Rep. Kendon Underwood (R – Cave Springs) joined Conduit News to share his Impression of the Session.
Underwood reflected on the latest Arkansas legislative session, emphasizing his Conservative agenda, key victories, and ongoing challenges. Serving since 2021, Underwood highlighted economic freedom, limited government, and procedural improvements in his third term.
✅ Here are the key takeaways from the interview:
- 🗳️ Session Overview and Procedural Reform (00:00:55:03 – 00:02:31:22)
- Underwood praised the session’s productivity, passing several priority bills.
- The House avoided suspending rules, a practice he opposes, ensuring thorough bill vetting and preventing rushed votes.
- Some good bills died, but Underwood sees this as a necessary trade-off to block poorly vetted legislation.
- 🛒 Grocery Tax Elimination (00:02:48:04 – 00:03:38:23)
- The Grocery Tax Relief Act, initially filed in 2023, passed with gubernatorial support, fully eliminating the state grocery tax.
- Driven by constituents facing rising costs, this was a major win.
- 💰 Unsuccessful Tax Reform Efforts (00:03:55:22 – 00:05:37:03)
- Bills to eliminate taxes on overtime, bonuses, and a $50 sales tax permit fee (“tax to collect taxes”) failed to pass, despite being “common sense.”
- Underwood remains hopeful, citing growing national support (e.g., President Trump’s overtime tax stance) for future momentum.
- 📈 Government Spending Concerns (00:07:55:03 – 00:09:39:14)
- Underwood expressed concern over a 2.9% state spending increase, noting it complicates tax cuts.
- He flagged a $5-6 million PBS appropriation as wasteful, arguing government-run media isn’t essential.
- 🗳️ Ballot Initiative Reforms (00:11:05:07 – 00:13:03:08)
- Co-sponsored with Senator Kim Hammer, these bills faced grassroots pushback for what some say restricts ballot access.
- Underwood defended them as protecting election integrity and preventing out-of-state groups from exploiting the process.
- 🚨 Human Trafficking Legislation (00:13:27:02 – 00:14:45:04)
- With Senator Josh Bryant, Underwood passed a bill criminalizing communication device use in human trafficking, inspired by a Benton County prosecutor.
- This addresses a critical issue in Northwest Arkansas’s I-49 corridor, supporting recent rescues of 115 children.
- 👉 Disappointments and Conservative Direction (00:15:10:10 – 00:17:52:17)
- Underwood discussed the failure of Rep. McKenzie’s foreign lobbying restriction bill (e.g., China) and Rep. Pilkington’s Gulf of America resolution, both “America First” priorities.
- He views Arkansas’s Republican supermajority as debating how Conservative to be, urging strong Conservative replacements for outgoing members.
- 📜 Campaign Finance and Welfare Reform (00:21:57:12 – 00:23:28:14)
- Underwood passed HB1243, enhancing campaign finance transparency for local candidates by requiring earlier reporting.
- A welfare reform bill mandates job search engagement for unemployment benefits, promoting workforce reentry. “We want to make sure that we’re giving people a hand up, but we’re not giving people handouts.”
