Region & State

SESSION SPOTLIGHT: Rep. Richard Womack

Rep. Richard Womack

Richard Womack (R) of Arkadelphia was elected to serve in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2012 and has begun his sixth term as State Representative for District 90. He and his wife Brandi live in Arkadelphia and are the parents of seven children.

Womack is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University and is the owner of Richard Womack Painting and Construction. 

District 90 includes parts of Hot Spring, Clark and Garland counties generally north of Arkadelphia and to the south side of Lake Hamilton in Garland County. The district includes about a dozen small communities and the larger towns of Arkadelphia, Caddo Valley and Bismarck. 

Online legislative archives, which begin with the 2019 regular session, reveal that since that time Womack has been the sponsor or co-sponsor of 11 bills in the House that were passed into law. He has also been the House sponsor or co-sponsor for five Senate bills that are now state law. Twenty-seven of his bills have failed to see action in committee and died upon adjournment of the session.

Thus far in the 2023 session Womack is involved with two House bills and one Senate bill, none of which are currently slated to see action.

HB 1174 has been proposed by Womack and referred to the House Judiciary Committee where it has been deferred or placed on inactive status. A committee vote will be required to place it back on the Judiciary Committee agenda. The bill’s title and purpose is To Add Protections For Unborn Children By Allowing Prosecution When A Person Causes The Death Of An Unborn Child; To Repeal Laws That May Allow A Person To Pressure A Pregnant Woman To Get An Abortion; And To Declare An Emergency.

Womack is the prime sponsor of HB1236, which is being carried in the Senate by Sen. Steve Crowell (R-Magnolia) who represents Clark County. The bill’s title and intent is To Amend The Law Concerning Garnishment Against The State Or A Subdivision Of The State; And To Allow For Income Tax Refunds To Be Subject To Garnishment By Judgment Creditors. The bill would amend Arkansas Code § 16-110-413(a), which currently exempts state income tax refunds from garnishment, to remove the exemption. When filed the bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee but has not yet been placed on the committee agenda.

Senate Bill 82 by Dan Sullivan (R) Jonesboro is co-sponsored by Womack in the House. The bill is in the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee but is not currently on the agenda for consideration. The bill would modify the definition of ophthalmic dispensing to include the dispensing of contact lenses.

Womack is the co-chair of the Joint Budget Committee on Claims. He is the vice-chair of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee and sits on the House committees of the Public Health, Welfare and Labor and State Agencies & Governmental Affairs. He is an ex-officio member of the Arkansas Legislative Council and Joint Budget committee.