arkansas house committee assignments

The House’s committees consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions.

• Agriculture
• Appropriations
• Armed Services
• Education and the Workforce
• Energy and Commerce
• Financial Services
• Foreign Affairs
• Homeland Security
• House Administration
• Natural Resources
• Oversight and Accountability
• Science, Space, and Technology
• Small Business
• Transportation and Infrastructure
• Veterans’ Affairs
• Ways and Means
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
• Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
• Joint Economic Committee
• Joint Committee on the Library
• Joint Committee on Printing
• Joint Committee on Taxation

View Committees No Longer Standing from the 117th Congress

Committees and Caucuses

Congressman Bruce Westerman sits on a variety of committees and subcommittees, in addition to being a member of several congressional caucuses.

Committees and Subcommittees

• House Committee on Natural Resources  (Chairman)
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Congressional Caucuses

• Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus  (Co-Chair)
• Congressional Western Caucus  (Vice-Chair)
• Republican Study Committee  
• Working Forests Caucus (Co-Chair, Co-Founder)
• Dyslexia Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Road Safety Caucus (Co-Chair)
• HBCU Caucus
• U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus
• Congressional Chicken Caucus
• Congressional Aluminum Caucus
• Air Cargo Caucus
• Association for Career and Technical Education Caucus
• Alzheimer's Task Force
• U.S. - Japan Caucus
• Congressional Tire Caucus
• Conservative Climate Caucus
• Second Amendment Caucus
• Rural Broadband Caucus
• Congressional FFA Caucus
• Second Chance Task Force

• Full Biography
• Committees and Caucuses
• Press Releases
• Newsletters
• Comment from the Capitol
• Photo Galleries
• Video Gallery
• COVID-19 Resources
• Request a Meeting
• Washington, D.C. Visitors
• Request a Flag
• Help with a Federal Agency
• Issues & Legislation
• Appropriations
• Co-Sponsored Legislation
• Voting Record
• How Congress Works
• E-Newsletter Sign up

stay connected

contact & connect

FAQs: Committees

A recent rule change gives the Speaker of the House the power to assign every member to a committee.

However, there are other rules in place that ensure each committee represents all four corners of the state.

For standing committees, the Speaker selects 5 members from each House District Caucus. There are 4 equally divided District Caucuses in Arkansas based on population.

Each member serves on one “A” standing committee and one “B” standing committee. Each standing committee has 20 members. Most legislation begins in a standing committee.

Visit our committee page to learn about select and special committees.

Standing Committees

The Arkansas House of Representatives has ten standing committees, where members meet to review and discuss bills, resolutions and interim studies before Members decide whether to send the measures to the full body for consideration. 

A & B Categories

The ten House committees are split evenly into A and B categories. All House Members serve on one A Committee and one B Committee. 

The Speaker appoints a chairperson and vice chairperson to each standing committee.

Subcommittees

Additionally, all standing House committees have a number of subcommittees. The Speaker of the House appoints members from the standing committee to serve as chair and vice chair of individual subcommittees. The chair and vice chairperson from each A and B committee serve as ex-officio members on all subcommittees.

The Arkansas House of Representatives, along with the Arkansas Senate, compose the legislative branch of state government. Combined, the two bodies form the Arkansas General Assembly.

Copyright ©2024 Arkansas House of Representatives. All Rights Reserved.

Get Email Updates from Ballotpedia

First Name *

Please complete the Captcha above

Ballotpedia on Facebook

  Share this page

  Follow Ballotpedia

Ballotpedia on Twitter

Bruce westerman.

• Republican Party

Candidate, U.S. House Arkansas District 4

2015 - Present

Compensation

November 8, 2022

November 5, 2024

University of Arkansas, 1990

Yale University, 2001

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Bruce Westerman ( Republican Party ) is a member of the U.S. House , representing Arkansas' 4th Congressional District . He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2025.

Westerman ( Republican Party ) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas' 4th Congressional District . He is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024 . He advanced from the Republican primary on March 5, 2024 .

