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John Burris
John Burris (Republican Party) was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 98. Burris assumed office in 2013. Burris left office in 2015.
Burris also represented state House District 85 from 2009 to 2013. Burris served as State House Minority Leader during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions.
Biography
Burris' professional experience includes working as a long-term replacement teacher.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Burris served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Public Health, Welfare and Labor, Chair |
| • Joint Budget |
| • City, County and Local Affairs |
| • Rules |
| • Management |
| • Joint Energy, Alternate |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Burris served on these committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, Vice Chair |
| • Legislative Council |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Legislative Joint Auditing |
| • Revenue and Taxation |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Burris served on these committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Advanced Communications and Information Technology |
| • City, County and Local Affairs |
| • Public Transportation |
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Burris' sponsored legislation includes:
- HB 1275 - "THE 'RON HENSON EMPLOYER FAIRNESS ACT'."
- HB 1850 - "TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT."
- HB 1866 - "AN ACT TO MODERNIZE THE ALLOWANCE FOR FURNISHING BOARD, LODGING, APPAREL, ETC., UNDER THE MINIMUM WAGE LAW."
For a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Healthcare Exchanges
As of 2013, Burris is a member of the Arkansas Legislative Council, a joint committee of state senators and representatives which, among other duties, meets in the interim between legislative sessions.[2] At the Council's December 21 meeting, he moved to separate the federal government's $18.4 million grant to Arkansas for healthcare exchanges from a larger report. The grant was for funding a partnership healthcare exchange between the federal and Arkansas governments. His motion would have allowed further discussion and a separate vote on the grant, but Burris was defeated 29-17 in a largely party-line vote. Burris argued the Council's refusal denied Republicans the "courtesy" of a separate debate on the exchange funds.[3][4] Commentator Nic Horton of the Arkansas Project suggested that the 17 Republicans voting for Burris' motion wanted the state to implement a federal healthcare exchange, an alternative to the hybrid state-federal partnership exchange.[5]The conservative/libertarian Advance Arkansas Institute, which sponsors the Arkansas Project, had previously called for Arkansas to adopt a federal exchange instead of the state partnership supported by the Arkansas Legislative Council.[6]The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provisionally approved Arkansas' application to organize the partnership healthcare exchange on January 3, but Burris told the Associated Press that he expects the newly Republican-controlled Arkansas legislature to consider adopting a federal exchange instead of the partnership.[7]
Elections
2014
- See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Arkansas State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014; a runoff election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014. Scott Flippo, John Burris and David Osmon faced off in the Republican primary. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters - Flippo and Burris - met in a runoff election on June 10, which Flippo won. Flippo was unchallenged in the general election.[8][9][10]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Scott Flippo |
51.3% | 3,920 |
| John Burris | 48.7% | 3,716 |
| Total Votes | 7,636 | |
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
John Burris |
42.6% | 3,785 |
| Scott Flippo |
41.9% | 3,722 |
| David Osmon | 15.5% | 1,373 |
| Total Votes | 8,880 | |
2012
Burris ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Arkansas House of Representatives, District 98. Burris ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and ran unchallenged in the November 6, 2012, general election as well.[11][12][13]
2010
Burris won re-election to the 85th District seat in 2010. He faced no opposition.[14]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Burris won election to the 85th District Seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives, defeating opponent Bill Witty (D).[15]
Burris raised $46,333 for his campaign, while Witty raised $29,953.[16]
| Arkansas State House, District 85 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John Burris (R)
|
6,870 | |||
| Bill Witty (D) | 5,278 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arkansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 10 to March 20.
Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2014. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the 89th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 17.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 13 to March 13. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2012. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the 88th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 27.
|
See also
- Arkansas House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Arkansas State Legislature
- Arkansas state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
- John Burris on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Rep. Burris Biography," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Legislative Council, "Official website," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ KATV, "Ark. panel votes to go forward with health grant," December 21, 2012
- ↑ The Arkansas Project, "Arkansas Legislative Council Fails to Block Obamacare Grant," December 21, 2012
- ↑ The Arkansas Project, "The Best of the Bad Obamacare Options for Arkansas," December 21, 2012
- ↑ Advance Arkansas Institute, "Why a Federal Exchange is the Best of the Bad Options Obamacare Gives to Arkansas," December 20, 2012
- ↑ Courier-News, "State given approval for partnership exchange," January 3, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed March 5, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 26, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official primary runoff election results," accessed August 29, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2012 Election candidates," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ VoteNaturally.org, "2008 general election results, Arkansas," November 4, 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Arkansas House spending, 2008," November 4, 2008
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ballotpedia, "Arkansas's Freedom Scorecard," accessed July 10, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Donna Hutchinson (R) |
Arkansas House of Representatives District 98 2013-2015 |
Succeeded by Ron McNair (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Arkansas House of Representatives District 85 2009-2013 |
Succeeded by David Whitaker (D) |
