On the last day of the fiscal session, the House and Senate today honored term-limited members who likely served in their last legislative session in the chamber.

“You are just wonderful and it’s been a great privilege to be with you,” said Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, one of 11 senators prevented by term limits from seeking re-election this year.

An emotional Sen. President Pro Tem Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow, said he really understood the old saying, “parting with sweet sorrow.”

“The sorrow is you’re leaving what you love and you’ve got to leave people you love, and that means you guys,” he said.

Johnson, who served in the House and was House Speaker before being elected to the Senate, also said that any “heated battles … only made us better.”

Along with Johnson and Glover, the other term-limited senators are Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs; Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith; Shane Broadway, D-Bryant; Steve Bryles, D-Blytheville; Steve Faris, D-Malvern; Barbara Horn, D-Foreman; Paul Miller, D-Melbourne; Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rick; and Hank Wilkins, D-Pine Bluff.

In the House, Rep. David “Bubba” Powers, D-Hope, gave a personal farewell to each term-limited member, sometimes jokingly.

“Frank, I just enjoy you,” Powers said to Rep. Frank Glidewell, R-Fort Smith. “I enjoy your wife more, but you’re kind of a package.”

Addressing Rep. Steve Harrelson, D-Texarkana, who maintained an active blog while serving as House Majority Leader and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Powers complimented his multi-tasking ability and said, “I wish I’d known you before Ritalin.”

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