In the 116th Congress , Westerman was named the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. [1] Westerman, who received a master's degree in forestry from Yale, also co-founded the Working Forests Caucus. [2]

Westerman previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives , representing District 22 from 2011 to 2015. He became the state's first Republican House majority leader since the nineteenth century in 2013. [3]

• 1 Biography
• 3.1.1 2017-2018
• 3.1.2 2015-2016
• 3.2.1 2013-2014
• 3.2.2 2011-2012
• 4.1 Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023
• 4.2 Key votes: Previous sessions of Congress
• 4.3 Key votes: 117th Congress, 2021-2023
• 4.4 Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2020
• 4.5 Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018
• 4.6.1.1 Trade Act of 2015
• 4.6.1.2 Defense spending authorization
• 4.6.1.3 2016 Budget proposal
• 4.6.1.4 2015 budget
• 4.6.2.1 Iran nuclear deal
• 4.6.2.2 Export-Import Bank
• 4.6.3.1 USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
• 4.6.3.2 Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
• 4.6.3.3 Cyber security
• 4.6.4 Immigration
• 5.1.1 Endorsements
• 7 Notable endorsements
• 8 Campaign finance summary
• 9.1 Lifetime voting record
• 11 Personal
• 12 See also
• 13 External links
• 14 Footnotes

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

Below is an abbreviated outline of Westerman's academic, professional, and political career: [4]

• 2015-Present: U.S. Representative from Arkansas' 4th Congressional District
• 2010-2014: Arkansas House of Representatives
• 2006-2010: Member of the Fountain Lake, AR, school board
• 2001: Graduated from Yale Forestry School with an M.F.
• 1990: Graduated from University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with a B.S.

Committee assignments

Westerman was assigned to the following committees: [Source]

• Committee on Natural Resources , Chairman
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
• Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
• Water Resources and Environment
• Committee on Natural Resources
• Highways and Transit

At the beginning of the 115th Congress , Westerman was assigned to the following committees: [5]

• Committee on Budget

Westerman served on the following committees: [6]

• Budget Committee
• Subcommittee on Federal Lands
• Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Subcommittee on Environment , Vice Chairman
• Subcommittee on Research and Technology

Arkansas House

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Westerman served on the following committees:

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Westerman served on these committees:

Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here .

Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023

The 118th United States Congress began on January 3, 2023, at which point Republicans held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (222-212), and Democrats held the majority in the U.S. Senate (51-49). Joe Biden (D) was the president and Kamala Harris (D) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: Previous sessions of Congress

Key votes: 116th congress, 2019-2020.

Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018

Voted Yea on:  Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (Conference report) (HR 2)

Voted Yea on:  Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (HR 2 (second vote))

Voted Yea on:  Securing America’s Future Act of 2018 (HR 4760)

Voted Yea on:  Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (HR 2)

Voted Yea on:  Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HR 36)

Voted Yea on:  Kate's Law (HR 3004)

Voted Yea on:  No Sanctuary for Criminals Act (HR 3003)

Voted Yea on:  American Health Care Act of 2017 (HR 1628)

Voted Yea on:  Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 (Conference report) (HR 6157)

Voted Yea on:  Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019 (Conference report) (HR 5895)

Voted Yea on:  Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 (HR 6157)

Voted Yea on:  Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019 (HR 5895)

Voted Yea on:  Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S 2155)

Voted Nay on:  Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (HR 1625)

Voted Nay on:  The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (HR 1892)

Voted Yea on:  Further Extension Of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (HR 1892)

Voted Yea on:  Making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes. (HR 195)

Voted Yea on:  Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (HR 1370)

Voted Yea on:  Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1)

Voted Yea on:  Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2018, and for other purposes (HJ Res 123)

Voted Yea on:  Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2018 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2019 through 2027. (H Con Res 71)

Voted Yea on:  Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018 (HR 3354)

Voted Nay on:  Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2017 (Included amendments to suspend the debt ceiling and fund the government) (HR 601)

Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2017 (HR 601)

Voted Yea on:  Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 (HR 10)

Voted Nay on:  Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (HR 244)

Voted Yea on:  National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (HR 5515)

Voted Yea on:  Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018 (HR 695)

Voted Yea on:  National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018—Conference report (HR 2810)

Voted Yea on:  Make America Secure Appropriations Act, 2018 (HR 3219)

Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (HR 3364)

Voted Yea on:  Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (HR 3180, second vote)

Voted Yea on:  Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (HR 3180)

Voted Yea on:  National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (HR 2810)

Voted Yea on:  Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017 (HR 1301)

• 114th Congress

The first session of the 114th Congress enacted into law six out of the 2,616 introduced bills (0.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 1.3 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the first session. In the second session, the 114th Congress enacted 133 out of 3,159 introduced bills (4.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 7.0 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. [81] [82] For more information pertaining to Westerman's voting record in the 114th Congress, please see the below sections. [83]

Economic and fiscal

Trade act of 2015.

Defense spending authorization

2016 budget proposal, 2015 budget, foreign affairs, iran nuclear deal, export-import bank, usa freedom act of 2015, pain-capable unborn child protection act, cyber security, immigration.

