It was another busy week at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock as the legislative session continues. District 4 State Representative Jason Nazarenko of Cotter recently spoke with KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News to recap a couple of bills that passed through the House.
Nazarenko was the lead sponsor of House Bill 1986, allowing excused absences from school for children of service members and first responders killed in action so they can attend various programs. He says it passed overwhelmingly in the House chamber.
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Sherry Briley is a Gold Star widow from Little Rock whose late husband, Donovan, was killed in Somolia in October 1993 when his chopper was shot down by a grenade. The battle was depicted by Academy Award-winning movie “Blackhawk Down.” Briley and her family were attendance when Nazarenko spoke at the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the First Security Bank Veterans Plaza. Nazarenko says Briley approached him about the initiative before he was ever voted into office.
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The bill was sent to the Senate. At last update, it was referred to the Senate Education Committee.
Another bill that passed the House was House Bill 1879, requiring all public meetings of city councils and quorum courts in Arkansas to be recorded in video format and for the recordings to be posted to a website or social media. This bill did not have as much overwhelming support, and Nazarenko was one of the 23 representatives voting against it. He says he is in favor of transparency, but there were other issues of concern with the bill.
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The bill was sent to the Senate. At last update, it was referred to the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.
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