Senator Kim Hammer of Benton was elected to the state Senate in 2018, after serving in the House of Representatives for eight years. He represents Senate District 16, which includes parts of Saline County and southwestern Pulaski County.
Senator Hammer is co-chair of the Joint Performance Review Committee (JPR) and the Administrative Rules Subcommittee and is chair of the Senate Ethics Committee. He is also a member of the Senate Education Committee, the Senate City, County, and Local Affairs Committee, the Joint Retirement and Social Security Committee, the Arkansas Legislative Council, the Joint Budget Committee, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, the Lottery Oversight Subcommittee, the Review Subcommittee and the Uniform Personnel Classification and Compensation Plan Subcommittee.
In 2021, Senator Hammer sponsored legislation that provided the legislature more input in policy-making during public health emergencies. He was the lead sponsor for Act 403 of 2021 to empower the legislature to terminate executive orders for a statewide public health emergency.
He co-sponsored a series of election bills, to prevent electioneering within 100 feet of voting sites and to empower the legislature to investigate voting irregularities.
In previous legislative sessions he co-sponsored bills affecting nurses, training of chiropractors, licensure of physical therapists, the prescribing of painkillers and controlled substances, emergency medical treatment, assisted living and palliative care, hospice care, the care and treatment of people with developmental disabilities and Medicaid reimbursements.
He was the Senate sponsor of Act 878 of 2019 and Act 430 of 2021 to provide for insurance coverage for treatment of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, also known as PANDAS, and pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, referred to as PANS. Senator Hammer is the chair of the PANS/PANDA Advisory Council.
Senator Hammer’s legislative priorities include streamlining the process for registering motor vehicles and renewing drivers’ licenses. His list of accomplishments include measures on municipal aid and modernization of workforce services.
In past sessions, Senator Hammer sponsored legislation to make it easier for nurses to get funds to pay for their doctoral degree, to make foster children eligible for state scholarships and to strengthen the Arkansas Whistle-Blower Act.
Senator Hammer has sponsored bills helping rural fire departments and the state Forestry Commission. He also sponsored bills to create a program for educating parents about shaken baby syndrome. His legislation amended provisions of Arkansas law on the visitation rights of grandparents.
In 2019 Senator Hammer was the Assistant Pro Tempore for the Second District
Senator Hammer was a member of the House of Representatives from 2011 through 2018.
Senator Hammer chaired the committee to organize Saline Memorial Hospice and served as both a volunteer and full-time chaplain from opening day to 2018. He and his wife, Karen, have two sons and a daughter. He is a member of Saline Missionary Baptist Church in Tull.
