REP. LANE JEAN – Ignoring the Republican Platform

REP. LANE JEAN – Ignoring the Republican Platform

Pt 8 of 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 of those instances contrary to the Republican Party of Arkansas Platform.

We are highlighting the record of Representative Lane Jean (R- Magnolia). Before we begin, we need to explain voting records.

You need to know sometimes a legislator will try to kill a bill without going on record as 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 trying to deny the legislation enough votes to pass.

REPRESENTATIVE LANE JEAN

Here are some important votes on which Rep. Jean’s actions conflict with conservative values and to various degrees with the platform and principles of the Republican Party of Arkansas.

Value of Life

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

Taxes

2. Voted for Gas Tax Increase – SB336 of 2019
3. Voted for a tax increase highway bond proposal – HB1726 of 2017
4. Voted for an increase of cell phone fees/taxes – HB1564 of 2019
5. Voted against improving unemployment insurance taxes – voted against indexing unemployment insurance to economic conditions – HB1676 of 2021

COVID

6. Voted against returning COVID19 fees to businesses – SB301 of 2021 (against overriding Governor’s veto)

Education – School Choice

7. Voted against school choice education savings accounts for children – SB746 of 2017
8. Voted against school choice scholarships for children – HB1371 of 2021
9. Voted against tax credit school choice scholarships for children – SB680 of 2021

Elections

10. Voted against special election reform to prevent tax increases at special elections – HB1368 of 2021
11. Voted against transparency – electronic campaign finance reports – HB1427 of 2017
12. Voted for bill (jeopardizing election integrity) to allow new electronic voter registration – HB1517 of 2021

Deregulation

13. Voted against deregulation – least restrictive means of licensing occupations – HB1835 of 2017
14. Failed to vote on bill for deregulation of homegrown foods, the Food Freedom Act – SB248 of 2021
15. Failed to vote on bill for deregulation and improving access to care – allowing nurse practitioners to serve as a primary care provider within Medicaid – HB1254 of 2021
16. Failed to vote on bill to allow Nurse Anesthetists practice to the full scope of their training/education – HB1198 of 2021
17. Voted against deregulation bill to expand scope of practice for optometrists – HB1251 of 2019

Access to Government Information

18. Voted against transparency in county government spending – HB1343 of 2019
19. Voted for bill undermining transparency/FOIA in law enforcement – SB346 of 2021
20. Voted (against transparency) and for exemption from FOIA on sales tax data – HB1868 of 2021
21. Voted to allow secret government meetings on economic development projects – HB1280 of 2021

Other Important Legislation

22. Voted against improving the minimum wage law tp help small business, nonprofits, teens – HB1752/HB1753 of 2019

PRINCIPLES AND PLATFORM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARKANSAS

The votes of Representative Jean listed above conflict with conservative values and we believe to various extents the votes conflict with statements in the platform and principles of the Republican Party of Arkansas. We provide examples below we believe show a conflict but judge for yourselves by reading the full Republican Party of Arkansas Platform.

Item 1: The 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 2-5: The 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.”
Item 6: The 4th principle of the RPAP – “Individual freedom and liberty secured by a limited government”.
Items 7-9: The Education Section of the RPAP – “Arkansas’s children deserve a world class education, developed by parents, educators, and leaders accountable to our citizens, regardless of their zip code. This requires openness to every type of education system available: homeschooling, distance learning, public school, private school, charter school, and vocational or technical school.” “Every tool should be given equal consideration and be utilized in a manner that puts the student’s needs above all ‘to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.’”  “Every education decision we make is with the students and parents first in our minds!” “Every opportunity for every family to enroll each child in the school of its choice should be secured by government and offered to Arkansas families. Parents must have the ability to make informed choices regarding the education of their children and should not be restricted by lines on a map or the cost of tuition.” “to become greater players on the global stage, our children must be given the tools to succeed in their chosen fields through education.”
Item 10: The 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.”
Item 11 The 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 . . .”
Item 12: 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.”
Items 13-17: 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 18-21 The 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 . . .”
Item 22 conflicts with the Business section of the RPAP “Arkansas’s small businesses are the drivers of our economy. All levels of government must do all they can to understand and meet the needs of small businesses during our recovery.”

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

Representative Jean scored poorly on the Conduit for Commerce Scorecard in 2021. In 2021 he compared much worse among Representatives than the two previous sessions. 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 has begun. Filing  March 1.