Friday the 13th will likely be enshrined in history as an unlucky day for Rep. Mickey Gates of Hot Springs, especially if the Arkansas legislature successfully removes him from public office.

On Friday, Arkansas House Speaker Matthew Shepherd filed a  resolution to take away Gates’ membership in the 100-seat House of Representatives nearly three months after the Republican lawmaker was arrested for failing to pay income taxes for a period of 14 years.

In filing House Resolution 1079, Shepherd, also a Republican, makes the case in the three-page draft that the Arkansas Constitution under Article 5, Section 12, provides that each chamber of the General Assembly has the power to expel or discipline a member with the concurrence of a two-thirds vote by the body.      MORE