See also:  Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2024

Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)

Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for u.s. house arkansas district 4.

Incumbent Bruce Westerman , Risie Howard , and John White are running in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 5, 2024.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for u.s. house arkansas district 4.

Risie Howard advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on March 5, 2024.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for u.s. house arkansas district 4.

Incumbent Bruce Westerman advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on March 5, 2024.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here .

Westerman signed the following pledges. To send us additional pledges, click here .

• Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Americans for Tax Reform

See also:  Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2022

Incumbent Bruce Westerman defeated John White and Gregory Maxwell in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 8, 2022.

The Democratic primary election was canceled. John White advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4.

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Bruce Westerman advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for u.s. house arkansas district 4.

Gregory Maxwell advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on February 20, 2022.

See also:  Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Incumbent Bruce Westerman defeated William Hanson and Frank Gilbert in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 3, 2020.

The Democratic primary election was canceled. William Hanson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Raymond Dallas Redmond Jr. (D)

Incumbent Bruce Westerman defeated Hayden Shamel and Tom Canada in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 6, 2018.

• Lee McQueen (Independent)
• Jack Foster (Independent)

Hayden Shamel advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on May 22, 2018.

• Richard Davis (D)

Incumbent Bruce Westerman defeated Randy Caldwell in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on May 22, 2018.

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) and Kerry Hicks (L) ran unopposed in their respective primaries. Westerman defeated Hicks in the general election on November 8, 2016. No Democratic candidates filed to run for the seat. [124] [125]

Westerman won election in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Arkansas' 4th District . Westerman defeated Tommy Moll in the Republican primary on May 20, 2014. [126] He then defeated James Lee Witt (D) and Ken Hamilton (L) in the general election on November 4, 2014. [127]

The National Republican Congressional Committee added Westerman to their "On the Radar" list in November 2013. According to the NRCC, candidates that made this list were set to receive "...the tools they need to run successful, winning campaigns against their Democratic opponents." [128]

Westerman ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Arkansas House of Representatives , District 22. Westerman ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and ran unchallenged in the November 6, 2012, general election as well. [129] [130] [131]

Westerman won uncontested in the November 2 general election. [132]

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses.

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bruce Westerman has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Bruce Westerman, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey .

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 17,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here .

You can ask Bruce Westerman to fill out this survey by using the button below.

Bruce Westerman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Bruce Westerman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Westerman's website highlighted the following campaign themes: [133]

• Other Issues

Notable endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage and endorsements scopes.

Campaign finance summary

Lifetime voting record.

According to the website GovTrack, Westerman missed 2 of 505 roll call votes from January 2015 to September 2015. This amounted to 0.4 percent, which was lower than the median of 2.2 percent among representatives as of September 2015. [134]

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arkansas scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected] .

In 2014, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 10 to March 20.

Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2014. If you are aware of one, please contact [email protected] to let us know.

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update. Westerman and his wife, Sharon, have four children.

