Weekly Briefing

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Weekly update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

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The Arkansas General Assembly will convene for the 2025 Regular Session on Monday, January 13. 

The first day of the session will include the swearing-in of all members and the formal election of the Speaker of the House. While the Speaker is officially elected at the start of the session, the 94th General Assembly previously selected Rep. Brian Evans of Cabot as Speaker-designate. 

On January 14, the second day of the session, House and Senate members will convene jointly in the House Chamber to hear an address from Governor Sanders. This address will outline the Governor’s legislative priorities and provide key recommendations on the pressing issues facing Arkansas. 

Several important deadlines will shape the legislative process this session. Members must file legislation affecting publicly supported retirement or pension plans, the licensure of health care providers, or state/public school health insurance by January 27. Legislation regarding lottery-funded scholarships or constitutional amendments must be filed by February 12, and all appropriation bills must be filed by March 3. 

The Speaker will announce committee chair assignments on the first day of the session, and those assignments will be available at arkansashouse.org. Committee meetings and House floor proceedings are open to the public, providing Arkansans with an opportunity to see and participate in the legislative process. Those who wish to voice their support or opposition to a bill can sign in to speak during committee meetings, ensuring their perspectives are heard.

House committee meetings and floor proceedings are live-streamed and recorded, ensuring Arkansans can follow the legislative process in real-time from anywhere. Agendas and links to live-streams can be accessed at arkansashouse.org. 

As your state representatives work to address issues ranging from education to health care to economic development, we invite all Arkansans to engage with the legislative process. Whether you reach out to your representative, attend a committee meeting, or follow our live streams, your input helps shape the future of our state.

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Governor Hutchinson Talks Increasing Cases, Expanding Hospital Capacity In Weekly Briefing 

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LITTLE ROCK – At his weekly news briefing today, Governor Asa Hutchinson discussed the state expanding hospital capacity and increasing case numbers.

COVID-19

Governor Hutchinson announced the new numbers for COVID-19 as of Friday with Arkansas surpassing over 100k active cases in the state. This means over 3% of the population is currently an active case and hospitalizations have increased to a new record of 1,658.

"With where we are right now in this pandemic, and with the Omicron variant we do believe we are managing our way through it," Governor Hutchinson said, "We are responding to the needs that are out there and we are hopeful we will see the cases go down."

Governor Hutchinson gave an update on hospital expansion from the approved $50 million dollars. He said that beds have been opened in hospitals that have received that money to increase capacity for the surging cases.

According to reports from Thursday, about 42 beds were open with about 54 left to be opened meaning additional capacity is coming soon with more beds coming online.

He said it is important to see the cases of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant compared to past spikes and to see how while the cases are much higher now, hospitalizations are far less in comparison to the current case number.

Governor Hutchinson presented the at-home test map that shows where the 1.5 million tests were distributed to. There are still about 370,000 available at local health units with libraries having a supply as well. These tests should help alleviate testing demands giving a cushion while waiting for federal tests to be delivered.

Greg Crain, Vice President of the Arkansas Baptist Health centers spoke during the briefing applauding the work of health care workers dealing with the COVID-19 surges. He gave thanks to the decision from Governor Hutchinson, the Department of Health, and Legislators, to expand beds for hospitals around the state including Baptist Health hospitals. He said without this expansion the Arkansas health care infrastructure would be in deep trouble.

Dr. Romero, Secretary of Arkansas Department of Health spoke about the impact the Omicron variant has had on Arkansas. He noted that while hospitalizations reflect how Omicron is less severe on an individual level, the Omicron breakout is still very severe on a societal level and still poses a threat to our health care system.