Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

1   State of Arkansas
 2   94th General Assembly
 3   Regular Session, 2023                                                                            SMR 4
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 5   By: Senators R. Murdock, J. Boyd, J. Bryant, Caldwell, L. Chesterfield, A. Clark, Crowell, B. Davis,
 6   Dees, J. Dismang, J. Dotson, J. English, Flippo, S. Flowers, Gilmore, K. Hammer, Hester, Hickey, Hill,
 7   Irvin, B. Johnson, M. Johnson, B. King, G. Leding, F. Love, M. McKee, J. Payton, C. Penzo, J. Petty,
 8   Rice, Stone, G. Stubblefield, D. Sullivan, C. Tucker, D. Wallace
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10                            SENATE MEMORIAL RESOLUTION
11                   TO REMEMBER SENATOR ROY C. “BILL” LEWELLEN, JR. AND
12                   TO RECOGNIZE HIS DEDICATED SERVICE AND INVALUABLE
13                   CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND TO HIS
14                   LOCAL COMMUNITY.
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17                                                  Subtitle
18                           TO REMEMBER SENATOR ROY C. “BILL”
19                           LEWELLEN, JR. AND TO RECOGNIZE HIS
20                           DEDICATED SERVICE AND INVALUABLE
21                           CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS
22                           AND TO HIS LOCAL COMMUNITY.
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24           WHEREAS, former Arkansas State Senator Roy C. “Bill” Lewellen, Jr. of
25   Marianna passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at the age of 71; and
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27           WHEREAS, born on November 18, 1951, Bill Lewellen was the son of Roy C.
28   Lewellen Sr. and Ethel Brewer, the nephew of Arkansas State Representative
29   John Lewellen and State Representative Wilhelmina Lewellen, and the cousin of
30   former United States Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater; and
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32           WHEREAS, Bill Lewellen received his bachelor’s degree from the
33   University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and his Juris Doctor from the University
34   of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law; and
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36           WHEREAS, Bill Lewellen was first elected to the Arkansas Senate in 1990
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 1   and was the second Black person to serve in the Arkansas Senate in the 20th
 2   century; and
 3
 4         WHEREAS, prior to his election to the Arkansas Senate, Bill Lewellen
 5   served on the Marianna City Council; and
 6
 7         WHEREAS, Senator Lewellen represented eastern Arkansas from 1991
 8   through 2000, served on the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee and the
 9   Senate Judiciary Committee, was Senate co-chair of the Joint Legislative
10   Facilities Committee, vice chair of the Senate Rules Committee, and a member
11   of the Joint Budget Committee and the Joint Performance Review Committee; and
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13         WHEREAS, during his tenure with the Arkansas Senate, Senator Lewellen
14   sponsored historic legislation that included legislation that created the
15   Arkansas Minority Health Commission and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of
16   1993; and
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18         WHEREAS, in 1992, Senator Lewellen served as an attorney for the Lake
19   View School District in its fight for an equitable and efficient public
20   school system and after years of litigation, the state Supreme Court ruled in
21   favor of the Lake View School District, citing the state’s constitutional
22   duty to provide all Arkansas children with an adequate and equitable
23   education, regardless of the prosperity or poverty of the region in which
24   they lived; and
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26         WHEREAS, after leaving the Arkansas Senate, Bill Lewellen continued to
27   advocate for small, rural school districts facing consolidation and
28   inequitable treatment as one (1) of only two (2) Black lawyers in Lee County;
29   and
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31         WHEREAS, Bill Lewellen fought to represent his clients and to help
32   remedy injustices wherever he could and his dedication led him to receive
33   numerous local, state, and national recognitions throughout his lifetime; and
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35         WHEREAS, Senator Lewellen was preceded in death by his wife of forty-
36   three (43) years, Doris Ann Brantley Lewellen; and
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 1
 2        WHEREAS, while Senator Lewellen was committed to improving the lives of
 3   all Arkansans, he was well-known as being a devoted father and mentor to his
 4   children Adrienne Lewellen, Roy Lewellen, III, Michael Lewellen, Marcus
 5   Lewellen, Marco Lewellen, and Marshall Lewellen, as well as a loving
 6   grandfather to his six (6) grandchildren,
 7
 8   NOW THEREFORE,
 9   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
10   STATE OF ARKANSAS:
11
12        THAT the Senate remember Senator Bill Lewellen and recognize his
13   commitment to hard work, enormous contributions, and service to the State of
14   Arkansas and his local community.
15
16   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption, a copy of this resolution be
17   provided to the family of Roy C. "Bill" Lewellen, Jr. by the Secretary of the
18   Senate.
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