Governor Sarah Sanders
Address to the House of Representatives and Senate
January 14, 2025
Governor Sarah Sanders Thank you. Good morning, Speaker Evans, President Hester, Constitutional Officers, members of the Supreme Court and distinguished members of the General Assembly, my amazing family, especially Scarlett, Huck, George, Brian and my parents-- my kids told me I'd be in trouble if I didn't list them by name-- and my fellow Arkansans. It is an honor to join you to kick off another transformational legislative session for the people of Arkansas.
When I took office, I was the youngest governor in the country, and I promised to bring a new generation of leadership. And over the past two years, Arkansas has been the vanguard of a national conservative revolution, which in just six days will put Donald J. Trump back in the White House. But these victories don't mean we can take our foot off the gas. Today, I'm here to renew my promise for a new generation of leadership, for a new path forward, and for a new vision for Arkansas.
As I said when I took office two years ago, I was the youngest governor in the country. And as my kids, much to their disappointment and I regularly remind them, that is actually still the case. Although my youngest, George, recently heard me say that and replied, 'You're the youngest governor in the country?' I said, Yeah, George. And he goes, 'Well, Mom, the rest of them must be really, really old.'
But whether you think I'm way too young or really, really old, the results of our first two years speak for themselves. Our economy is up. Crime is down. Education is improving. Arkansas is growing and the state of Arkansas is very, very strong. But that doesn't mean we haven't had hard moments.
One of the most difficult days that I've had as governor came last summer when a gunman opened fire at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, and senselessly killed four Arkansans and severely injured nine innocent people. 13 Arkansans. 13 lives. 13 Everyday heroes, heroes that you might find, frankly, in any town in our state. But if there is any place, any words that you can take refuge after a horrible event like that, it's in the words of my good friend, Sheriff Mike Knoedl, who's here with us today. Mike said, 'This will not define us and it will not divide us.' That was true for Fordyce that day, and it is true for our state every single day.
Our state faces many challenges. Days of incredible pain like the shooting in Fordyce or the tornadoes that struck our state over Memorial Day weekend, the day in, day out, issues of struggling schools, too high crime, hunger and poverty. But I have always believed that we are not defined by the problems that we face. We are defined by the way that we face our problems. We will face those with our heads bowed and our eyes to the future. And with that, Arkansans can and will conquer anything that comes our way.
When I was growing up, my dad never missed an opportunity to tell us how being governor was the best job in the world and the best one he ever had. Although these days he may change his mind on that here pretty soon. But we'll see. But I remember a time when I was just a few weeks into office, and after a particularly rough 48 hours, I called my dad and I asked him, I said, 'Dad, you know how you're always telling us how being governor is the best job in the world?' He said, 'Well, yeah.' And I asked him, 'When exactly will that start?'
And in a way that only a dad can, my dad told me, 'Well, Sarah, to be honest, you haven't done anything yet.' I called him for encouragement. Thankfully, we got there. But he said, 'Let me explain. Just wait. And when you least expect it, you're going to have a moment where a mom comes up to you in the grocery store or at one of your kid's games and she's going to tell you that because of the work that this group has done, her life, her kids' life is better.'
And he was absolutely right. Not long after that, I was at one of my kid's games, at the grocery store, and now person after person come up to me and thank me for the job that each one of us are doing on behalf of the state of Arkansas. And in those first moments, I finally understood why it was the best job in the world. Because what we're doing makes a real difference in people's lives. Don't ever lose sight of that and never take it for granted.
In those moments, no reform comes up more often than Arkansas LEARNS, which passed by an overwhelming margin thanks to the work of the members here in this room. I now hear from teachers who are earning $50,000 a year for the first time in their life. I hear from teachers who have earned thousands of dollars in merit bonuses for the great job that they're doing. And it's not just the money. It's feeling recognized for the work that they're doing and the way that they pour their heart and soul into the kids of this state every single day.
I hear from a parent whose child struggled with reading and is now getting the one on one attention they need because of our high impact tutoring grants, or from the parent who sees news around the country and is thankful for the investments that we've made in school safety.
One student I've heard from is named Elijah, who recently enrolled in St Theresa's here in Southwest Little Rock. Elijah is here with us today with Father Stephen Gadberry. Elijah, you want to wave to the group? Father Gadberry's leadership at that school should be an inspiration to all of us. St Teresa's is a Catholic school and many of its students come from central Arkansas' Hispanic community.
