Cecile Bledsoe
RAssistant President Pro Tempore, Arkansas State Senate, District 3 (2015 - Present)
To be claimed
Cecile Bledsoe is a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate, representing District 3. She was first elected to the chamber in 2008. Bledsoe is running for re-election in the primary on May 22, 2018. The general election will take place on November 6, 2018.
Bledsoe served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2004.
Bledsoe was born on June 26, 1944. She earned her B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1968. Her professional experience includes working as a surgical clinic vice president/assistant manager.
Board of Directors, Agency on Aging
Member, American Legislative Exchange Council
Member, Arkansas Legislative Council
Former Member, Constitutional Amendments Committee, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Education Committee, Arkansas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Energy Committee, Arkansas State Senate
Member, Health and Human Services Task Force
Former Member, Joint Committee on Legislative Auditing, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Joint Subcommittee on Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Oversight, Arkansas State Senate
Former Co-Chair, Joint Subcommittee on Claims Review, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Joint Subcommittee on Medicaid, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Joint Subcommittee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) (Arkansas Legislative Council), Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Joint Subcommittee on Policy Making, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Joint Subcommittee on Review, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Joint Subcommittee on Special Language, Arkansas State Senate
Member, Legislative Joint Audit
Member, Rogers Civil Service Commission
Former Member, State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Subcommittee on Hospital and Medicaid Study, Arkansas State Senate
Former Vice Chair, Subcommittee on Lottery Oversight, Arkansas State Senate
Former Member, Subcommittee on Policy Making, Arkansas State Senate
Co-Chair, Arkansas Legislative Council
Co-Chair, Governor's Emergency Fund Joint Review Committee
Vice Chair, Insurance and Commerce Committee
Member, Joint Budget Committee
Member, Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs
Co-Chair, Joint Executive Subcommittee (Arkansas Legislative Council)
Member, Joint Subcommittee on Claims
Member, Joint Subcommittee on State Agencies
Member, Revenue and Tax Committee
Member, Rules, Resolutions and Memorials Committee
— Number of Grandchildren:
Priority Issues:
Pro-Life, 2nd Amendment Rights, Infrastructure, Illegal Immigration, Responsible and Limited Government, Private Property Rights, Education, Health Care
Spouse's Occupation:
General Surgery Practice.
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legally available.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer
5. Abortion should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Eliminate public funding for abortions and public funding of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Education (Higher)
- Maintain Funding Status
2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase Funding
3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease Funding
4. Health care
- Slightly Increase Funding
5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase Funding
6. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase Funding
7. Welfare
- Slightly Increase Funding
8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Increase
2. Capital gains taxes
- Eliminate
3. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase
4. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Decrease
6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease
7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease
8. Inheritance taxes
- Eliminate
9. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease
10. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease
11. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
12. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
13. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- Undecided
14. Should Arkansas institute a state lottery?
- No
15. Do you support eliminating the sales tax on food?
- Yes
16. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the current two-term eight-year limit for Arkansas governors?
- Undecided
2. Do you support two-term eight-year limit for Arkansas state senators?
- Undecided
3. Do you support the three-term six-year limit for Arkansas house representatives?
- Undecided
1. Individual
- No
2. PAC
- Undecided
3. Corporate
- Undecided
4. Political Parties
- No
5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- No
7. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- Undecided
8. Do you support voting on-line?
- Yes
9. Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying, and ensuring accuracy of votes?
- Yes
10. Do you support prohibiting media exit polling of voters until all polling locations in Arkansas are closed?
- Yes
11. Should Arkansas recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No
12. Should Arkansas restrict marriage to a union only between a man and a woman?
- Yes
13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- X
2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- X
3. Oppose the use of the death penalty in Arkansas.
- No Answer
4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
5. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X
6. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
7. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
8. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- X
9. Support the .08 blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- X
10. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- X
11. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- No Answer
12. Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
- X
13. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- No Answer
14. Increase state funding for additional security of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks.
- X
15. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- X
2. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- X
3. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- X
4. Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- X
5. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- X
6. Support displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- X
7. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X
8. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X
9. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X
10. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X
11. Support age-appropriate sexual education programs that teach about abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods.
- No Answer
12. Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
- X
13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X
5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children of low-income working families.
- X
6. Include sexual orientation in Arkansas anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. College and university admissions
- No
2. Public employment
- No
3. State contracting
- No
4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X
2. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- No Answer
3. Do you support energy deregulation?
- Undecided
4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Undecided
5. Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law?
- No
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- No Answer
2. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
3. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
4. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- X
6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- No Answer
7. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- No Answer
8. Require a license for gun possession.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
- No Answer
2. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer
3. Reduce the amount the state pays to pharmacies for filling Medicaid prescriptions.
- No Answer
4. Reduce the number of in-home personal care hours that elderly Medicaid patients recieve, unless additional care is necessary.
- No Answer
5. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer
6. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- X
7. Support patients' right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied by their HMO.
- X
8. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- X
9. Legalize physician-assisted suicide in Arkansas.
- No Answer
10. Increase state funding for training health workers to recognize and respond to the release of biological agents.
- No Answer
11. Use Arkansas's portion of the national tobacco settlement only for anti-smoking and health programs.
- No Answer
12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support current time limits on welfare benefits.
- X
2. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- No Answer
3. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X
4. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X
5. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X
6. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
7. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- X
8. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
In a total of seventy-five (75) words or less, please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- No Answer
Type: resolution Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper