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David James Sanders
David James Sanders
Member of the Arkansas Senate; from the 15th district
	In office; January 2013 – January 2019
Preceded by	David Burnett
Succeeded by	Mark Johnson
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives; from the 31st district
	In office; 2011–2013
Preceded by	Dan Greenberg
Succeeded by	Andy Davis
Personal details
Born	January 21, 1975 (age 49); West Memphis, Crittenden County, Arkansas, US
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Rebecca Pennington Sanders
Children	5
Residence(s)	Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas
Alma mater	Walnut Ridge High School; Ouachita Baptist University
Occupation	Educational administrator

David James Sanders (born January 21, 1975) is a former member of the Arkansas State Senate for District 15, which encompasses Conway County and parts of Faulkner, Perry, Pulaski, and Van Buren counties.^[1] From 2011 to 2013, he served a term in the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pulaski County.

Background

A native of West Memphis in Crittenden County in easternmost Arkansas, Sanders graduated in 1993 from Walnut Ridge High School in Walnut Ridge in Lawrence County in the northeastern portion of his state. In 1997, he received a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Mass Communications from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia in Clark County, Arkansas. He and his wife, Rebecca, a high school choral director, have five children.^[1]^[2]^[3]

In 2002, Arkansas Business named Sanders one its "40 Under 40" list. Sanders, who at the time was pursuing a career in both business and media claimed that he once wanted to run for office, but enjoyed business and "writing about politicians".^[4]

Political life

Arkansas House of Representatives

As a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Sanders, wrote the Athlete Agent Reform Act of 2011, which has been recognized by the NCAA as the nation's strongest legislation targeting illegal activities of sports agents.^[5] He also sponsored the state's first ethics law targeting Arkansas’ banking, insurance, securities and utility, regulators.^[6]

Senate duties

In the 2013, Sanders passed legislation cracking down waste, fraud and abuse in the state's Medicaid program—including in the creation of the state's Office of Medicaid Inspector General (Acts 1436, 1499 and 1504). In addition, Sanders has to his credit sweeping laws that corrected years of structural problems with Arkansas’ parole system (Acts 435, 1029 and 1030). He passed the first reduction in the state's income tax rates (Act 1459) and reformed the state's worker's compensation laws for motor carriers (Act 1166).

Sanders is one of the architects of Arkansas’ Private Option, the conservative alternative to President Barack Obama’s Medicaid expansion contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Poorer Arkansans under the plan can purchase private insurance with the help of premium assistance, instead of being relegated to the Medicaid rolls. Republican governors in Iowa, Utah, and Indiana have proposed plans similar to Arkansas’ innovative model.

Sanders worked during his term with members of a bipartisan task force to reform the Arkansas’ State Employees and School Employees Health Insurance Plan.

Committee work

Committee chairmanships:

Arkansas Legislative (ALC) Rules and Regulations Sub-Committee
Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Legislative Oversight Committee
Legislative Joint Auditing Medicaid Subcommittee.

Committee Membership:

Joint Budget
Legislative Joint Audit
Senate Public Health, Labor and Welfare
Senate Insurance and Commerce
Senate Efficiency
Joint Performance Review Committee
Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC)
ALC-Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions
ALC Peer Review Committee ^[7]

Awards and Recognitions in the 89th General Assembly

"Legislator of the Year," Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police
“Business Matters Legislative Leadership Award," Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Arkansas Associated Industries^[8]
"Advocate for Justice," Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association^[9]
"Legislative Leader for Children," Arkansas Kids Count Coalition
"ACU Conservative," American Conservative Union ^[10]

Other honors

Top 10 Lawmakers, Talk Business Arkansas^[11]
Visionary Arkansan, Arkansas Times' List of 25 of the Arkansas’ Creative Thinkers^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b "Biography for the Honorable David J. Sanders, Arkansas State Senator" (PDF). arkleg.ar.us. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
^ Sanders, David J. "The Great Philanthropy Takeover". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
^ Sanders, David J. "Mike Huckabee's New Deal: More God, More Government". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
^ "Arkansas Business "40 Under 40" 2002". Arkansas Business. Arkansas Business.
^ "ACT 204, 2011" (PDF).
^ "ACT 1200, 2011" (PDF).
^ "Senator David J. Sanders". 89th General Assembly of Arkansas. State of Arkansas.
^ "2013 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY 89TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY" (PDF). Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
^ "Prosecutor Scott Ellington pictures from October 2013 Annual APAA Banquet". Flickr.
^ "ACU ANNOUNCES FIRST ANNUAL RATINGS OF THE ARKANSAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY". American Conservative Union. Archived from the original on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
^ "Talk Business Arkansas' Top 10 State Legislators". Talk Business Arkansas. 14 May 2013.
^ "Visionary Arkansans: Twenty-five of the state's creative thinkers". The Arkansas Times. 12 September 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.

Preceded by David Burnett (switched to District 22)	Arkansas State Senator for District 15 (Conway, Faulkner, Perry, Pulaski, and Van Buren counties) 2013–	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Daniel Greenberg	Arkansas State Representative for District 31 (Pulaski County) 2011–2013	Succeeded by Andy Davis