Samuel Lane Jean (born November 10, 1958) is a Republican member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

for District 2, which includes parts of Lafayette,

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

, and Columbia counties. He has held this seat since January 2013. Jean served as mayor of

Magnolia, Arkansas Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is the county seat of Columbia County. Magnolia is home to the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship ...

between 1995 and 2010.

Early life and education

Jean was born in

on November 10, 1958. He has a brother, Hal. Jean graduated from Magnolia High School and attended

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

. In 1984, he received a BA in History from

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas, United States. The university had an enrollment of 5,100 undergraduate and graduate students as of fall 2023. History Southern Arkansas University was established ...

in Magnolia. Jean's mother Katheryn (1929-2007), a native of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, was president of the Reeves Land and Timber Company in Magnolia and active in Columbia County's Republican Party.

Career

Jean served as mayor of Magnolia between 1995 and 2010. Like his mother, he was also a Columbia County justice of the peace. Jean won his District 4 House seat in the 2010 Arkansas elections, succeeding the term-limited Democrat, Bruce Maloch, who moved on to the Arkansas State Senate, and defeating the Democratic nominee, Raymond Robertson, with 52.5% of the vote. In 2012, he was elected by colleagues as the House Republic Whip under then Majority Leader

Bruce Westerman Bruce Eugene Westerman (born November 18, 1967) is an American forester and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district. Previously, he served as member and the majority leader of the Arkansas House ...

and subsequent

Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives The Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives is the speaker (presiding officer) of the Arkansas House of Representatives, the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly. They serve as the leader and head of the Arkansas House, and can ...

Davy Carter, who was elected as the presiding officer of the House in 2013. In January 2013, he became the District 2 representative. As of March 2023, Jean is the House Chair for the Joint Budget Committee and is a member of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee and the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. He was elected to the 99th district in November 2022, and assumed office in 2023. Jean is opposed to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and voted to ban the practice after 20 weeks of gestation. He voted to allow university staff to carry concealed weapons and to require picture identification for voting. In February 2015, he introduced legislation to reduce

unemployment compensation Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (hu ...

benefits. The measure was promptly signed into law by the newly-elected

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Asa Hutchinson William Asa Hutchinson II (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

Personal life

Jean and his wife Judith have two children and one grandchild. In addition to politics, he works in the cattle, timber, and real estate businesses. He is a member of the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

in Emerson and is affiliated with

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

and the Arkansas Municipal League. He is a former Southern Arkansas University trustee and former commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean, Lane 1958 births Living people Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly American members of the Churches of Christ People from Magnolia, Arkansas Mayors of places in Arkansas County justices of the peace in Arkansas Magnolia High School (Arkansas) alumni Abilene Christian University alumni Southern Arkansas University alumni American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Arkansas 20th-century Arkansas politicians