2024 Elections

• Newsletters

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• ↑ Times Record , "Westerman chosen to lead Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment," January 18, 2019
• ↑ Congressman Bruce Westerman , "Committees and Caucuses," accessed January 30, 2019
• ↑ Congressman Bruce Westerman , "About," accessed January 30, 2019
• ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress , "WESTERMAN, Bruce Eugene, (1967 - )," accessed January 21, 2015
• ↑ U.S. House Clerk , "Official Alphabetical List of the House of Representatives of the United States One Hundred Fifteenth Congress," accessed February 2, 2017
• ↑ U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk , "Committee Information," accessed February 18, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.2670 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.185 - To terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers, and for other purposes." accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.2811 - Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.Con.Res.9 - Denouncing the horrors of socialism." accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs Act," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.J.Res.30 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to 'Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights'." accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.J.Res.7 - Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020." accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.3746 - Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "Roll Call 20," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.Res.757 - Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "Roll Call 527," accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.Res.757 - Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant." accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.Res.878 - Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives." accessed February 23, 2024
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.3684 - Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.5376 - Inflation Reduction Act of 2022," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.3617 - Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.1 - For the People Act of 2021," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.1808 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2022," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "S.1605 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.7776 - James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.6 - American Dream and Promise Act of 2021," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "S.3373 - Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.4346 - Chips and Science Act," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.3755 - Women's Health Protection Act of 2021," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.1996 - SAFE Banking Act of 2021," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.2471 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.5 - Equality Act," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.8404 - Respect for Marriage Act," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.6833 - Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.7688 - Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.5746 - Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "S.2938 - Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.Res.24 - Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.," accessed April 15, 2022
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.2617 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023," accessed January 20, 2023
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 434," accessed December 13, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 284," June 21, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 282," June 21, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 434," accessed March 12, 2019
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 549," October 3, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 344," June 29, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 342," June 29, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 256," May 4, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 405," September 26, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 399," September 13, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 313," June 28, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 257," June 8, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 216," May 22, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 127," March 22, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 69," February 9, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 60," February 6, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 44," January 22, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 33," January 18, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 708," December 21, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 692," December 19, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 670," December 7, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 637," November 16, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 589," October 26, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 557," October 5, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 528," September 14, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 480," September 8, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 441," September 6, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 299," June 8, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 249," May 3, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 230," May 24, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 49," January 30, 2018
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 631," November 14, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 435," July 27, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 413," July 25, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 437," July 28, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 407," July 24, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 378," July 14, 2017
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 136," March 8, 2017
• ↑ Congressional Record , "Resume of Congressional Activity, First Session of the 113th Congress," accessed April 29, 2015
• ↑ Congressional Record , "Resume of Congressional Activity, Second Session of the 114th Congress," accessed January 5, 2017
• ↑ Congressional Record , "Resume of Congressional Activity, First Session of the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress," April 13, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 361," June 12, 2015
• ↑ Roll Call , "Deadline for TAA Do-Over Vote Extended to July 30 (Updated)," June 15, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 362," June 12, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 374," June 18, 2015
• ↑ Politico , "Trade turnaround: House backs new power for Obama," June 18, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 388," June 24, 2015
• ↑ The Hill , "Obama signs trade bills," June 29, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 239," accessed May 27, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R. 1735," accessed May 27, 2015
• ↑ The Hill , "Redone defense policy bill sails through House," accessed November 12, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "S. 1356," accessed November 12, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 618," accessed November 12, 2015
• ↑ Senate.gov , "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1356)," accessed November 12, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "S.Con.Res.11," accessed May 5, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 183," accessed May 5, 2015
• ↑ The Hill , "Republicans pass a budget, flexing power of majority," accessed May 5, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015," accessed November 1, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 579," accessed November 1, 2015
• ↑ Senate.gov , "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1314)," accessed November 1, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.1191 - Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015," accessed May 16, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 226," accessed May 16, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 3461," accessed September 11, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 493," accessed September 11, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 3460," accessed September 10, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 494," accessed September 11, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H Res 411," accessed September 10, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 492," accessed September 10, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 597," accessed November 2, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 576," accessed November 2, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "H.R.2048," accessed May 26, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 224," accessed May 26, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 36 - the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," accessed May 16, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "HR 36," accessed May 16, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 1731," accessed November 2, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 173," accessed November 2, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 1560 - Protecting Cyber Networks Act," accessed November 1, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 170," accessed November 1, 2015
• ↑ Congress.gov , "HR 4038 - the American SAFE Act of 2015," accessed November 20, 2015
• ↑ Clerk.House.gov , "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 643," accessed November 20, 2015
• ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State , "Candidate Information," accessed November 10, 2015
• ↑ CNN , "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
• ↑ The Arkansas CW , "Arkansas - Summary Vote Results," May 20, 2014
• ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named huffpost14
• ↑ Roll Call , "House Republicans Put 36 Recruits ‘On the Radar’," accessed November 21, 2013
• ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State , "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
• ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State , "2012 Election candidates," March 8, 2012
• ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State , "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
• ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State , "Official election results," accessed December 13, 2013
• ↑ Bruce Westerman campaign website , "Issues," November 6, 2012
• ↑ GovTrack , "Rep. Bruce Westerman (R)," accessed September 23, 2015
• ↑ 135.0 135.1 Ballotpedia , "Arkansas's Freedom Scorecard," accessed July 10, 2017
• U.S. House candidate, 2024
• U.S. House candidates
• 2024 incumbent
• 2024 primary (winner)
• 2024 general election
• U.S. House candidate, 2022
• 2022 incumbent
• 2022 primary (winner)
• 2022 general election (winner)
• U.S. House candidate, 2020
• 2020 incumbent
• 2020 primary (winner)
• 2020 general election (winner)
• U.S. House candidate, 2018
• 2018 incumbent
• 2018 primary (winner)
• 2018 general election (winner)
• 115th Congress
• 116th Congress
• Current member, U.S. House
• U.S. House, Arkansas
• State House running for U.S. House, 2014
• 2014 Congress challenger
• 2014 challenger
• U.S. House candidate, 2014
• 2010 open seat
• 2010 unopposed
• 2010 challenger
• 2010 winner
• House of Representatives candidate, 2010
• 2010 candidate
• Former member, Arkansas House of Representatives
• State representatives first elected in 2010
• 2012 incumbent
• House of Representatives candidate, 2012
• 2012 primary (winner)
• 2012 general election (winner)
• 2012 unopposed
• 2012 unopposed primary and general election
• 2012 House of Representatives incumbent displaced by redistricting
• 2016 Congress incumbent
• 2016 incumbent
• U.S. House candidate, 2016
• 2018 Congress incumbent
• 117th Congress
• Former state legislators
• 118th Congress
• Pages with reference errors

