Greg Leding (born April 10, 1978) is a member of the
Arkansas Senate
The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
representing District 4 since January 14, 2019. Leding previously served in the
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...
, representing the 86th district in
Fayetteville, the state's third-largest city, which includes
Fayetteville High School, the
West Dickson Street Commercial Historic District, the
Fayetteville Historic Square, the
Washington-Willow Historic District, and the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
, the state's largest university. Fayetteville is located in
Washington County.
A lifelong resident of Arkansas, Leding graduated from
Springdale High School
Springdale High School is a public high school in Springdale, Arkansas, United States for students in grades ten through twelve. Springdale High School is one of three high schools administered by the Springdale School District, the others being H ...
and holds a bachelor's degree from the
Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
First elected to the
Arkansas General Assembly
The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 ...
in 2010, Leding, a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, served as Minority Leader during his second term (2012-2014).
Arkansas General Assembly
The 91st General Assembly convened on Monday, January 9, 2017. Leding filed a number of bills, including:
* HB1014 (now Act 666), the Teacher's Classroom Investment Deduction, to allow Arkansas teachers to claim up to a $250 deduction on their state taxes for out-of-pocket expenses for their classrooms
* HB1009, part of a package of ethics bills sponsored by Arkansas Democrats. The bill would prevent a member of the General Assembly from forming more than one approved political action committee (PAC)
* HB1395, a bill to provide a tax credit to small businesses that hire veterans
* HB1509 (now Act 1013), the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act, a measure to protect student athletes
* HB1592 (now Act 543), a bill to ensure insurance coverage parity for oral chemotherapeutics
* HB1624, the Right to Wages Earned Act, a bill to protect from workers from wage theft
* HB1625, the Right to Know Your Pay Act, a bill to protect both workers and employers during wage theft disputes
* HB1758 (now Act 962), a bill to help protect firefighters from cancer
* HB1797, a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993
* HB1850, the Strong Families Act, a bill to provide a tax credit to employers that voluntarily offer a paid family leave policy
* HB2000 (now Act 1028), a bill to protect job applicants from erroneous information found during background checks
* HB2022 (now Act 708), a bill regarding insurance coverage for breast ultrasounds and digital tomosynthesis
* HB2088, a bill to provide enhanced penalties for hate crimes
* HB2124, a bill to eliminate the asset test for long-term care Medicaid within the Arkansas Medicaid program for veterans
* HCR1003, a House Concurrent Resolution to designate ''
Arkansaurus fridayi'' as the official state dinosaur of Arkansas
Committee assignments
Co-Chair
* Higher Education Subcommittee of Arkansas Legislative Council
Member
* Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC)
* House Committee on Revenue and Taxation
* House Income Taxes - Personal and Corporate Subcommittee
* House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative, and Military Affairs
* House Aging Subcommittee
Legislative work
During his first term, Leding passed The Jason Flatt Act, a measure to reduce youth suicide in Arkansas. In his second term, during which he served as the House Minority Leader, Leding worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass a bipartisan package of bills to prevent
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
in Arkansas. Other bipartisan legislative achievements in 2013 include The Landowner Notification Act, a measure to protect landowners living in the Fayetteville Shale, co-sponsored by
Senator Jason Rapert (R-Conway), as well as bipartisan legislation to better protect the
Buffalo National River
The Buffalo River, located in Northern Arkansas, was the first List of areas in the United States National Park System#National rivers and national wild and scenic rivers, National River to be designated in the United States. The Buffalo River i ...
, co-sponsored by
Representative Kelley Linck (R-Flippin). In 2015, bills passed by Leding included the Student Online Personal Information and Protection Act and a bipartisan bill to help the families of firefighters who die of job-related cancers. Other legislative efforts have included a 2015 bipartisan measure to end juvenile life without parole, co-sponsored by
Senator Missy Irvin (R-Mountain View); efforts in 2015 to address privacy issues, establish the Arkansas New Jobs Training Program, and add the words "sexual orientation, gender identity" to the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993; efforts in 2013, 2015, 2017 to establish
paid family leave
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity le ...
and to address Arkansas's landlord-tenant laws (including its lack of any warranty of habitability and its criminal eviction statutes); and efforts in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 to address
wage theft
Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them failing to pay overtime; violating minimum wage, minimum-wage laws; the miscl ...
. Leding is also working with Arkansas veterans to secure
hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...
as means of treatment for veterans suffering from
traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...
.
In August 2015, Leding launched two interim studies, one concerned with
student debt
Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, formerly withdrawn, or graduated student to a lending institution, or to a financial institution.
The amount that is loaned, often referred to as a ''student loan'' or the debts may be ...
in Arkansas and one examining
sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
on the state's college and university campuses. Final reports for each are due in July 2017.
Caucuses
Leding is a member of the Arkansas Legislative Hunger Caucus, the Arkansas Veterans Caucus, the Arkansas Education Caucus, the Arkansas Sportsmen's Caucus, and the Arkansas Aerospace Caucus.
National Conference of State Legislatures
From August 2012 until August 2014, Leding served as a vice chair of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee of the
National Conference of State Legislatures
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.
Background ...
(NCSL). He was elected to the NCSL Executive Committee in August 2014. In May 2015, he was named to the NCSL Legislative Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs. In May 2016, he was named to the NCSL Task Force on International Relations. In January 2017, Leding was named to the NCSL Foundation Board.
National Institute for Civil Discourse
In 2015, Leding became involved with the National Institute for Civil Discourse, a nonpartisan center for advocacy, research, and policy, and its Next Generation program for state legislators.
Elections
State House
Leding first ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2010, defeating J. W. "Bill" Ramsey in the Democratic Primary by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. He won re-election in 2012, defeating Republican Brian Scott by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. Leding ran unopposed in 2014 and 2016.
State Senate
![Seated in the Arkansas Senate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Seated_in_the_Arkansas_Senate.jpg)
On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, Leding announced his candidacy for Arkansas Senate District 4. The incumbent, Senator Uvalde Lindsey (D-Fayetteville), had previously announced his retirement. The election was Tuesday, November 6, 2018, and Leding was the winner.
Awards and recognition
Among the awards Leding has received during his time in office are the Citizens First Congress "Champion Legislator" award (2011), the Arkansas Support Network "Community Distinction Award" (2011), the Arkansas Kids Count Coalition "Rising Star" award (2011), the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center "Prophetic Leader" award (2013), the National Association of Social Workers (Arkansas Chapter) "Elected Public Official of the Year" award (2013), the Northwest Arkansas Tobacco-Free Coalition "Smoke-Free Advocate of the Year" award (2013), the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association "Champion of Advanced Energy" award (2013), the Public Policy Panel "Champion Legislator" award (2013), the Arkansas Municipal League "Distinguished Legislator" award (2013), the AARP "Distinguished Legislator" award (2013), the first Washington County Democrats "John Logan Burrow Democratic Leadership" award (2014), the Kids Count "Legislative Leadership Award for Juvenile Justice" (2015), the Kids Count "Legislative Leadership Award for Family Economic Security" (2015), the Arkansas State Firefighters Association "Legislative Chair Award" (2015), the Arkansas State Employees Association "Outstanding Legislator" award (2015), the Community Clinic of Northwest Arkansas "Community Health Center Champion" award (2015), the Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) "Presidential Award" (2016), and the Graduate Student Congress of the University of Arkansas "Civic Ally of the Year" award (2016).
In January 2013, Talk Business Arkansas listed Leding among the "Top 10 Legislators to Watch". In May 2013, Talk Business Arkansas listed Leding among the "Talk Business Arkansas' Top 10 State Legislators".
In January 2017, Leding was again named to Talk Business Arkansas' list of legislators to watch for the 2017 regular session.
Boards
Leding joined the Hope Cancer Resources Foundation Board of Directors in February 2015 and the Fayetteville Adult Education Center Advisory Board in June 2016.
[https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregleding?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile ]
Personal life
The oldest of three children, Leding and his wife, Emily Ironside, have one daughter. They live in Fayetteville.
See also
List of members for the 91st General Assembly of the Arkansas House of Representatives
References
External links
*
Representative Greg Leding: District 86at The Arkansas State Legislature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leding, Greg
Living people
1978 births
Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
People from Springdale, Arkansas
University of Arkansas alumni
21st-century American politicians