go way be-
yond party lines,” Irvin said.
The 92nd General Assembly has 32 female members, tying the record high set in 2009. The GOP, which has big majorities in both chambers, has 21 female lawmakers, while Democrats have 11.
Before the legislative session started this month, several freshman Democrats who are women talked about forming a caucus of women from both parties.
“We are going to form a bipartisan women’s caucus,” said state Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, on Wednesday, adding that she had discussed the idea recently with Democrats and Republicans.
Irvin described the Republican women’s caucus as a “working group.” She said they had already discussed the five bills introduced Wednesday with Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office in hopes of gaining support.
On Twitter on Wednesday, Hutchinson lent his support to the five bills, writing that “these issues affect every family in our state & will truly make a difference.” Hutchinson went on a tour of UAMS’ Rockefeller Cancer Institute in Little Rock in September as the hospital geared up its bid for a National Cancer Institute designation. According to UAMS, adding such a designation would create new funding opportunities for research and experimental cancer treatments, as well as new job opportunities.
“I think it’s absolutely necessary for our state,” said Rep. Denise Garner, D-Fayetteville, a member of the Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Foundation Fund. “We have an opportunity with $10 [million] or $15 [million] or $20 million to bring back $70 million into the state.”
There are 70 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in 36 states, including in Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma. The closest to Little Rock is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
One piece of legislation introduced Wednesday was Senate Bill 152, the “Restoring Arkansas Families” Act, which would set new standards for juvenile courts in evaluating youthful offenders, while seeking to place more young offenders under the supervision of community services, rather than in lockups for minors.
“Juvenile justice reform is a must-do this legislative session,” said Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, one of the sponsors of the bill. “Our governor has already made it known that juvenile justice reform will be a big part of his legislative package. We applaud him for that effort.”
In November, Hutchinson announced that Arkansas plans to close two of seven youth jails as part of a plan to revamp its juvenile justice system. J.R. Davis, Hutchinson’s spokesman, said Wednesday that SB152 is the legislative result of that plan.
The regulatory bills filed by members of the women’s caucus are House Bill 1225, which would authorize a study on regulations at child care facilities, and Senate Bill 150, which proposes to end the prohibition on municipalities providing broadband service. Senate Bill 153, meanwhile, would establish new guidelines for literacy plans at public and open-enrollment public charter schools.