Updated video to the best song ever written

Here's the 2010 version to Arkansas, You Run Deep In Me:

First committee meeting of the session

Joint Budget met for the first time this morning at 9:00 a.m. in the new committee room over at the Big Mac building, which kicked off the actual work of the session. The committee adopted rules and pushed through two funding bills for the operation of the session. Here's a picture of the new committee room, showing former Sen. Shane Broadway in his new role answering questions for the Dept of Higher Ed.

State of the State Address

The House and Senate, along with the Supreme Court and constitutional officers, convened in the House chamber earlier today to hear official results of the elections, to watch the constitutional officers get sworn in (governor getting sworn in pictured above), and to hear Governor Beebe give his State of the State address (click here for the transcript).

He mentioned prison/sentencing reform, anticipated Medicaid demands on the state budget, and for the need to be fiscally-responsible during this crucial time regarding the state economy. He pitched his proposal for the half-cent reduction in the grocery tax and suggested that any other tax cut proposal be accompanied with the program that will be cut to offset the revenue loss.



A good portion of the speech was dedicated to education and Arkansas's climb in the rankings in public education (6th as of today by one publication). He praised our economic condition in relation to that of other states and saluted Speaker Robert Moore in his quest to upgrade the state's highways.

Afterwards, the governor gave a similar address in the rotunda. He'll celebrate tonight with his second inaugural ball.

Getting to Little Rock

The author has gotten some heat for Monday's trip to Little Rock, which included a lift from the helicopter owned by the Arkansas State Police between Arkadelphia and Little Rock once the interstate closed on me for the 2nd time. Here's a pic from my viewpoint at daybreak Monday on I-30.

Having driven I-30 so many times I could make it with my eyes closed, I knew I wasn't going to make it on Sunday night after the weather had turned from freezing rain to sleet during church and hearing from my cousin and fellow legislator from Nashville, who spent nine hours on Interstate 30 from Arkadelphia to Benton Sunday night.

With no apartment in Little Rock to go up on Saturday, I knew my only option was to hope that the roads cleared on Monday with the additional traffic and higher temps. After five hours of travel and only 70 miles of headway in that span, I finally called the Senate to advise that I'd miss the opening day's activities. Senate staff then put me in touch with the state police after they indicated I'd be the lone person not in attendance, and the ASP said its helicopter was already in the vicinity and was about to head back to the ASP base in LR and that I could tag along. I did so.

I made the conscious decision to travel back and forth daily between the Capitol and my district in extreme southwest Arkansas in order to keep a better pulse on my constituency, and that's looking like a tall order this week.

Alas, I did finally get sworn in: