White County taking over

Two of the three branches of our state government are headed up by White Countians: Governor Beebe and Chief Justice Hannah. I'm running a bill through House Judiciary today that is opposed by at least one member of the White County delegation: Rep. Mark Pate.

HB235, in an effort to overhaul the District Court system, consolidates all city courts in the state with district courts. I offered an amendment to the bill today to extend the deadline for this consolidation from 2009 to 2012 based on an agreement that was struck over in the Senate. The Arkansas Municipal League, once opposed to the bill, is now taking a neutral position. One consideration given during the drafting of this bill was to make sure that the district court still holds court in each location where a city court was located. These efforts may ease Rep. Pate's concerns some, but I still anticipate that he may offer up one or more amendments to water the bill down considerably.

I didn't realize this, but apparently both Governor Beebe and Chief Justice Hannah got their start -- or at least both served -- as a judge in the city court system. White County has more city courts in the state than any other county. Chief Justice Hannah is a supporter of the Bill.