$9 million remaining in alternative fuels fund draws a crowd

When the governor announced yesterday that $9 million remaining in an unspent fund designated for an alternative fuels program should be used for the dairy stabilization fund, folks started coming out of the woodwork to look for crumbs. That alternative fuels fund was transferred in the last session from the Real Estate Transfer Tax (NCRC), which traditionally funds projects dealing with natural and cultural resources.

Open carry bill fails in House Judiciary -- UPDATE IV

Rep. Mark Martin's bill to allow for the open carry of firearms and other weapons failed on a voice vote moments ago in House Judiciary. Prior to the vote, the bill was amended to provide for a minimum age of 21.

We're now taking up Rep. Dismang's bill to require the reimbursement of attorney's fees in eminent domain cases if the award ordered by the court is 10% more than the amount offered by the state agency. The NFIB and LR attorney Gene Cauley are here in favor of the bill. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is now speaking against the bill. Update: The bill failed by a vote a 9 for, 9 against, and two members were running bills in other committees.

Update II: Rep. Nathan George re-presented his bill to require an additional $20 fee on bail bonds to fund victim assistance offices. After some discussion, he pulled the bill from consideration. It failed last week on a 10-10 vote, and it looks as though an amendment may now be in the works. We're getting to the point to where House bills that stand a chance of being enacted must pass House Judiciary by Thursday in order to get through the House and Senate prior to the scheduled adjournment on April 9.

Update III: I ran over to Senate State Agencies to run a couple of bills when House Judiciary recessed for a 10 minute lunch break. While there, I learned that Rep. Randy Stewart presented HB1623 regarding the release of info related to the concealed handgun database. After considerable debate, he pulled the bill for a couple of amendments, both of which are apparently agreeable to two major opponents of the bill.

Update IV: We're now back in House Judiciary debating an interlock device bill (HB1640) for first offenders of DWI. After debate on the arrest vs. conviction issue, the bill passed, making it the second and final bill approved by the committee today. The committee also concurred in a Senate amendment to my HB1800 this morning.

Special election in New York's 20th CD seen largely as referendum on Obama

Today's election a dead heat between Dem businessman and GOP State House Minority Leader

With Kirsten Gillibrand's (D) appointment to the U.S. Senate to replace Hillary Clinton, the nation's only competitive U.S. House race (in the seat she vacated) will be decided today. Democratic newcomer Scott Murphy has taken a slight lead over NY State Rep. Jim Tedisco in the traditionally conservative Republican district, according to a new poll released late last week by Siena College. Prior to Gillibrand's election, the seat was held by the GOP for decades. Both RNC Chairman Michael Steele and President Obama have been involved in the race.

Update: Too close to call. With all precincts reporting, Murphy leads by 65 votes. There are still several thousand absentee votes outstanding.

Tuesday in the House (Day 79) -- UPDATE II

We're down to 11 bills on the active calendar in House Judiciary. In the other standing "A" committees in the House, 18 bills remain on the active calendar in Revenue & Tax, including a bill to clarify that sales tax is not levied on produce sold at farmers' markets (fiscal impact is ~$150,000 annually).

House Transportation is down to three bills and a senate amendment. House Public Health has eight bills left on the agenda, including a special order of business today on Sen. Elliott's SB947, which provides for the screening and early detection of colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in Arkansas. There are still 39 bills on the active calendar in House Education. Here's a rundown of the bills we'll take up this morning at 10:00 in House Judiciary (click here for the agenda).

Judiciary active agenda:
HB1800 (Harrelson): Concurring in a Senate amendment on the payment of court costs and fines with a credit card.
HB1682 (Maloch): Clarifies that DTPA doesn't apply to unauthorized practice of law. Not running today
HB2184 (Martin): Open carry of handguns. Previously pulled down to add amendment for minimum age
HB2216 (Glidewell): Demographic Preference Disclosure Act. Failed previously on a roll call vote
HB1872 (Hopper): Authorizes acceptance of payment of court costs by credit card.
SB772 (Madison): Concerning entries into the judgment book.
HB2154 (George): $20 fee to bail bond for victim assistance offices Round II. Failed previously 10-10
HB2103 (L. Smith): Whistleblower/Qui Tam bill. Failed previously on a voice vote
HB2053 (Dismang): Requires reim of attys fees in certain eminent domain cases. For: NFIB; Against: AHTD
HB2141 (Harrelson): Amends Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007.
HB1640 (Hawkins): Regarding the issuance of ignition interlock licenses.

Today on the House floor:

On the early calendar, there are six bills on the own bill/own amendment calendar, and three bills are being withdrawn. There are 17 bills on the floor when the House convenes today at 1:30, and it should be a short day.

