Stephen A. Meeks, a Republican, is the senior member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. He is from Greenbrier in Faulkner County in central Arkansas. Since 2013, he has represented District 67, which includes portions of central Faulkner County, including the cities of Greenbrier, Holland, Vilonia, Wooster, and western Conway. From 2011 to 2013, he represented House District 47. Meeks' brother, David Meeks, is a Republican representative for House District 70.
Background
Meeks was raised in rural Springhill in Faulkner County, Arkansas. In 1988, he graduated from Greenbrier High School in Greenbrier. Thereafter, he relocated to Florida where his father was transferred by an employer. In 1997, Meeks obtained an Associate of Science degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Florida State College at Jacksonville, then known as Florida Community College in Jacksonville. Two years later he procured an Associate of Arts from the same institution. A former educator, Meeks taught astronomy from 1997 to 2003 at Florida Community College and Elementary School from 2001 to 2003 at Baymeadows BaptistDay School in Jacksonville, simultaneous with his duties at Florida Community College. While in Jacksonville, Meeks was the president of the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society. A military veteran, he maintains a strong interest in astronomy, space flight, and amateur radio. He earns his livelihood as a computer technologist. Meeks and his wife, the former Jennifer Brickey, a Florida native, are members of Faith Baptist Church, a theologically conservative congregation in Greenbrier. They have one daughter. From 1987 to 1993, Meeks was a member of the United States Army Reserve. He was a combat engineer and a cargo specialist.
Political life
In 2010, Meeks was elected in House District 47, having unseated incumbent Democrat Eddie Hawkins, 4,841 to 3,921. In 2012, District 47 was reconfigured to include Jackson and White counties. Meeks won his second term in revised District 67 by defeating Democrat Sam Lane, 8,002 to 3,003. He was unopposed in the 2014 election for his third term. Meeks serves on these legislative committees: House Revenue and Taxation, House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, and Joint Budget. He is the House Chair of Special Language, a subcommittee of Joint Budget. He is also the Chair of the Advanced Communication and Information Technology Committee. In 2013, Meeks co-sponsored legislation to amend state income tax rates. He voted to place a spending cap on the state budget, but the measure failed in the House by two votes. He was the primary House sponsor of and successfully lead the override of a veto of Democratic Governor Mike Beebe to enact legislation to require a photo identification for casting a ballot in Arkansas. He also voted with the majority to override the Governor's veto on legislation that would ban abortion after twenty weeks of gestation. He supported related legislation to ban abortion whenever fetal heartbeat is detected, to forbid the inclusion of abortion in the state insurance exchange, and to make the death of a fetus a felony in certain cases. He voted to allow university officials to carry concealed weapons. He did not vote on a proposal to make the office of prosecuting attorney in Arkansas nonpartisan. He supported the bill, signed by Governor Beebe, to permit the sale of up to five hundred gallons per month of unpasteurizedwhole milk directly from the farm to consumers. He also developed legislation to create the most comprehensive light pollution law in the country, aimed at getting state and local governments to use cheaper, more efficient outdoor lighting. In 2011, Meeks in District 47 co-sponsored legislation that allowed religious institutions to choose to allow the carrying of concealed weapons on their property. He opposed a dress code for public schools. He backed curriculum standards for biblical instruction in public schools. He co-sponsored the Capital Gains Reduction Act. He voted to reduce utility rates on manufacturers as a means of attracting industry to Arkansas. Meeks abstained on the congressional redistricting bill. Without opposition, Meeks was re-elected to a third term in the House in 2014. In 2018, Meeks tweeted that in the United States, poverty is a choice, and that a homeless man could go to school to become a truck driver and be a millionaire in 20 years. Meeks deleted the post after receiving criticism. He later apologized.