Before the LEARNS act, most families had to scrape and save just to afford the school's modest tuition. LEARNS flipped that equation on its head. Elijah's parents had sent them to their local public school, but they knew that they wanted a faith based, smaller environment that met Elijah's needs. But even more than that, they wanted a community in which their whole family could be involved. Elijah's dad is a veteran. And so this school year, they were able to sign up for an EFA account. Elijah is now in school and thriving, and his parents are learning too. They participated in a Bible study every weekend.
Stories like Elijah's are happening all over the state of Arkansas. And next year, education freedom accounts will go universal so that every student in the state of Arkansas will have an opportunity like Elijah. That is historic, and that is because of your work. By working together, we have achieved tremendous progress on our K through 12 schools. Education is a lifelong journey, and in this administration, education reform will be as well.
Our Secretary of Education, Jacob Oliva, loves to talk about on ramps and off ramps, the exit you take when you graduate high school or college, the on ramp when you go back to school to finish a degree or earn a credential. But for some Arkansans, that's not a strong enough metaphor. For many people in our state, education is a lifeboat. Without it, they drown. They can take control of their life's journey if they have access to a quality education. And with your work and partnership, that's exactly what we will make sure everyone has.
Tiffany Strang, who is here today, is one of those people. Tiffany's mom pulled her out of school just a few weeks into the sixth grade. She was married at 17, and in her home state of Georgia, she had found herself with three kids. 14 years later, she was here in Beebe, Arkansas, with a husband and those kids. Unfortunately, Tiffany's life imploded. Her husband walked out on their marriage, leaving her with those three kids hundreds of miles from her closest family with no job and no car. Tiffany was resourceful. Tiffany found out that Sonic was one of the few places she could go and work without a GED. So she signed up for government assistance and leaned on friendly neighbors.
She found a bike and latched a carriage to the back of it. She would take her bike, bike her kids to school, then bike herself to work at Sonic, and then bike herself to earn her GED. Once she did that, she continued to go to work and to school, and she earned her nursing degree at Arkansas State University in Beebe. She now works as a full time nurse in Searcy, and this May, she will graduate with her RN degree and work as a registered nurse right here in Arkansas. Tiffany, that is the kind of story and resilience we want to see.
Throughout it all, her sons, now 15, 12 and 12, who are seated up there with her, have seen a strength in their mom and what determination and a good education can do. They've prayed with her and they've been her biggest cheerleaders. She pushes education on them constantly because she knows it's the best ticket that they have to a better life. She said that we should have seen the smile on her face when her oldest son sent her a picture of the 100 he got on his test. I'm pretty sure that made the refrigerator. And you should have seen the tears in her eyes when one of her sons looked up at her and said, Mom, I want to be like you when I grow up. That's powerful.
Higher education can be that difference between a life in poverty and a life of great success. And it should be available to every single person in our state, no matter what their background. And today, let us commit to make that happen. Today I'm announcing my plan to improve our state's higher education system, Arkansas Access. Together, we will expand Arkansas access to higher education and non-degree credentials.
Whether their path comes straight after high school graduation or many years down the line like Tiffany, that starts with making applications easier. We will make it so that you can submit one application, pay one fee and use the same application for any state supported college or university in Arkansas. Arkansas students go to our colleges and universities to be educated, not to be bombarded with anti-American, historically illiterate, woke nonsense. We will make it so that any professor, tenured or not, that wastes time indoctrinating our students instead of educating them can be terminated from their job.
We will address the skyrocketing cost of higher education by funding college credits while students are still in high school and expanding scholarships to associate degrees and non-degree credentials. And we will change our higher education funding model so that it puts state dollars behind all types of degrees, bachelors, associates, and non-degree credentials. For far too long, students have been told the lie that the only way to be successful is to get a four year degree right out of high school. When this body passes Arkansas Access, every student, young and old, will know the truth. Every Arkansan is unique, and every education journey will be unique too. The investments we make today in education will have a payoff a long time down the road.
In the meantime, Arkansans are struggling with the high cost of groceries, gas and just about everything else. The good news is that in just a few days, the reckless tax and spend policies of the Biden administration will be over and we will have President Donald J. Trump back in the White House fighting for every single American. But Arkansas families need relief now. The cost of living is what drove this administration to work with our legislators and cut taxes not once, not twice, but three times. And yes, you will get tired of hearing me say that.
But now we're going to focus, after we've been able to reduce the personal income tax by a full percentage point over the last two years, we will turn our attention and our taxes are quickly dropping. And we just released a report on Arkansas Forward initiative that will save our state at least $300 million and hopefully much more. The budget I introduced this year will control spending increases while making needed investments in priorities like education and maternal health.
