Senator Alan Clark of Lonsdale represents District 7, which include parts of Garland, Grant, Hot Spring and Saline Counties. He was elected to the Senate in 2012 and took the oath of office in 2013.
For the 95th General Assembly, Senator Clark is chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a member of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs, the Joint Energy Committee, the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth Committee, Joint Budget Committee and Arkansas Legislative Council.
Senator Clark was chair of the Water Provider Legislative Task Force, which assessed the fiscal and infrastructure needs of water systems across Arkansas. He also is an advocate of reform in the child welfare system, and has chaired the Child Maltreatment Investigations Oversight Committee, which was created by legislation he sponsored in 2017. He has sponsored and co-sponsored numerous child welfare bills.
During the 94th General Assembly, Senator Clark sponsored legislation concerning the defacing of serial numbers on vehicles, boats and farming equipment. The legislation strengthens the penalty if someone is found guilty. Senator Clark also sponsored legislation to amend the period of when paternity questions can be brought to court.
He also passed a provision that requires a custodian of public records to respond to a Freedom of Information request within a certain time period if records do not exist or if the records fall under an exemption. In the past a custodian did not have to respond to a FOI request if the records did not exist or the records fall under an exemption.
In 2021, Senator Clark sponsored legislation restoring a person’s driver’s license after failure to pay or failure to appear, changing the fees charged inmates for phone calls, creating the “Arkansas Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2021” and allowing interested individuals to attend hearings concerning juveniles.
Senator Clark has a passion for education and has sponsored pioneering legislation to promote literacy and to ensure that Arkansas children learn to read. He believes Arkansas educators are second to none, should be fairly compensated and that Arkansas should accept nothing less than being first in education.
He was the Senate co-sponsor of House bills that allow jurors to donate their per diem to charitable organizations. Other bills strengthened penalties for offenses committed against critical infrastructure, amended procedures in disputed child custody cases and reformed election laws.
He served on the Garland County Quorum Court from 1992 through 1996. Senator Clark is a past member of the Garland County Planning Commission.
Senator Clark is CEO of Clark’s Building and Decorating Center. In 2011, Senator Clark was named Associate of the Year by the Hot Springs Home Builders Association.
He has been active in several professional organizations, including service on the board of directors of the National Lumber Building Materials Dealers Association and past president of the Mid-America Lumberman’s Association. He is a past chairman of the POS Pace Committee (Ace Hardware) and a past president of the Central Arkansas Ace Team. Also, he served on the Hot Springs Home Builders Association Board of Directors.
He and his wife, Jana, have a son and a daughter. Senator Clark and his wife attend the Church of Philadelphia, where he teaches Sunday School.
