Jon Eubanks

Jon Scott Eubanks (born October 1, 1951)^[1] is a farmer and a Certified Public Accountant in Paris in Logan County in western Arkansas, who is a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. His District 74, which he has represented since 2013, includes parts of Logan, Franklin, Scott, and Sebastian counties. He represented House District 84 from 2011 to 2013, prior to decennial redistricting. Since 2015, Eubanks has been the House Speaker Pro Tempore.

Background

Eubanks graduated from high school in the capital city of Annapolis, Maryland. He attended Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Virginia, and in 1990 received a degree in accounting from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville in Pope County. He is a past president of his local Farm Bureau and of the Paris division of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He is a former president of the Paris Rotary International. He and his wife, Janet, have four children, Chris, Nick, Stacy, and Andrew. The couple attends The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[2]

He is a former volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America.^[3]

Political life

Prior to his legislative service, Eubanks served on the Paris School Board.^[3]

In 2010, he was elected in House District 84 by defeating the Democrat David L. Rush, 3,990 (56.4 percent) to 3,085 (43.6 percent). The seat was vacated by the term-limited Democrat John Wells.^[4] Switched to House District 74, Eubanks in 2012 defeated another Democrat, Daniel Wall, 7,257 (72.2 percent) to 2,788 (27.8 percent). The incumbent Democrat in the district, Butch Wilkins, was transferred to District 59 via redistricting.^[5]

Eubanks is a member of the Arkansas Legislative Council and the House committees on (1) Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, (2) Education, (3) Energy, and (4) Performance Review.^[3] He is a member of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

In 2013 Eubanks joined the required majority to override the vetoes of Democratic Governor Mike Beebe to enact legislation to require photo identification for casting a ballot in Arkansas and to ban abortion after twenty weeks of gestation. He had co-sponsored both measures. Eubanks supported related pro-life 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 an unborn child a felony in certain cases. He co-sponsored a spending cap in the state budget, but the measure failed to gain approval by two votes in the House. Eubanks co-sponsored legislation to empower officials of higher education and religious institutions to engage in concealed carry of firearms for public safety. He voted to prohibit the governor from regulating firearms in an emergency. Eubanks supported legislation 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 unpasteurized whole milk directly from the farm to consumers. He did not vote on a failed proposal to prohibit the closure of public schools based on declining enrollments over a two-year period.^[6]

In 2011, Eubanks supported a dress code for public schools. He backed curriculum standards for biblical instruction in public schools. He voted for the Capital Gains Reduction Act and for a tax reduction on manufacturers' utilities. He voted to permit driver's license tests only in the English language, but the measure failed in the House. He voted against cell phone use in school zones. He voted against the 2011 congressional redistricting bill.^[6]

References