SENATOR MISSY IRVIN– Ignoring the Republican Platform

SENATOR MISSY IRVIN– Ignoring the Republican Platform

Part 6 in the series

Since Conduit focuses on conservative issues and legislators’ voting records, and the Arkansas House and Senate are over 78% Republican, this series of articles highlights Republican incumbents who frequently vote contrary to conservative values and in many instances contrary to the Republican Party of Arkansas Platform.

We are highlighting the record of Senator Missy Irvin (R- Mountain View). Before we begin, there are a couple of things we will explain to help you understand the list.

Sometimes a legislator will try to kill a bill without going on record voting “No.” To do this, some walk off the floor to miss the vote or sit quietly without voting. Another tactic used to help kill a bill without voting “No” is to vote “Present.” Not voting or voting “Present” are not neutral actions. Regardless of whether a legislator votes “No”, doesn’t vote, or votes “Present” each action has the same effect of making it harder for the legislation to get enough votes to pass.

When a legislator has an excused absence from the Capitol the legislator can still vote on any issue. An absent legislator can vote using a simple procedure called. “Pairing.”  As a common courtesy a Senator who is voting the opposite way will agree to have his or her vote paired with that of the absent legislator.  The absent legislator can see the agenda for the day and select which bills he or she wishes to vote on through pairing.

Since pairing is available, we do not make a distinction between being present and not voting versus being absent and not voting, however, for clarity we are first listing Senator’s Ivin’s voting record when she recorded herself as present for the day. Then we list bills she failed to vote on with “pairing” when absent.

SENATOR MISSY IRVIN

Here are some important issues on which Senator Irvin’s vote or failure to vote conflicts with conservative positions.

IRVIN RECORD WHEN PRESENT

Abortion

1. Failed To Vote on bill Restricting Abortion Inducing Drugs – HB1402 Of 2021

Value Of Life

2. Voted to put a price tag on human life in lawsuits – SJR8 of 2017

Taxes

3. Voted for Internet Sales Tax paid by Arkansas consumers – SB576 of 2019
4. Voted for Gas Tax Increase – SB336 of 2019
5. Voted for $100 million tax increase to be used to redistribute wealth through a low income give away like a federal provision cited by the IRS as fraud plagued – SB571 of 2019
6. Voted for a bill which, although it exempted military retirement pay from the income tax, the bill raised several taxes. It increased the sales tax on candy and soft drinks, imposed sales tax on digital downloads, such as digital books, music, and movies, and imposed the income tax on unemployment compensation. – HB1162 of 2017
7. Failed to vote on bill for sales tax cut on used car sales – HB1912 of 2021

Elections

8. Voted against election integrity to allow new electronic voter registration – HB1557 of 2021
9. Voted against transparency – electronic campaign finance reports – HB1427 of 2017

Freedom

10. Failed to vote on bill for free speech on campus improvements – SB156 of 2019

Access To Government Information

11. Voted against transparency – to allow a FOIA exemption for the government – SB373 of 2017
12. Failed to vote on bill for transparency to record government meetings – HB1928 of 2019
13. Voted against a bill to allow attorney fees for attorneys who get governments to turn over public documents they would not have otherwise turned over – SB196 of 2021

Deregulation

14. Failed to vote on bill to prohibit local governments from banning plastic bags, straws, etc. – HB1704 of 2021
15. Failed to vote on bill for deregulation of homegrown food, the Food Freedom Act –- SB248 of 2021
16. Voted against deregulation expanding scope of practice for optometrists – HB1251 of 2019
17. Voted against a bill to allow Nurse Anesthetists practice to the full scope of their training/education – HB1198 of 2021
18. Voted against a bill to expand telemedicine to phone calls – HB1063 of 2021
19. Voted against a bill to expand telemedicine – HB1068 of 2021

WHEN ABSENT DID NOT USE “PAIRING” TO VOTE ON THE FOLLOWING BILLS

Abortion

20. A bill to strengthen abortion investigations at abortion facilities – SB463 of 2021

Taxes

21. A bill to reduce the sales tax on used car sales – HB1746 of 2021
22. A bill for increased deduction for teacher expenses – HB1157 of 2021

Racist Indoctrination (Critical Race Theory)

23. A bill to ban critical race theory from government entities – SB627 of 2021

Freedom

24. A bill for the proposed religious freedom constitutional amendment – SJR14 of 2021
25. A bill to protect the conscience/religious freedom for physicians – SB289 of 2021

Deregulation

26. A bill to waive the license fees for new businesses – SB153 of 2021
27. A bill for deregulation that exempts hair stylists from cosmetology licensing – HB1746 of 2021
28. A bill for deregulation and improving access to care – allowing nurse practitioners to serve as a primary care provider within Medicaid – HB1254 of 2021

Welfare

29. A bill to promote work in food stamps – HB1512 of 2021
30. A bill for welfare program integrity – SB295 of 2021

PRINCIPLES AND PLATFORM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARKANSAS

Below are statements from the platform of the Republican Party of Arkansas. You be the judge to what extent Senator Irwin’s voting record conflicts with these statements.