Rep. Webb's Conflict of Interest Prohibition Act of 2009 (HB1968) deals with voting by members of boards and commissions with a direct financial interest in the vote and is a continuation of an effort by former Sen. Jim Argue. I'm for it, and it passed out of House Rules last week with few no votes, but it does face significant opposition on the floor from organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and the Farm Bureau. Opponents believe that it'll significantly cull the number of people willing to serve on boards and commissions, particularly in rural areas.

[Update (1:45 p.m.): This bill failed by a vote of 38 for, 47 against, and 1 present. 14 did not vote. Click below for the roll call.]



We'll recall the Dairy Stabilization Fund (milk tax) bill from the governor's office and transmit it to the Senate to begin the process of expunging the votes on that bill, and Rep. Fred Allen will move to reconsider the vote on the imitiation firearm bill. It failed yesterday with 49 votes, and 51 are required for passage. We'll also reconsider Rep. John Edwards' enhanced drivers license bill, which failed a couple of weeks ago with 48 yeas. It faces opposition from groups like Secure Arkansas, etc.

Update II (2:05 p.m.): We recalled the milk tax bill and sent it to the Senate. We also reconsidered the imitation firearms bill, which passed today with 55 votes for. Immediately after that, we voted to reconsider the voluntary enhanced drivers license bill, which passed this time by a vote of 59-30-3.

Arkansas Cancer Summit

I checked out at 6:00 and ran over to the Arkansas Cancer Summit late this afternoon, where House Public Health Chairman Gregg Reep gave a legislative update. I still had enough daylight afterwards to put on my cycling gear and hit the River Trail and across the Big Dam Bridge and back before dark. We're now convening for our nightly bill reading discussion. Due to the lack of committee meetings on Mondays, Tuesdays are the slowest days of the week on the floor, and we only have 17 bills on tomorrow's calendar. We would have 18, but I pulled back my bill on teacher retirement that was approved by committee this morning in order to visit with the governor about wording.

Bill signings

The governor signed six bills into law this afternoon, walked out, gave me a fist bump, then found some funds for the dairy program. These funds will allow the legislature to go back and expunge the votes on the milk tax. What a guy.

Among the bill signings today include the reduction in the manufacturers' sales tax on energy consumption. Here I am with friends of Rachel Rutherford, who were present for the signing of Rachel's Law, which is now Act 693. Rutherford died in a boating accident while riding a PWC on Lake Hamilton in 2007. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Faris, improves personal watercraft safety in Arkansas. I sponsored the bill in the House.

Senate Bill 799 fails on the floor of the Senate

Senate Bill 799, the bill to allow for the children of undocumented aliens who graduate from an Arkansas high school to attend Arkansas colleges and universities at an in-state rate, failed on the floor of the Senate with 13 yes votes. The bill needed 18 yeas to clear the Senate. Immediately after the vote, Senator Elliott moved to expunge the vote so that it can be brought back up for a vote -- the vote was expunged. The news made it over to the House end of the Capitol in lightning speed.

In other votes from the floor of both chambers, the Senate approved the bill to prevent "absentee" lobbying. It will be sent to House Rules for Wednesday's meeting. The House pulled SB2 off today's calendar -- that bill repeals the sales tax on mini-storage units.

Ross to hold telephone town hall tonight

Congressman Mike Ross is hosting his second telephone town hall live from his DC office at 7:10 p.m. Arkansas time tonight. He'll discuss the nation’s current economic situation, the federal investments coming to Arkansas as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and numerous other critical issues facing Arkansans today. It'll last about an hour. Any resident throughout the 4th CD can call, and here are the particulars: Phone: (877) 269-7289, PIN: 14573. The first Telephone Town Hall had over 5,700 callers.

Class action lawsuit in Miller County receives some out-of-state press

The Southeast Texas Record looks at the pending settlement of the Colossus lawsuit in Miller County, Arkansas Circuit Court, one of the largest in the history of the state. The suit alleges that almost 600 insurance companies have used or currently use Computer Science's software program "Colossus" to undervalue bodily injury claim settlements. The case had been pending for over four years.

THV profiles the proposed "Tim Tebow" law at noon

Today's THV will take up the issue of home-schooled kids in public school sports in its C-Block segment at noon today. SB842 (Sen. Gil Baker) is on today's Senate Education agenda. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was allowed to play football for his local high school in Florida -- even though he was home-schooled -- due to that state's equal access law.

