Speaker of the House Benny C. Petrus
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 Benny C. Petrus Speaker of the House |
Speaker of the House Benny C. Petrus has served in the House of Representatives since 2003, and he is in his third and, because of the state’s term limits law, final term. He is from Stuttgart and represents District 14, which is composed of most of Arkansas County and all of Prairie County.
During the 86th General Assembly, Speaker Petrus is a member of the House Education Committee and the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee. He also serves on the Joint Budget Committee. As speaker, he also serves on the Legislative Council and the House Management Committee and as an ex-officio member of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
Speaker Petrus is an advocate of alternative fuels. In the First Extraordinary Session of 2006, he sponsored House Bill 1002, which became Act 10, “An Act to Revise the Tax Refund for Suppliers of Biodiesel Fuel Used to Produce a Biodiesel Mixture for Sale.” Representative Petrus will continue to be a strong supporter of alternative fuels long after his days in the House of Representatives have concluded.
Representative Petrus was born November 23, 1956, in Stuttgart, Arkansas. He attended the University of Central Arkansas. Prior to attending college, he was FFA Treasurer and Student Body President of Stuttgart High School in 1975. This experience placed Representative Petrus in his first leadership role, a role that would inspire him to become a pillar of the community by serving as President for the Dewitt Industrial Association and the Dewitt Rotary Club.
Representative Petrus is a business owner and a farmer. He owns two car dealerships, and is a past chairman of the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association and was TIME Magazine's Arkansas Car Dealer of the Year in 2003.
Representative Petrus and his wife, Tammy, have two sons, Jonathan and Justin. They attend the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stuttgart.