The results of these policies have been quick and clear. We've now recorded record high job numbers for nine months in a row, and at the end of last year, Arkansas ranked number one in the country for economic growth, number one in the country for inbound movers and number one in the country for having the lowest cost of living. That is something to celebrate. And thanks to my husband Brian's work on the Natural State Initiative, we're breaking tourism records too. The most recent statistics show that 50 million people visited our state in 2023 alone, and they spent $10 billion while they were here.
Despite our progress, I know that some Arkansans are still struggling. Last year I signed Arkansas up for Summer EBT, a program that was made possible by Arkansas' senior Senator, John Boozman. Summer EBT gives $120 over the summer months to parents whose kids receive free and reduced price lunches during the school year. We've partnered with groups like the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance to sign families up. And last summer, we served a quarter million Arkansas students here in Arkansas through that program. $120 may not sound like a lot to many of you, but for some people in our state, it can be life changing to Arkansas families.
That's why I will work with this legislature to end our most regressive tax, the state grocery tax, and ease the burden on families just trying to put food on their tables. We can and we will eliminate it this session. I've already announced that Arkansas will participate in Summer EBT this year. And today I'm announcing my plan to use medical marijuana money to make both this program and our free lunch and breakfast programs financially sustainable for years to come. We will also use those funds to make school breakfast in Arkansas completely free for any student that chooses to participate.
At the same time, it should be easier for all of us to be good neighbors. We've all seen good food go to waste because a restaurant doesn't think it can donate it. If you give food to a food pantry, you shouldn't have to worry about going to court over it. We will pass the Good Neighbor Act to give liability protection to those who donate food to other Arkansans. SNAP should be focused on healthy, nutritious food.
Arkansas will be the first state to seek a SNAP waiver and ensure our neediest families are getting the food that they need to stay healthy. We will also support healthy diets while supporting Arkansas farms and businesses. I'm introducing the Buy Local Act to encourage our schools to purchase their food in state from our farmers.
Educating and feeding our kids will be two of our biggest priorities this session. The third is keeping them safe. With the help of this body, we passed the Protect Act. Violent crime here in Little Rock is down and we are ending the catch and early release of violent repeat offenders. We have more state troopers than we've had in a generation. And through our new state pay plan, we will raise their starting pay by 20%, something that is long needed. And we will make it happen this year.
Not long ago, my husband and I visited the Pathway to Freedom Program at the Wrightsville unit here in Pulaski County. It was an amazing image of men, many of whom are in prison for violent crimes, tattoos on their arms and faces ,with their hands in the air singing out, praising our creator. After that visit, I received a letter from one of those inmates whose clemency petition I had previously denied. And you would think that letter would be filled with anger. But instead, he was thanking me for denying his petition because that meant he was able to participate in Pathway to Freedom. He said that because of that program, he will be a better husband, a better father, and a better son.
Every inmate in Arkansas deserves to have access to programs like Pathway to Freedom. And this year we will expand and require evidence based programming in our prisons. And we will make it happen so that we are doing a better job with our state. But none of that happens with the chronic prison bed shortage that we have in Arkansas. That's why I'm glad that we've worked to open almost 1,500 prison beds at existing facilities, easing the burden on our county jails. And for the first time since my dad was in office, we have worked with this legislature to expand our prison system with plans for a new 3,000 bed prison in Franklin County.
But there are other threats to our public safety, modern threats that require modern solutions. Nowhere is that truer than with our kids. In the past decade across America, suicide rates among teens have tripled. Self-harm among girls has risen by 200%. And depression among teenagers has increased by 150%. And the culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media.
With us here today is Jenny Diserio from Centerton who tragically lost her 16 year old son Mason to suicide in 2022. It was a complete and total shock to their family. Before Mason took his own life, he was a happy, healthy, thriving kid. He loved football and track and spending time outside. But in the last few weeks of his life, a relationship he was in got difficult. And Mason started spending more and more time watching Tik Toks on his phone. When Mason's relationship ended, his mental health deteriorated.
On the last night of Mason's life, his parents took his phone away so he could get some undisturbed rest. And when they did, Mason punched his mother in the face, something that was a complete 180 from anything that he'd ever done before. Mason's stepfather took the phone away and his parents regrouped for only 13 minutes before realizing that Mason had gone up to his room and locked the door. Mason's stepfather raced upstairs and pounded on the door, but it was too late. Mason was already gone.
