Arkansas House speaker seeks to expel Gates over tax plea

The speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives will seek to expel a member who pleaded no contest in July to failing to pay state income taxes.

In a letter Friday to members of the House, Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, said he had asked Rep. Mickey Gates, R-Hot Springs, to resign after the no-contest plea, but that Gates refused.

"Thus, I intend to file a resolution for the immediate removal of Representative Gates from the House," Shepherd wrote, citing a law passed by the General Assembly earlier this year that precludes a person who pleads no contest to a "public trust crime" from holding public office.

"I am saddened that it has come to the filing of a resolution, but we must abide by the laws that we pass and uphold the trust of the people of Arkansas."

Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/sep/07/house-speaker-seeks-to-expel-gates-over-1/?news-politics