Ballotpedia features 486,868 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Click here to contact our editorial staff or report an error . For media inquiries, contact us here . Please donate here to support our continued expansion.

Information about voting

• What's on my ballot?
• Where do I vote?
• How do I register to vote?
• How do I request a ballot?
• When do I vote?
• When are polls open?
• Who represents me?
• Presidential election
• Presidential candidates
• Congressional elections
• Ballot measures
• State executive elections
• State legislative elections
• State judge elections
• Local elections
• School board elections

2025 Elections

• State executives
• State legislatures
• State judges
• Municipal officials
• School boards
• Election legislation tracking
• State trifectas
• State triplexes
• Redistricting
• Pivot counties
• State supreme court partisanship
• Polling indexes

Public Policy

• Administrative state
• Criminal justice policy
• Education policy
• Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
• Unemployment insurance
• Work requirements
• Policy in the states

Information for candidates

• Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey
• How do I run for office?
• How do I update a page?
• Election results
• Send us candidate contact info

Get Engaged

• Donate to Ballotpedia
• Report an error
• Ballotpedia podcast
• Ballotpedia Boutique
• Media inquiries
• Premium research services
• 2024 Elections calendar
• 2024 Presidential election
• Biden Administration
• Recall elections
• Ballotpedia News

SITE NAVIGATION

• Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot
• 2024 Congressional elections
• 2024 State executive elections
• 2024 State legislative elections
• 2024 State judge elections
• 2024 Local elections
• 2024 Ballot measures
• Upcoming elections
• 2025 Statewide primary dates
• 2025 State executive elections
• 2025 State legislative elections
• 2025 Local elections
• 2025 Ballot measures
• Cabinet officials
• Executive orders and actions
• Key legislation
• Judicial nominations
• White House senior staff
• U.S. President
• U.S. Congress
• U.S. Supreme Court
• Federal courts
• State government
• Municipal government
• Election policy
• Running for office
• Ballotpedia's weekly podcast
• About Ballotpedia
• Editorial independence
• Job opportunities
• News and events
• Privacy policy
• Disclaimers

Crypto regulation bills advance out of House committee

SEN. JOSHUA BRYANT (file)

“This is almost an embarrassing situation. I’m not sure we knew what we were doing when we passed the bill originally. … But I know we’re trying to do something. … I’m not sure whether we’re helping or hurting but I’m going to support it because I know we need to do something.”

So said Rep. Mike Holcomb (R-Pine Bluff) during the debate over two bills aiming to regulate crypto mines — Senate Bill 78  and  Senate Bill 79 — each of which passed out of the House City, County, and Local Affairs committee Tuesday.

That really says it all. Almost a zen koan for the last year of misadventure and tomfoolery at the Capitol as the Legislature bobbles its way through the question of how to regulate noisy, thirsty, electricity-sucking crypto mines, and whether cities and counties should be allowed to come up with their own local measures to deal with the nuisance. Last year, the Legislature passed a law that badly bungled the issue; if they botched things this time, Holcomb said, they could always come back and try again.

Members of the public were in attendance to speak in the House committee, but members voted on each bill without hearing any of their testimony.

Crypto “mining” is the process by which bitcoin confirms transactions and creates new bitcoin, using a network of high-powered computers. Unfortunately, this big-money industry is noisy and terrible for the environment. Crypto mines have often proven to be a major problem for the rural communities where they’ve popped up.

SB78 and SB79 aim to regulate crypto mining and address some of the problems created by Act 851 of 2023 , which sharply curtailed the ability of Arkansas cities and counties to regulate the industry.

