Senator Bart Hester of Cave Springs represents Senate District 33, which includes the cities of Cave Springs, Highfill and parts of Bentonville and Rogers in Benton County. Senator Hester was elected to the Senate in 2012 and took the oath of office on the first day of the 2013 session.
Senator Hester is serving as the Senate President Pro Tempore of the 94th General Assembly. He is vice co-chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee. Senator Hester is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth, the Joint Interim Committee on Legislative Facilities, the Senate Efficiency Committee, the Arkansas Legislative Council, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, the Joint Budget Committee, the Executive Subcommittee, the Administrative Rules Subcommittee, the Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions Subcommittee, the Claims Review and Litigation Reports Subcommittee, the Game and Fish / State Police Subcommittee, the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) Subcommittee and the Review Subcommittee.
Senator Hester believes in holding down the size of government and reducing government debt. He has been a consistent sponsor of legislation to lower taxes and reduce regulatory burdens on business. Also, his legislative priorities include bills to improve foster care and adoption services.
In 2021 Senator Hester co-sponsored legislation that requires public schools to teach about the Holocaust. Other bills amended eligibility for scholarships and change the process of getting a driver’s permit. Senator Hester co-sponsored bills on public health directives and property rights.
In 2017 and 2019, Senator Hester was the Senate Majority Whip and Senate Majority Leader respectively. In 2017, he co-sponsored legislation to provide $50 million in income tax relief to lower-income families. In 2015, he co-sponsored legislation to provide $100 million in income tax relief to middle class Arkansas families.
A native of Green Forest, he is a 2001 graduate of the Sam Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. While working on his degree in Fayetteville, he lettered for three years for the Razorbacks’ varsity baseball team. His business interests are in real estate and construction.
