John Burris

Who is John Burris?

John Burris is a Republican departing member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. First elected in 2008, Burris represented District 85, which included Harrison and part of Boone County. In the 2012 election, he was switched to District 98 in Benton County, in which Republican incumbent Donna Hutchinson was term-limited.

In 2010, Burris was elected by members of the House Republican Caucus to serve as Minority Leader. At the age of twenty-four in 2010, Burris was the youngest serving member of the Arkansas General Assembly and the youngest Minority Leader in the history of the state. However, he is not the youngest person ever elected to the Arkansas House.

Burris's work in the legislature earned him a spot in the Arkansas Business Journal's 2009 list of the top "20 in their 20's". His legislative philosophy is: "As a legislator, you can't change the world, but you can help people one at a time."

Burris was the leading spokesman for the state's "private option" Medicaid expansion proposal, which he had considered essential to keep open many rural hospitals in Arkansas. Under the plan, federal Medicaid funds are earmarked to purchase health insurance for the indigent.