Months later, reeling from her grief, Jenny took Mason's phone. She got on his Tik Tok. And what she saw shocked her and broke her heart. He had received video after video of step by step instructions on how to take his own life. Jenny says, I completely believe in my heart that Mason would be alive today had he not seen those videos on TikTok. Most of us, in Jenny's shoes, would be so lost in our grief that we would be paralyzed. Instead, she has dedicated her life to saving other families from the tragedy that she experienced.
She's fighting her way through the legal system to hold these abusive social media companies accountable. Congress and our federal courts have failed to step in. But where they have stalled, Arkansas will stand up for families like Jenny. And we will act and we will start today. Thank you for sharing your story.
With the help of this body, we have already taken major strides. We started a phone free school pilot program and three quarters of our school districts voluntarily participated and signed up for that program. In just one district, a phone free school saw a 57% drop in verbal and physical aggression and a 51% drop in drug related offenses. It's startling to see how much of an impact it has.
This session, we will ban cell phones in our schools from bell to bell so that our kids are not distracted in the classroom or out of it. And we will break the cycle of mental health crisis facing our students. We will update the Social Media Safety Act so that it's no longer held up in court and begin to get enforced. And we will give moms like Jenny the right to sue big tech companies under state law so that they can hold bad actors accountable.
Arkansas has led the nation on commonsense conservative reforms for the past two years, and 2025 will be no different. The good news is we now have a partner and an ally in the White House. I have a great relationship with President Trump, and he and his administration will have no greater friend than right here in Arkansas.
The president has promised to deal with the crisis on our southern border and fix our broken immigration system. Here in Arkansas, we will pass the Defense against Criminal Illegals Act to slap enhanced penalties on violent illegal immigrants and remove them from our state. President Trump was the first president in my lifetime to stand up to China, and Arkansas was the first state in the nation to kick a communist Chinese company off of our farmland and out of our state. And we will expand that law with the Communist China Defense Act, divesting state resources from communist China and banning our adversaries from buying land around things like our military bases and electric substations. We will hold the line.
President Trump will bring law and order back to our country. But here in Arkansas, I like to think we're already pretty tough. But we will take it a step further and we will take on the growing problem of squatters by allowing property owners to actually call the sheriff's office and get squatters off of their land and out of their properties. Education. Cost of living. Public safety. Those are the priorities that have defined the first two years of my administration. And with your help, those are the priorities that will define the next two as well.
But I'm also clear eyed about the future. I know that government doesn't have a magic wand that it can wave to make everything better. I know that in order to improve, we have to be united in our vision and our actions. In my opinion, Arkansas is blessed with the greatest asset any state could ever hope for: good, generous, hardworking, God fearing people.
At the beginning of my speech, I mentioned the tragic shooting in Fordyce and the four Arkansans that we lost that day and the nine who were injured. Those on the scene know that it could have been many, many more if not for the action of brave heroes like Dallas County Sheriff Mike Knoedl. Within minutes after the first shots were fired, Mike and his officers were on the scene, returning fire to the gunman, distracting him and allowing victims to find cover and escape. Immediately after they apprehended the gunman, Knoedl organized transportation and aid for the wounded.
In the days and the weeks after, he helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for the victims and their families. When a tragedy like this happens in a small town in Arkansas, it's personal. These victims weren't just citizens in Mike's county. They were his neighbors, his friends, people he knew by name. For him to have found the energy and the courage to lead his community after this terrible, terrible event shows the strength, the courage and the faith of this great hero.
I have the opportunity to meet so many incredible Arkansans when I'm traveling around the state. And I believe that they deserve more recognition than a simple mention in a speech or in the newspaper. So today I'm announcing the Arkansas Medal of Freedom that will allow us to recognize and honor Arkansans who have distinguished themselves in service to the state and to their fellow citizens. And I cannot think of a better person to receive the first Medal of Freedom than Sheriff Knoedl.
Mike, if you could please join me at the podium so that this distinguished chamber and our entire state can recognize you for your bravery and for your service. As Mike exemplifies, Arkansans are the kindest, most hardworking, most generous people on earth. As their public servants let us walk in their footsteps, let us live out their example.
Every day of this legislative session with the people as our priority and with God as our guide, we will build the state that our children and our grandchildren deserve. God bless you. God bless the great state of Arkansas. And thank you for letting me be here with you today. Now let's get to work. Thank you so much.
