Matthew J. Shepherd
Republican • 6th District 93rd General Assembly- Party
- Republican
- Past Service
- House 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, Speaker of the House 2018, 2020, Speaker-designate 2022
- Seniority
- 5
- Religion
- Southern Baptist
- Occupation
- Attorney
Matthew J. Shepherd is the Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives and the Arkansas State Representative for District 6 serving his sixth term in the House. Shepherd lives and practices law in El Dorado at the law firm of Shepherd & Shepherd, P.A. He and his wife, Alie, have three children.
He was born and raised in El Dorado and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1994. Shepherd went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in History and Political Science from Ouachita Baptist University in 1998 and received his J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2001. He is a member of the Union County, Arkansas, Louisiana, and American Bar Associations, and is licensed to practice in the state courts of Arkansas and Louisiana; the United States District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Arkansas, and the Western District of Louisiana; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Shepherd is the former two-term Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Joint Budget Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, the House Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee, and the House Management Committee. Additionally, he serves as Chairman of the Arkansas Code Revision Commission. He was appointed by the Arkansas Supreme Court to its’ Special Task Force on Practice and Procedure in Civil Cases and was appointed to the Arkansas Bar Association Task Force on Maintaining a Fair and Impartial Judiciary. Shepherd has received a number of awards and recognitions for his legislative service.
Shepherd is a member of First Baptist Church of El Dorado, where he is a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher. He is currently a board member of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, and El Dorado Fifty for the Future, and serves as President of the El Dorado Boys & Girls Club Alumni Association and the Murphy USA Classic football game. He formerly served in the Arkansas Bar Association’s House of Delegates, and on the boards of Union County Habitat for Humanity, Hope Landing, the Union County Community Foundation, the United Way of Union County, and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, and is a former member of the El Dorado Civil Service Commission, the El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Union County Election Commission.
Elected Terms
2021 (Jan 11th, 2021 — Jan 1st, 2023) 2019 (Jan 1st, 2019 — Jan 10th, 2021) 2017 (Jan 1st, 2017 — Dec 31st, 2018) 2015 (Jan 1st, 2015 — Dec 31st, 2016) 2013 (Jan 1st, 2013 — Dec 31st, 2014) 2011 (Jan 1st, 2011 — Dec 31st, 2012)Leadership Roles
SpeakerNewsroom
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Close to 500 bills have been signed into law so far during the 2021 Regular Session.There are still...
Close to 500 bills have been signed into law so far this session.As we work to address the remainder...
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The General Assembly will be in recess for the remainder of this week. Before adjourning for the wee...
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More than 370 bills have been signed into law so far during the 2021 Regular Session.The House passe...
House members began the 10th week of the 2021 Regular Session on Monday.The House passed more than 3...
More than 320 bills have been signed into law during the 2021 Regular Session. There are several hun...
The House wrapped up the 9th week of the 2021 Regular Session.Members passed the following bills Thu...
Thursday will mark the 60th day of the 2021 Regular Session.The House passed 18 bills on Wednesday,...
More than 300 bills have been signed into law so far during the 2021 Regular Session.The House passe...
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The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee began hearing proposed constitutional am...
As we wind down the 8th week of the 2021 Regular Session, more than 270 bills have been signed into...
The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee will begin reviewing proposed constituti...
On Wednesday, there were close to 30 additional bills filed and more than 20 bills advancing from co...
More than 1,000 bills have been filed since the session began and more than 200 have been signed int...
The House entered the 8th week of the Regular Session on Monday.Members passed the following bills o...
In the 7th week of the 2021 Regular Session, the House passed bills addressing taxes, medical care,...
The House has now wrapped up the 7th week of the 2021 Regular Session.The House passed the following...
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There are 25 proposed constitutional amendments filed in the House and 18 in the Senate. The deadlin...
Today is the deadline for members to file proposed Constitutional Amendments. More than 20 proposed...
Tomorrow is the last day members can file proposed Constitutional Amendments. The General Assembly c...
More than 70 bills have now been signed into law as we begin the 5th week of the 2021 Regular Sessio...
The 93rd General Assembly now prepares to enter the 5th week of the 2021 Regular Session. The House...
The 93rd General Assembly now prepares to enter the 5th week of the 2021 Regular Session. The House...
The House has adjourned from the 4th week of the Regular Session.The following bills were passed by...
On Wednesday, the House passed several pieces of legislation, including the following:·  ...
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The Joint Budget Committee advanced HB1876, the bill to amend the Revenue Stabilization Law. The bil...
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Little Rock, Arkansas (February 27, 2019) –Arkansas House Speaker Matthew Shepherd has named Tommy M...
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SPEAKER SHEPHERD APPOINTS NATHAN EVERS TO INDEPENDENT CITIZENS COMMISSION Little Rock, Ar...
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Contact Representative Shepherd
Matthew J. Shepherd
matthew.shepherd@arkansashouse.org
200 N. Jefferson Ave., #600
El Dorado, AR 71730-5856
870-862-2087
Fax: 870-862-2747
