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Bruce Cozart
Bruce Cozart
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; March 11, 2011
Constituency	24th district (2011–23); 91st district (2023–present);
Personal details
Born	October 3, 1955 (age 69); Pearcy, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Children	2
Occupation	Businessman

Bruce Alan Cozart (born October 3, 1955) is an American politician and businessman who has been a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives since 2011.

Early life and education

Cozart was born on October 3, 1955.^[1] Cozart graduated from Lake Hamilton High School in 1973.^[1]

Early career

Cozart founded Bruce Cozart Construction, Inc. in 1977.^[1] He is a general contractor for commercial and residential buildings.^[2] Cozart served on the Lake Hamilton school board from 1991 to 2001.^[1]^[2]

Political career

2011 election

Cozart won a special election against Jerry Raphon on March 8, 2011.^[3]

2011-12 Legislature

During the 2011-12 Legislature Cozart served on the following committees:^[4]

Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs
Public Transportation

2012 election

Cozart won re-election 7,778 votes to 4,624 against Jimmie Harmon.^[4]

2013-14 Legislature

During the 2013-14 Legislature Cozart served on the following committees:^[4]

Joint Energy
Education
City, County and Local Affairs

2014 election

Cozart ran unopposed in the 2014 election.^[4]

2015-16 Legislature

During the 2015-16 Legislature Cozart served on the following committees:^[4]

Education, Chairman
Insurance and Commerce
Legislative Joint Auditing

2016 election

Cozart ran unopposed in the 2016 election.^[4]

2017-18 Legislature

During the 2017-18 Legislature Cozart served on the Following committees:^[4]

Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development
Education, Chairman

2018 election

Cozart won re-election 6,460 votes to Kallen Peret's 2,913.^[4]

2019-20 Legislature

During the 2019-20 Legislature Cozart served on the Following committees:^[4]

Academic Facilities Oversight Committee, Co-chairman
Legislative Council
House Education Committee
House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee

In February 2019, Cozart sponsored a bill that would raise minimum teacher salaries across the state of Arkansas.^[5] The bill was passed by the Arkansas House of Representatives.^[6] There were funding concerns about the bill before it passed.^[7]

2020 election

Cozart ran unopposed in the 2020 election.^[4]

2021-22 Legislature

During the 2021-22 Legislature Cozart serves on the Following committees:^[4]

House Education Committee, Chairman
House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee
Joint Performance Review Committee
Legislative Council

In February 2021, Cozart sponsored a bill that would allow parents to challenge curriculum they did not like.^[8] It came less than a day after a failure of a bill that banned the 1619 Project from being used in schools.^[9] The bill passed and became law.^[10] Cozart, alongside Missy Irvin in the Arkansas Senate, helped get another teacher pay increase bill passed in both the Arkansas House and Senate in April 2021.^[11] The bill would aim to increase median teacher salaries across the board.^[12] Governor Asa Hutchinson signed the bills on April 12, 2021.^[12]