Extension of 86th General Assembly

On Thursday's calendar is HCR1018, which extends the legislature's constitutional restriction of meeting for longer than 60 days. Today marks the 53rd day of the session. This is a routine extension that has taken place in every modern session in my memory.

Article 5, Section 17 of the Arkansas Constitution states that regular biennial sessions "shall not exceed sixty days in duration unless by a vote of two-thirds of each house." It made exceptions for the first general session under the Constitution or when impeachment proceedings are pending.

This particular bill calls for the session to be extended until April 27th at Noon, but that each House shall enter into recess as of the close of business on March 30th. The 4/27 sine die date allows for the legislature to reconvene to consider any potential vetoes, correcting errors, considering proposed constitutional amendments, etc. This, of course, can also be extended/amended if necessary, but as smooth as the session is moving, it's unlikely. We recessed in 2005 on April 13th with a sine die date of May 13th.