Rep. Linck to be DHS link to Legislature; Gillespie to announce review results

Rep. Kelly Linck, R-Flippin, resigned his seat in the Legislature Friday, June 3, and will serve as the Department of Human Services chief of legislative and governmental affairs, DHS announced in a news release Monday. He starts his new job June 13.

Linck will oversee the Office of Legislative and Governmental Affairs and will work with legislators and others regarding constituents’ concerns about DHS. His office will also serve as the agency contact point with the Bureau of Legislative Research.

Linck’s hiring is part of a broader reorganization resulting from a 60-day review of the agency’s structure and organizational needs performed by new DHS Director Cindy Gillespie. The results of that review will be released Tuesday, June 7.

“Given our size and how often we at DHS sit before legislative committees, it was important to me that we have someone providing a link between us and legislators and other elected officials,” she said in a news release. “Kelley has extensive knowledge about DHS and the legislative process, and will help us keep legislators informed and engaged in the work we’re doing. We weren’t doing that as well as we should have.”

Linck, who was elected in 2010, served as chair of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. He did not file for re-election this year. Republican Jack Fortner is the only candidate for that seat.

J.R. Davis, spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, said the staff’s legal counsel was reviewing whether or not a special election would be required to fill the vacancy. “We’re going to have our chief counsel look at it and follow the letter of the law,” he said.