The Arkansas House of Representatives on Friday morning elected state Rep. Matthew Shepherd of El Dorado as speaker to succeed Rep. Jeremy Gillam of Judsonia, whose resignation became effective later Friday.
"I hope that every day that we serve that we understand that we are here not just in and of ourselves, that we represent our constituents back home and represent this state, and that we should hold ourselves to the highest standards of conduct and ethics," Shepherd told representatives. He will serve as speaker of the 91st General Assembly through mid-January.
He told reporters that his top priorities as speaker would include ethics, transformation of state government, the management of the House and making sure that representatives properly vet legislation.
Shepherd, 42, an attorney and a Republican, has served in the House since 2011 and has chaired the House Judiciary Committee.
His father, Bobby Shepherd, serves on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. He and his brother, John, have their own law firm, Shepherd & Shepherd. His wife is Alie Shepherd and they have three children, ages 9, 13 and 15.
Federal investigations at the Legislature in the past few years have led to the convictions of former Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale; former Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale; former Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne; Hank Wilkins, D-Pine Bluff, a former House member and senator; and former Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith.
Former lobbyist Milton "Rusty" Cranford's guilty plea in federal court last week accused "Senator A" -- acknowledged as Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, by his attorney -- of accepting payoffs, along with Woods and Wilkins.
Hutchinson, who hasn't been charged or indicted, has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Tim Dudley. Dudley has said that Cranford is a convicted felon who, according to the government, attempted to kill someone and is trying to get his sentence reduced.
Senate leaders proposed an overhaul of that chamber's code of ethics on Thursday, after Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, said changing the rules was his top priority to protect that body's integrity. Hendren was chosen by his colleagues as Senate president pro tempore-elect in March; he'll assume the leadership position at the start of the 92nd General Assembly.
The proposed Senate rule changes are designed to bar members from several activities that are conflicts of interest. The rules also would require disclosure of conflicts at committee meetings and on the Senate floor if a senator wants to participate in discussions and votes on the legislation.
The proposed changes also would create a five-member Select Committee on Senate Ethics to consider allegations of rule violations made by a senator against another senator.
Shepherd told reporters Friday, "We'll look to see what, if any, improvements we can make and we'll look at what the Senate has done and see if that's something that we should adopt on the House end.
"I think the House implemented things in the past to increase transparency, [such as] the fact that we live-stream [meetings], so I think we have a history of trying to be as transparent as possible," he said. "But there are always opportunities to look and see, are there are things that we need to be doing?"
Shepherd said he'll decide whether a committee or an informal group will conduct this review.
"I'm obviously going to be very involved in that because the buck ultimately stops with me as the speaker of the House," he said.
"I've always tried to hold myself to a very high standard and am going to expect that of the membership, so if there are things that we need to do from a rule-making perspective to make sure that there is clarity about what is allowed and what is not appropriate, then we'll certainly consider those things."
Of transforming state government, Shepherd noted that he serves on Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's transformation advisory board, along with Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock.
"I am very interested in what further efficiencies we can generate in state government," Shepherd said.
Gov. Hutchinson has said he wants the 2019 Legislature to enact a plan to reduce the number of state agencies that report to him from 42 to fewer than 20 in what would be the most sweeping reorganization of state government since 1971.
In March, the House elected Shepherd as speaker-designate to put him in line to be formally elected at the start of the regular session in January. He was elected in a 57-41 vote over Davis.
But then Gillam, who is a Republican, announced he planned to resign to take a job with the University of Central Arkansas. A special election will be held Nov. 6 to fill his vacant representative seat through mid-January. House seats have two-year terms. Beebe Republican Jim Wooten is unopposed for the seat's next term.
Gillam's departure also created a vacancy for speaker, and so the post was filled Friday.
Shepherd is expected to be elected again in mid-January when the House names the speaker for the 92nd General Assembly.
"It is your time now," Gillam told his fellow House members. "You have got to lead and push back on those that seek to tear down our fine institution around the state."
Gillam's resignation from the House District 45 seat became effective at 5 p.m. Friday to allow him to start work as UCA's director of governmental relations and external affairs. Gillam will be paid $130,000 a year at UCA.
The House speaker's salary is $47,277 a year, plus per diem and mileage for attending legislative sessions and meetings.
Gillam served in the House from 2011 through Friday and was the House speaker from 2015 through Friday.
A Section on 06/16/2018