Elsewhere in the Capitol today, we're expecting a couple of non-binding resolutions to be debated today in House State Agencies by Rep. Debra Hobbs (R-Rogers). The resolutions seek to (1) rescind the previous application to Congress requesting that it balance the public debt [HCR1022], and (2) an amended version of the sovereignty resolution [HCR1031]. Sen. Elliott's SB799 to provide an in-state tuition rate to anyone who graduated from an Arkansas high school and attended school here for three years is on today's Senate floor calendar. SB2, which would repeal the sales tax on mini-storage units, has a fiscal impact of over $4 million and is on today's House floor calendar.

I'm running four bills on the House floor this afternoon, one of which includes the 107-page overhaul of the Child Maltreatment Act. The existing act was struck down by a Benton County Circuit Judge last year as unconstitutional for the lack of due process provisions in the code.

What speedbump?

I'm here at the office reviewing notes from a continuing legal education course on the 87th General Assembly from the beginning of the session with Robbie Wills and Bruce Maloch with Jeff Hankins moderating, and everything outlined in that program has essentially already happened as expected in this legislative session. When you put 135 type "A" personalities in one building with instructions to move the state forward while looking out for the interests of your individual district, you never know what you're going to get.

The only so-called speedbump, which isn't, has been a revision to the revenue forecast. Everyone with an eye on the budget has anticipated some sort of slowdown, and it's been known since the fall that the governor was looking for a way to use a portion of the surplus to plug budget holes as he sees fit. If the legislature acquiesces in the revised report or reaches some sort of compromise on it, that's what the governor will get. It's been a session where all sides have essentially come away with everything on the wish list, and the only thing left is to refer constitutional amendments, determine if/what amount will exist in the General Improvement Fund, balance and prioritize the budget via the Revenue Stabilization Act, and take up the last few remaining minor pieces of legislation that are still on the agenda.

Bids for I-49 Louisiana stimulus projects coming in 15% lower than expected

The Sunday New York Times looks at lower bids being submitted for the first round of stimulus projects by hungry construction companies eager for work. The article mentions a bid to build a 4.7 mile segment of I-49 from Shreveport to the Arkansas line coming in at $4.7 million less than the La. DOT had anticipated. Here's the best I can do on a picture of the I-49 work underway in LA just across the state line (taken by a passenger at 50 MPH). Louisiana started turning dirt near the Arkansas line rather than beginning near Shreveport. Officials there have told us that they anticipate having the interstate open to traffic by 2015. There is a five-mile stretch of unfinished interstate here in Arkansas between Texarkana and the Louisiana line, half of which will be funded by stimulus money.

Democrat-Gazette picks up where it left off in 2005, endorses SB799

The Sunday editorial in the statewide daily endorses Senator Joyce Elliott's bill to allow for the children of undocumented aliens who graduate from an Arkansas high school to attend Arkansas colleges and universities at an in-state rate. It also backed a similar bill in 2005 authored by Sen. Elliott and pushed in part by Governor Mike Huckabee. That bill failed in the Senate after passing the House.

It's a bold step for the state's largest newspaper. I've probably received over 500 e-mails on the bill in the last couple of weeks, and I don't think I've received one in favor of it. Sen. Elliott calls it the "Rosa Parks issue of our time." Although this is on a much smaller scale, today's editorial will remind some readers of the last time a statewide daily took a similar stand when the Arkansas Gazette's progressive editorial stance on the 1957 LR Central crisis brought with it a devastating hit in subscriptions to that newspaper. No one can validate that point better than my dad, who carried the Gazette on an Arkadelphia route on his bicycle during this period as a 13-year old. As part of his job, he was required to collect money from subscribers. Some of the things he was told on their doorsteps aren't fit for this blog, but suffice it to say that many of them merely canceled on the spot and sent word with him on what they thought of the paper's position.

Yes, the dynamics are different here. The legal arguments are centered around a federal statute, namely 8 U.S.C. § 1623. That statute is cited by then-Attorney General Mike Beebe (AG Op. 2005-054 -- click here) in response to a 2005 request by Jim Holt and states that "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen of the United States is eligible for such a benefit." Reasonable minds can and have differed as to whether this bill conflicts with that statute. The public policy arguments focus mainly on fairness vs. the "rule of law," but the coming debate on the bill will include an array of issues from the benefits of educating these graduates to immigration policy and the message such a state law sends. Here in Texarkana, graduates on the Texas-side of town are eligible for in-state tuition to that state's colleges and universities regardless of citizenship status. Same for neighboring Oklahoma. A state appellate court in California ruled last fall that that state's law allowing the children of undocumented immigrants living there to pay in-state tuition conflicts with the aforementioned federal statute. Few people are on the fence on this one. SB799 will come up for a vote on the floor of the Arkansas Senate this week.

Saturday morning in Hot Springs

I ran over to Hot Springs this morning to address the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party. Here's a picture with DPA Chairman Todd Turner of Arkadelphia. I'm taking it easy at the office tonight in Texarkana playing catch-up and will head back to Little Rock mid-afternoon to prepare for the 12th week of the legislative session.