The co-sponsors of Act 851, Sen. Joshua Bryant (R-Rogers) and  Rep. Rick McClure  (R-Malvern), are also co-sponsors of these new bills, which has some observers concerned. “I don’t let the same man take me snipe hunting twice,”  Rep. Josh Miller  (R-Heber Springs) recently commented during a committee hearing. Miller co-sponsored a more aggressive slate of proposals to regulate crypto mines along with Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest). Those proposals were blocked from even being considered a couple weeks ago when they failed to get the needed approval in the House.

In his opening remarks, Bryant looked back to 2023, when he assisted the crypto mine industry with Act 851. That original bill was reportedly written by the Satoshi Group , a dark-money crypto advocacy group. McClure has claimed that he wrote most of it, but said he may have erred in copy and pasting a significant portion from a bill from another state that the Satoshi Group sent him.

My view is that while SB78 and SB79 have holes and limitations, they are better than the status quo under Act 851 and will take at least some needed steps to alleviate the trouble. But every time Bryant opens his mouth, I have to admit I start worrying that this is yet another scam.

“The ask of an industry to have preemptive protections is not an unusual ask,” Bryant began.

I’m quite sure that much is true. But to turn such asks into full-fledged crony capitalism depends on lawmakers agreeing to be their lackeys. In Bryant, the crypto mine industry found their man.

Later, asked whether he had consulted with the crypto mine industry while working on his new bill, he said, “I did make sure that the language was not not going to crush them … they did assist to make sure I knew what industry standards were.”

SB78 restores local control to municipal and county governments to regulate crypto mine businesses (though not home mining operations); requires noise mitigation techniques, with specific examples noted but not mandated — and has no decibel limit; requires that if they do not use such mitigation techniques, the crypto mining facilities must be at least 2,000 feet from the nearest residential or commercial use structure (or located in an area zoned for industrial use); and prohibits the crypto mines from being owned by people or governments from certain countries, including China.

A great deal of attention in the committee hearing focused on the fact that the bill bans local governments from enacting prohibitions or certain regulations on home crypto mining.

Throughout the session, Bryant has insisted that his bills “restore local control.” And the fact that they really do so when it comes to crypto mine business operations is probably the best part of the bill! But why this insistence that local governments aren’t allowed to choose for themselves how to regulate crypto mining that happens at home ? It sure sounds like a loophole.

Bryant had no good answer.

“I felt it was important because we do have local governments that just might decide — especially in Northwest Arkansas — might just decide they want to tackle this, and this is a preemptive approach to say [that] what’s inside my home…is a permittable activity,” Bryant said.

In other words, he’s for local control unless a local government makes a choice he doesn’t like. No idea what he’s talking about regarding Northwest Arkansas, but my guess is that he’s still bitter about the fight over LGBT protections passed in Fayetteville.

In practice, it’s pretty unlikely that home crypto mining will become a nuisance. And it seems like it would be pretty convoluted and not worth the trouble to try to run a scam where you were actually running a big crypto mine business but doing it from what you claimed was a home residence, in order to dodge regulation. But after everything that’s happened, it’s reasonable to be a little paranoid.

Here’s the bill sponsors’ story about why home crypto mining is harmless: People can do a kind of small-scale version of crypto mining on their computer at home. They can purchase additional equipment to up their skill, but it’s generally not noisy. There’s nothing like the power drain from a football field-sized networked of computers or the water usage from the cooling system needed to keep those computers from overheating. It’s just a hobby, and maybe you can make a little money, though it sounds like it’s pretty hard to realistically compete with the big corporations. It wouldn’t be financially feasible or logistically possible to rig up something like a crypto mine business in a place that was zoned residential, they say. The various scenarios you’re imagining in your head — like setting up a shed in your backyard to run a crypto mine — wouldn’t work in practice for various technical reasons and because of how the power company interacts with such entities. An Entergy official backed all this, for what it’s worth.

And on top of all that, it would be kind of tough to regulate what people do in the privacy of their own homes. So regulating home crypto is unnecessary and infeasible, they say.

Be that as it may: Why include this restriction on local governments at all? If local governments don’t want to regulate home crypto operations because it doesn’t make sense to do so, they won’t. Why prohibit them from doing that via a state law?

Multiple legislators were quite strident in telling Bryant they thought this was a bad idea. There’s some dispute about whether or not the definition of “home” versus a crypto mine business is too vague, though Bryant claimed that the language in the original Act 851 would suffice. But after everything that’s happened, it just smells a little funny. We know that some crypto mines have exhibited bad behavior and an aggressive posture toward making use of state law to get their way. Why risk it? But Bryant wouldn’t budge.

A few lawmakers expressed concern that the bills didn’t have an explicit mechanism to directly remunerate victims of crypto mine nuisance or protect them if they take legal action with guarantees of covering attorneys’ fees. If companies fail to comply with requirements, they could be fined, but that money would wind up going back to various state agencies.

“We always seem to give the money back to the state,” complained  Rep. Frances Cavenaugh (R-Walnut Ridge). “We don’t seem to think about the local governments and citizens that are damaged by these things.”

Bryant said that his hope was that after these new laws passed, crypto mines would start behaving themselves, so there wouldn’t be the kind of nuisance and harm to communities that Cavenaugh mentioned.

“In talking about victim restitution, it seems like there’s a place for that somewhere,” Rep. Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock). “This has been very constituency driven and most folks would be hard pressed to go up against companies that have tons of lawyers and money to redress the ways that they have been harmed.”

The bill states that if plaintiffs pursue a complaint in district court against a crypto mine, they “may be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.” Rep. Lanny Fite (R-Benton) asked why the bill didn’t mandate this (“shall”) rather than leaving it open (“may”).

Bryant said the judiciary doesn’t like to be told what to do.

But won’t that mean that the crypto industry’s high-powered law firms will intimidate plaintiffs with more limited funds, who might simply not have the resources to take them on?

“They’ll have to make sure they have a strong case,” Bryant said.

A few legislators fretted that the ban on foreign ownership cast too wide a net (it relies on various federal government lists of nations viewed as potentially troublesome or adversarial). A couple lawmakers offered examples of people who they argued would be unfairly shut out, such as someone who relocated to the U.S. from Venezuela but did not yet have citizenship, or an American living in Lebanon. The list of countries that would be banned include countries like Zimbabwe that hardly seem like a threat to U.S. national security. Truly bad actors, meantime, may be hard to catch if they use shell companies to obscure their ownership.

“Is it the best way to handle it?” mused McClure. “I’m not sure. We just don’t know. But this is a step to try to control that.”

Asked whether the provisions on foreign ownership would create a Constitutional issue under the Equal Protection Clause, Bryant said, “It may. In effectuating the language with the attorney general’s office, I think that’s a fight they’re willing to weigh in.” Oh, joy.

Another concern raised was the lack of explicit water regulation in the statutory language. This was an area that one of King’s proposals addressed — watching the questions, it was hard not to notice that the debate would have been more robust, with more options on the table, if his measures had at least been included in the discussion.

Bryant clarified that there was no noise ordinance, or specified noise limit, included in either bill. Such ordinances were too hard to measure or enforce, he said. Instead, Bryant settled on non-specific language that regulates noise as “reasonably calculated by industry standards.” 

“The industry knows what they do to regulate the output of noise,” he said. “We’re going to let the industry…and the judgments of the courts, decide what is a reasonable nuisance.”

Part of the idea behind the lack of an explicit noise ordinance, based on prior testimony, is that the listed noise mitigation techniques were supposed to be so powerful that noise wouldn’t wind up being an issue.

But McCullough pointed out that these mitigation techniques seemed to be open-ended. She asked whether the language meant that the requirement could be satisfied by “putting some cotton balls outside the walls and saying, ‘we tried to reduce the noise.'”

Collins made the important point that the bill’s language truly was so open-ended as to be almost useless, offering examples of mitigation techniques but no specific requirement. “All this stuff about cooling and ‘closing the envelope,” he said, is “meaningless” — nothing more than possible suggestions. “You really could put cotton balls up. That’s a noise reduction technique and that’s permitted.”

Bryant nevertheless expressed confidence that “we can curtail the nuisance without becoming a burden on industry.” He said “the language as a whole” meant that it came down to what a “reasonable person” would conclude about how much noise was a nuisance.

“I think I’m pretty reasonable and it looks like it just says apply noise reduction techniques,” Collins responded.

Asked why Act 851 wasn’t simply repealed. Bryant said that wouldn’t have solved the problems (though in fact the law caused at least certain aspects of the fiasco). Asked whether SB78 and SB79 were “stopgap bills” requiring further action in the 2025 session, Bryant said they were: “There’s going to be a lot more discussion, not only in 2025, but between now and then.”

After about an hour and a half of debate,  Rep. Carol Dalby (R-Texarkana) moved for immediate consideration. This effectively blocked the members of the public who showed up to testify from speaking. A few Nos were heard from the section where Democrats were seated, but her motion passed on a voice vote. The bill itself likewise passed on a voice vote.

