Senator Terry Rice represents Senate District 5, which comprises Montgomery, Perry, Polk and Scott Counties and parts of Conway, Logan, Pike, Pope, Sebastian and Yell Counties.
He was elected to the Senate in 2014, after serving in the House of Representatives for six years.
Senator Rice is the Senate co-chair of the Joint Performance Review Committee. He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee, the Senate Efficiency Committee, the Joint Budget Committee and the Legislature Council.
He is a past Senate co-chair of the Legislative Council.
Senator Rice’s legislative priorities include juvenile justice and foster care. He sponsored the law that prohibits flying unmanned aircraft over critical infrastructure. Also, he has sponsored legislation to prohibit public funding of human cloning research.
In 2025 Senator Rice sponsored legislation that streamlines real estate law so that quiet title actions are finalized more quickly. He was also the Senate sponsor for legislation that protects landowners from liability when they host shooting sports events.
He has co-sponsored legislation tougher anti-abortion laws, and was a co-sponsor of the act known as Paul’s Law, which makes texting illegal while driving.
Senator Rice is one of the authors of the law that authorized the judicial system to create mental health specialty courts.
Senator Rice is the longtime co-owner of Rice Furniture in Waldron and a retired cattle farmer. He is president of two Rice Furniture & Appliance Stores. He is a past president of the Arkansas Home Furnishings Association and has served on the southeast region board of Associated Volume Buyers/Brand Source National Dealer Group.
He has received regional and state recognition for his professional accomplishments including Dealer of the Year from various industry associates.
Senator Rice was born in Fort Smith. He and his wife JoAnn have been married for more than 50 years, and have two sons and four grandchildren. They are members of Bates Baptist Church.
Senator Rice’s father and grandfather also served in the Arkansas Legislature.
