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Jack Fortner
Jack Fortner
Jack Fortner
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Jack Fortner is an American politician who served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2017 to 2025.

Key Information

Electoral history

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Fortner was first elected to the house in 2016 to the 99th district. He was reelected in 2018 and 2020. He was elected on November 8, 2022, in the 2022 Arkansas House of Representatives election to the 4th district. He assumed office on January 9, 2023.[1] He announced he would not seek a fifth term in July 2023.[2]

Fortner introduced H.B. 1547 extending the requirements to vehicles 45 yrs and older rather than 25 yrs in the Arkansas state legislature in 2017, even as other states were lowering their respective requirements. In his testimony to the Arkansas legislature, he stated, "I don’t think anything good happened in the auto field after '72." He withdrew it three days later, citing opposition from Arkansas car collectors. "Regardless of my personal feelings, I must go with the will of the people," he said at the time.

Not to be deterred Fortner introduced H.B. 1496, a bill with only minor revisions from H.B. 1547.a mere 2 yrs later in 2019. The new bill still pushed back the antique car registration cutoff to 45 years. While H.B. 1496 initially failed in the state senate the chamber later expunged that vote and passed the bill, paving the way for it to be signed into law -- as Act 368.

In August of 2025 Fortner was appointed to the Arkansas State Library Board by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.[3]

Biography

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Fortner served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He is a Baptist.[4] He attended the University of Nevada.

References

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Jack Fortner

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Jack Fortner is an American politician known for serving as a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2016 to 2025. A U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War era, he built a career as a business owner and cattleman before entering public office. Fortner earned a degree from the University of Nevada and previously served as a justice of the peace in Marion County. He represented District 99 from 2016 to 2023 and District 4 from 2023 until his departure from office on January 13, 2025, after announcing he would not seek re-election. Throughout his tenure, Fortner focused on agriculture, forestry, economic development, and taxation policy, serving as chair of the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee in 2023–2024 and as vice chair of the Revenue and Taxation Committee in prior sessions. He sponsored or co-sponsored key legislation that reduced individual and corporate income tax rates, expanded homestead property tax credits, prohibited government-mandated COVID-19 vaccinations, and addressed election integrity measures. His work aligned with affiliations including the American Legion and Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association. Fortner's legislative record emphasized fiscal conservatism and rural economic interests in northwest Arkansas, contributing to multiple tax relief acts and agricultural initiatives during his time in the General Assembly. He retired as a businessman following his service in the state legislature.

Early life and education

Limited public information is available about Jack Fortner's early life. He attended the University of Nevada–Reno, studying in the fields of education and business.

Early career

Jack Fortner served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War era. He earned a degree from the University of Nevada. His professional career included owning a business and working as a cattleman. Prior to his service in the Arkansas House of Representatives, Fortner served as a justice of the peace in Marion County, as well as on the Airport Board and Planning Board. No academic career in teaching, composition, or music is documented for Jack Fortner, the Arkansas politician and businessman. The preceding content was included in error and pertained to a different individual of the same name (a music professor who died in 2020). Jack Fortner earned a degree from the University of Nevada prior to his public service. No composing career is documented for Jack Fortner, the Arkansas politician and businessman. This section previously contained content about a different individual of the same name, a composer and music professor who died in 2020. This section incorrectly describes the career of a different individual, Dr. Jack Fortner (1935-2020), a composer, conductor, and founder of the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble in Fresno, California. The subject of this article, Arkansas politician Jack Fortner, has no known connection to music, Fresno, or this ensemble.

Later years and international work

Move to Brazil and marriage

Jack Fortner met Brazilian artist Christina Motta in 1999 while participating in a new-music festival in Santos, Brazil, where he had been invited by composer Gilberto Mendes. The couple married in 2008 and initially divided their time between the United States and Brazil, spending approximately six months in each country annually. In 2014, they relocated permanently to Santos to care for Motta’s mother, who was seriously ill. Fortner continued returning to Fresno each year to conduct the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble until 2019. He is survived by his wife Christina Motta, his daughter Lydia Fortner, and his grandson Solon Walker.

Conducting and composing in Latin America

After retiring from California State University, Fresno in 2003, Jack Fortner remained highly active as a conductor and composer in Latin America. In 2004, he was appointed conductor of Ensemble Música Nova in São Paulo, Brazil, a position he held while continuing his artistic direction of the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble in Fresno. He also served as guest conductor for various orchestras and ensembles in the region, including the Camará Ensemble and Orquestra Municipal de Santos in Brazil, and presented master classes throughout Latin America. Fortner composed more than twenty pieces during his time in Brazil. A notable example is his orchestral work "Traces," which received its premiere in 2013 by the Orquestra Sinfônica de Campinas, with Fortner conducting the performance himself. He continued to return to Fresno each year to conduct Orpheus until 2019. Before his death, he completed a final CD of his music, which was released in Brazil.

Personal life and death

Jack Fortner is a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War era. He earned a degree from the University of Nevada and previously served as a justice of the peace in Marion County. He built a career as a business owner and cattleman before entering public office. Fortner married Pamela Fortner after meeting her in 1968; they were married for 51 years until her death in 2021. No further details on family or personal life are widely documented in reliable sources. Fortner is alive as of his departure from the Arkansas House of Representatives on January 13, 2025. No content is appropriate for this section, as the provided text describes the legacy of a different individual (Dr. Jack Fortner, composer and Fresno State professor, 1935–2020) and contains critical factual errors including entity confusion, date conflicts, and source mismatches relative to the article subject (Jack Fortner, Arkansas politician active until 2025).
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