Week 6 Legislative Summary

The legislative session is now six weeks old, and legislators are anxious to tackle the issue that we're constitutionally bound to fund first: education. There have now been 933 bills filed to date: 590 in the House and 343 in the Senate. We are far below the number of bills filed at this stage compared to last session, which can be considered a good thing. However, much of this is due to the General Improvement Fund situation being in limbo with the 2006 Arkansas Supreme Court Ruling in Wilson v. Weiss, where the Court found that many appropriations from the 85th General Assembly were "local and special" legislation, which is violative of Amendment 14 of the Arkansas Constitution.

We are coming up on the deadline to file appropriation bills (February 26), so I expect to see a sharp increase in filings, many dealing with the main funding issues we tackle: public schools, prisons and health and human services. These three government services make up approximately 91% of Arkansas's general revenue. In today's meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, Governor Beebe discussed several individual funding issues, including categorical funding for education and potential recommendations for foundation funding for students on a per pupil basis.

The biggest news of the week occurred on Thursday, when Governor Beebe signed the reduction of the state sales tax on groceries from 6 percent to 3 percent into law in a crowded ceremony. This tax cut is the centerpiece of the largest tax cut in Arkansas history. The reduced grocery tax rate takes effect July 1, 2007, which coincides with the start of the state’s new fiscal year.

The other two bills making up the 2007 tax cut package are working their way through the legislature. The Senate now has House Bill 1443, which repeals state income tax for the poorest of Arkansans under the federal poverty line. We approved that bill in the House today on a 100-0 vote. We have also approved HB 1420, which reduces the state sales tax on energy consumption by manufacturers by 2 percent over the next two fiscal years. That bill also is in the Senate. The three bills comprise $319 million in tax cuts. A fourth bill (HB 1030) provides homeowners with an additional $50 credit on their homestead for their property taxes, and that bill is now on the Governor's desk after we concurred in a Senate amendment Friday.

We are now seeing voting calendars made up a multiple pages. Some of the bills approved this week in the House include the following:

1. HB 1379 by Speaker Benny Petrus (D-Stuttgart) to create the Arkansas Alternative Fuels Development Program and Alternative Fuels Fund. The bill establishes a grant program for producers and distributors of bio-fuel, ethanol and other alternative energy sources made from farm products and wood byproducts. The funding mechanism will be in a separate bill, but it is likely to involve a $20-million investment by the state. According to federal statistics, Arkansas is among the top three states in energy consumed per registered vehicle but is in the top seven states with substances that could be turned into production of bio-fuels. The bill passed by a vote of 98-2. Here is the House vote:



2. HB 1426 by Rep. Shirley Walters (R-Greenwood), which could serve as the enabling legislation for a constitutional amendment approved by voters last November to legalize charitable bingo. The enabling legislation makes it clear that professional bingo "middle men" can’t simply move into the state and set up bingo halls. It’s limited to charities that have been in business for at least five years, and bingo games must be staffed by volunteers. I voted against the bill on 2 main issues: it cuts out several potential charities from benefitting because it restricts bingo to charities who have facilities, such as the Elk's Lodge. Many charities that do not have room fonr bingo (ie, CASA) are simply out of luck. Second, an amendment was attached to the bill to increase the prize money for bingo players, which is contrary to the intent of the voters, in my opinion, who are wanting as much money as possible to go to charities. The bill narrowly passed by a vote of 53-35. Here is the House vote:



3. SB 27, presented by me in the House, which prohibits personnel at the state’s colleges and universities from accepting gifts/incentives from textbook publishers whose book is required by the college or university or any of its departments. A companion bill, SB 30, also presented by me, requires the state’s colleges and universities to develop policies on royalties collected by faculty from the sale of textbooks they write and require of their students.

4. HB 1184 by Rep. Sandra Prater (D-Jacksonville), which increases the income-tax exemption for officers of the armed forces from $6,000 to $10,000. The exemption for enlisted personnel is already at $10,000, having been set at that amount two years ago by the legislature in my rookie session.

5. HB 1408, by Rep. Gregg Reep of Warren, which set a fine of up to $400 for the offense of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. Such failure to yield is already a traffic offense, but current law carries no penalty.

6. SB 189, presented in the House by Rep. Johnnie Roebuck (D-Arkadelphia), which prohibits the sale of prescription drugs through the Internet unless the patient/customer has actually consulted a physician in person. The bill goes to the governor and, because of an emergency clause, will take effect immediately upon his signature. We heard testimony of abuse of the practice of Internet pharmaceutical sales, which prompted this filing.

7. In the closest vote of the session thus far, we approved my HB1299 (and HB1298, a companion bill), which enables circuit clerks and recorders in the state to begin accepting and displaying real estate records electronically. This is a "stepping stone" bill for me, as I am hopeful that all public records can eventually be recorded and displayed online. We are, of course, able to access legislation online, and the same service should be extended to our county courthouse records. This was a controversial vote due to the $7 increase in recording fees necessary for the implementation of this technology. HB 1299 passed by a vote of 52-43, and a true roll call vote was taken. All 52 'yea' votes remained in their seats furing the roll call, which is required under House rules for the vote to count. Here is the roll call vote:



I'll continue to keep you posted as we continue through the session.