| Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr., of Texarkana represents District 11 of southwest Arkansas. District 11 includes Lafayette, Little River and Miller Counties and parts of Hempstead and Sevier Counties. He was elected in 2012 and took the oath of office on the first day of the 2013 legislative session.
Senator Hickey was elected President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas Senate for the 93rd General Assembly in the fall of 2020. He serves as a member of Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation, Insurance and Commerce, Joint Performance Review and Joint Retirement and Social Security Committee. Senator Hickey is also a member of the Joint Budget Committee, Arkansas Legislative Council and Legislative Joint Auditing Committee and serves on several different subcommittees.
During the 2019 session he took the lead in the Senate of analyzing the impact of the longest bill ever filed in Arkansas history, a far-reaching transformation of state government's structure that was more than 2,000 pages long. Senator Hickey read it line-by-line and his ideas for improving the bill resulted in amendments that were adopted.
Senator Hickey's legislative priorities include making sure that the lottery scholarship program is financially stable, and that its operations are transparent and its officials are accountable. Senator Hickey is at the table when lawmakers consider potential changes in eligibility for college scholarships. In past sessions, Senator Hickey served as co-chair of the Arkansas Lottery Commission Joint Legislative Oversight Committee.
Senator Hickey has served as co-chair of Joint Committee on Legislative Auditing, and co-chair of the Joint Performance Review Committee, in which roles he led legislative efforts to uncover the causes of Henderson State University's financial troubles.
He served as vice chair of Joint Subcommittee on Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions. He has served on the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor and the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs.
Senator Hickey is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and a member of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC.)
From 2004-2010, Senator Hickey served on the Texarkana, Arkansas School District School Board. While on the school board he was named vice-president and president. His business interests include rental and real estate investments. He was a banker for 25 years and retired from Commercial National Bank as senior vice president.
A native of Texarkana, Senator Hickey received his Bachelor of Business Administration from East Texas State University. He is married to Denise and they have a son.
Senator Hickey and his wife are members of Trinity Baptist Church. |