State Sen. Jonathan Dismang, the Beebe Republican known for his mastery of the unwieldy Arkansas state budgeting process and his advocacy for utility companies, is leaving his lawmaker role to become vice president of external affairs for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc.
In his new role, Dismang will handle government relations for 17 electricity distributors that serve about a million customers in Arkansas and surrounding states.
His resignation is effective immediately; a special election must be called to find a replacement.
Arkansas state law bars legislators from lobbying for a full year after they leave the statehouse. But Dismang’s critics might say he’s been lobbying for utilities while in office for years! The long-serving lawmaker who was in the Arkansas House from 2009 to 2011 before being elected to the state Senate has floated laws unfriendly to renewable energy and supportive of already established electric providers using traditional generation methods.
A press release from the Arkansas Senate included this rundown of Dismang’s time in office:
Dismang began his legislative service in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2009 and was elected to the Arkansas Senate in 2010. During his time in the legislature, he served with three governors and represented three different Senate districts as district boundaries changed through redistricting.
His legislative work included major issues involving healthcare, tax policy, education, food insecurity, the state budget, economic development and energy. Dismang also served in Senate leadership, including two terms as the chamber’s leader as President Pro Tempore, and played a significant role in the state’s budget and fiscal policy.
“I’ve tried to focus on issues of consequence—work that could make somebody’s life a little better or leave Arkansas better positioned for the future,” Dismang said. “I came here hoping I could make an impact, and I hope that when all is said and done, I helped move the needle a little bit for the better.”
Dismang will be remembered also for his work on behalf of utility companies. In 2023 Dismang moved to protect utility companies from having solar energy eat too much into their profits. Dismang was also behind Act 278 of 2025, the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act, a very much in-the-news piece of legislation that’s allowing Entergy to charge ratepayers upfront for the construction of a solar array that will primarily service a Google data center in West Memphis.
Close watchers of state Capitol news were quick to decry Dismang’s shift from lawmaker to lobbyist. But the Arkansas lawmaker-to-lobbyist pipeline is well established. Andy Davis, John Burris and Ted Mullenix come to mind as gentlemen who turned their knowledge and access of Arkansas state government into lobbying careers.
Dismang is actually taking the place of Bill Gossage, a former lawmaker who spent some time working for former Gov. Asa Hutchinson before taking the governmental affairs, aka lobbying role, at Electrical Cooperatives of Arkansas.