Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr., of Texarkana represents District 4 of southwest Arkansas. District 4 includes Howard, Little River, Miller and Sevier Counties and part of Hempstead County. He was elected in 2012 and took the oath of office on the first day of the 2013 legislative session.
Senator Hickey is the chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. He is a member of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, the Joint Energy Committee, the Senate Rules, Resolutions and Memorials Committee, the Joint Budget Committee and the Arkansas Legislative Council.
Senator Hickey’s colleagues elected him as President Pro Tempore of the Senate for the 93rd General Assembly in 2021.
Senator Hickey’s legislative priorities include making sure that the lottery scholarship program is financially stable, and that its operations are transparent and that its officials are accountable. Senator Hickey is at the table when lawmakers consider potential changes in eligibility for college scholarships. In past sessions, Senator Hickey served as co-chair of the Arkansas Lottery Commission Joint Legislative Oversight Committee.
During the 2021 regular session Senator Hickey sponsored a 45-page bill (Act 63 of 2021) to make the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship more financially stable. His bill makes sure there are sufficient funds in the scholarship program to pay out what was promised to students. The act also strengthens legislative oversight of the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship program.
During the 2019 session, Senator Hickey, Jr. took the lead in the Senate of analyzing the impact of the longest bill ever filed in Arkansas history (Act 910 of 2019), a far-reaching transformation of state government’s structure that was more than 2,000 pages long. Senator Hickey read it line-by-line and his ideas resulted in improvements that were adopted.
Senator Hickey formerly served as Senate co-chair of the Joint Committee on Legislative Auditing, and Senate co-chair of the Joint Performance Review Committee, in which roles he led legislative efforts to uncover the causes of Henderson State University’s financial troubles.
Senator Hickey is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and a member of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC.)
From 2004-2010, Senator Hickey served on the Texarkana School Board. While on the school board he was named vice-president and president. His business interests include rental and real estate investments. He was a banker for 25 years and retired from Commercial National Bank as senior vice president.
A native of Texarkana, Senator Hickey received his Bachelor of Business Administration from East Texas State University. He is married to Denise and they have a son.
Senator Hickey and his wife are members of Trinity Baptist Church.