Collins voted no. “I think it does some helpful things,” he said. “In a lot of ways it’s positive. In some ways it falls short.”

This was a little painful to hear, because most Democrats in the House declined to vote for the King proposals, which might have opened up the debate to consider more aggressive regulation methods. These Democrats wound up representing a decisive block that stopped King’s proposals from being considered, helping to hand a victory to Rep. David Ray (R-Maumelle) — who vehemently argued against King’s measures in the House with a litany of crypto-lobbyist talking points. Collins was among those who declined to vote for King’s proposals at the time, stating that he disapproved of non-budget bills in the fiscal session regardless of the merit of such proposals.

But the shortcomings of the bill’s regulatory plan were not the reason for Collins’ no vote. Rather, he said, he believed that the ban on certain foreign nationals was dangerously too broad. “We’re casting a net that is too wide and too narrow,” he said, catching innocent people and missing true threats. “We can’t put that back in the bottle if we pass this,” he said.

After SB78 passed, the weary legislators heard Rep. Jeremiah Moore  (R-Clarendon) and  Sen. Missy Irvin  (R-Mountain View) present SB79. The two bills are complimentary, with the sponsors on each bill collaborating and signing on as co-sponsors on the other.

SB79 creates a state-level regulatory system to work in tandem with SB78, including a process for the attorney general to investigate potential violations of rules against foreign ownership by prohibited nations such as China, and a state licensing system that requires a permit from the Oil and Gas Commission, including compliance with all aspects of SB78 and SB79.

“The status quo is untenable,” Moore said.

A smaller group of lawmakers asked questions on SB79. Moore was asked about the removal of a permit fee for crypto mines that was in an earlier version of the bill. Could that return via the rules process? Moore said he didn’t expect that to happen.

McCullough worried that the Oil and Gas Commission’s duties were too open-ended without sufficiently clear mandates. Irvin said she didn’t want to be too prescriptive. She said she trusted the commission to be good partners with the Legislature in developing rules and regulations.

Collins again raised concerns about the restrictions on certain foreign nationals and governments. “Both of y’all mentioned the word enemies,” he said. He read out the names of some of the 28 nations on the banned list, drawn from certain federal regulations: Nicaragua, Lebanon, Haiti, Ethiopia, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

“Do you all think that all of these countries are enemies of the United States?” Collins asked.

“There’s a reason why they’re on that list, according to the United States of America,” Irvin said. “I trust that list.”

Asked whether there were any examples of crypto mining benefiting local communities or creating jobs, Moore and Irvin did not provide any. Later, mentioning potential tax revenues, Irvin said, “I think there is an economic benefit, for sure. But I don’t know that we can define that.”

After a little less than forty minutes of discussion, Dalby once again made a motion for immediate consideration, and the committee once again passed the bill on a voice vote without hearing a word from the public.

Democratic Minnesota state senator stripped of committee assignments after burglary arrest

D emocratic Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell will be removed from committee assignments and caucus meetings after she was arrested last week for a suspected burglary at her stepmother's home.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, a Democrat, released a statement obtained by FOX9 Minneapolis, saying that while the situation is tragic, "there are still questions that need to be answered."

"While the case is under review both in the Senate and in the courts, Senator Mitchell will be relieved of her committee assignments and removed from caucus meetings," Murphy said.

Mitchell was charged with first-degree burglary on Tuesday after police arrested her early Monday at her stepmother’s home. Mitchell has denied the allegations and claimed that she was merely checking on an ill loved one.

911 CALL TRANSCRIPT DETAILS DEMOCRATIC MINNESOTA STATE SENATOR'S ALLEGED BURGLARY AT STEPMOTHER'S HOME

Mitchell acknowledged that she entered through a window and told investigators she was trying to get her late father's ashes, photos, a flannel shirt and other items of sentimental value, according to a criminal complaint. Mitchell claimed her stepmother had stopped speaking to her after her father’s death and refused to give her the items.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

DEMOCRATIC MINNESOTA STATE SENATOR CLAIMS SHE WAS CHECKING IN ON ILL LOVED ONE DURING ALLEGED BURGLARY

Senate Republicans  filed an ethics complaint against Mitchell before the Senate convened on Wednesday and forced a vote on a motion to immediately launch an investigation. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Mitchell, of Woodbury, has represented District 47 since she was elected to the state Senate in 2022. She was previously a meteorologist for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio and serves as a lieutenant colonel in the  Air National Guard.

Original article source: Democratic Minnesota state senator stripped of committee assignments after burglary arrest