Items 1 (and 20): 2^nd Principle of the RPAP “The sanctity of life” and with the platform which says: “Most importantly, we believe all unborn children have a fundamental right to live in order to avail themselves of these equal opportunities.”
Item 2: 2nd Principle of the RPAP – “The sanctity of life”, the 9th Principle of the RPAP – “The equal and just enforcement of the law”, and the 10th Principle of the RPAP – “Separate and equal branches of government”
Items 3-7 (and 21-22): 6^th Principle of the RPAP “Lower taxes to produce economic growth” and the Preamble of the RPAP – “We recognize the importance of lower taxes to spur economic growth and to ensure that individuals reap more of the benefits of their hard work.”
Items 8-9: The platform says: “Honest elections are the foundation of our republican form of limited government, and we strongly applaud every effort Arkansas Republicans have previously taken to ensure our ballot is protected and that access is guaranteed for all authorized voters, including the elderly, the military, and young voters.”
Item 10: The Government Reform Section of the RPAP says: “We are opposed to any restrictions that would discourage Arkansans from fully exercising their First Amendment rights, or limit their commitment to their beliefs”, and “We further oppose any state or federal efforts to impair Arkansans’ free speech rights guaranteed in the Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court.”
Item 11-13: Preamble of the RPAP – “Regnat Populus, the People Rule” and with the Government Reform Section of the RPAP – “We firmly support transparency and openness at every level of government. Those elected, appointed, and employed in government work for the taxpayers of this state and must provide public information when requested . . .”
Items 14-19 (and 26-28): 4^th Principle of the RPAP – “Individual freedom and liberty secured by a limited government”, the Preamble of the RPAP – “We are created equally with individual freedoms and liberties that, through our own exercise of individual responsibility and initiative, can result in great outcomes independent of government.”, and the Economic Prosperity and Job Growth Section of the RPAP – “In order to continue moving forward in our economic recovery, businesses in Arkansas need to operate freely from overly burdensome regulation and over-taxation.”
Item 23: The Preamble of the RPAP – “we are created equally with individual freedoms and liberties . . . “ and “. . . join us on our continuing journey to realize a positive conservative vision of a strong and modern Arkansas.” The Freedom Section of the RPAP – “We are being created in God’s image; and as such, we believe all Americans should have equal opportunity to succeed regardless of race, nationality, origin, gender, or creed and should be granted no special preferences based on this criteria.” “Equality of individuals before the law has always been a cornerstone of our party. Bigotry has no place in our state. Arkansas Republicans denounce those persons, organizations, publications, and movements that practice or promote racism . . .” “We believe that an Arkansas family has the primary responsibility for its own welfare, including the education and moral training of its children.”
Items 24-24: Government Reform Section of the RPAP – “We are opposed to any restrictions that would discourage Arkansans from fully exercising their First Amendment rights, or limit their commitment to their beliefs”, and “We further oppose any state or federal efforts to impair Arkansans’ free speech rights guaranteed in the Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court.”
Items 29-30: 3rd Principle – “Individual responsibility and initiative” Governmental Reform Section says: “We believe in strong legislative oversight of state government spending and support continued openness and transparency in the spending of appropriated money.”

POOR SCORE ON ECONOMIC FREEDOM FILTER

Conduit for Commerce scores the votes of legislators based on Conduit’s Economic Freedom Filter.  The Economic Freedom Filter analyzes bills that do the following:

• Increase or decrease the size and scope of government
• Increase or decrease dependency on government
• Spend money we do not have
• Increase or decrease transparency in government

Senator Irvin scored poorly on the Conduit for Commerce Scorecards. Below is a breakdown on his showings on the scorecard, released after each regular legislative session.

2022 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

The Republican primary is May 24, 2022 and candidate filing is near. Filing begins on February 22 and ends March 1.