Governor's weekly radio address

Remembering an Arkansas legend
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Next week: Fixer-uppers coming back for a second look

We're getting to the point in the session where bills that need to move but have stalled are being gutted or are undergoing big amendments to make them palatable enough to pass. The Department of Correction bill to overhaul the lethal injection statute failed in a Senate committee this week, and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is now getting involved to make the process more transparent in an effort to appease Sens. Luker, Thompson and Wilkins. The bill would still have to work its way through the Senate and back to the House, meaning that it may take until April 8 -- the day before the scheduled adjournment -- to get to the governor's desk if everything works out the way it should. Expect similar revisions to other stalled bills.

Arkansas unemployment rate now 6.6%

While still significantly less than the national unemployment rate (8.1%), we now stand at 6.6% on the unemployment rolls here in Arkansas after a sharp increase this month. The state's manufacturing sector took the biggest hit, losing over 4,000 jobs in February.

14 days until adjournment...what's left (Updated)

Everyone's attention is focused on the last few big items that remain on the agenda to finish out the 87th General Assembly: constitutional amendments, a few last minute tax cuts/incentives, the General Improvement Fund, and the funding in the Revenue Stabilization Act. Still, there are a few hot button bills that remain on committee/floor calendars that are worth some discussion:

(1) HB2176: Prohibition of Domestic Partnership Registries (King): This bill is up for a special order of business in House City, County & Local Affairs tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. It would prohibit counties or municipalities from creating domestic partnership registries and is in response to a registry that was created in Eureka Springs a few years ago. I don't have a problem with the registries. They don't confer any legal rights, and it seems like a local issue to me. One phenomenon I've seen recently that actually does have a legal effect is that gay couples come in to law firms and have Powers of Attorney created for one another. When they break up, they come back in to revoke them. I'm sure there'll be a bill filed next session to prevent that. These small acts don't bother me, and they don't hurt anybody. Leave it up to local governments to outlaw/allow these as they see fit.

(2) SB799: Act to increase access to post-secondary education (Elliott): This one is interesting because of the history involved. Here are links to the 2005 votes on a bill that went even further than this bill, which allows for the children of undocumented aliens who graduate from an Arkansas high school to attend Arkansas colleges and universities at an in-state rate [2005 House vote (passed 63-31); 2005 Senate vote (failed 16-13 -- needed 18)]. Of course, the 2005 vote had some different dynamics since it was being pushed in part by Governor Huckabee. This governor may veto this 2009 bill if it reaches his desk. I'm not sure when the bill will be presented on the floor of the Senate, but if it passes there, it still faces an uphill climb in House Education and then the House floor.

(3) SJR12: Ratification of the Federal Equal Rights Amendment (Madison/L. Smith): This one has already failed by one vote on a roll call vote in Senate State Agencies, but it could still be voted on again. The governor has expressed his support. An identical resolution is pending in House State Agencies but is on the deferred calendar.

There are several other big bills that have either stalled or failed in committee but are still eligible for a vote: Voter ID, National Popular Vote, etc. Even though many of the votes have been close and intense, just about everyone characterizes this as a smooth and productive session.

Update: HB2176 failed in committee after an intense debate this morning.

HB2160: Prohibition on the sale of imitation firearms (Update: passes committee)

Rep. Fred Allen (D-Little Rock) is beginning his presentation of HB2160 here in House Judiciary this morning, and all the tv stations are present. This matter has been on the legislature's radar ever since the grandson of Rep. Otis Davis (D-Earle) was present when his 12 year old friend was gunned down by West Memphis police, who mistook a toy watergun for being the real thing. Tennessee is also considering similar legislation.

We're going to hear testimony from Col. Winford Phillips with the Arkansas State Police (for the bill), Chuck Lange from the Arkansas Sheriffs Association (for the bill) and a story from a veteran from Iraq who fired on someone wielding an imitation firearm while overseas, killing three. I previously wrote that Wal-Mart had concerns about the bill, and those concerns have been met.

Update: Rep. Dawn Creekmore is questioning the sponsors on the fact that a prohibition on the sale doesn't mean that these guns won't still remain in toy boxes all across the state. Rep. Hobbs notes that the folks at Daisy BB gun manufacturing argue that waterguns could still be purchased in other states and brought here. Rep. Lindsley Smith notes that the bill contains exemptions for theatrical productions, etc., meaning that this simply regulates how the toy guns are marketed rather than prohinbiting the sale of them. Other exemptions include guns that are transparent or are of a color other than black, brown, blue, silver or metallic (or if ithas an orange plug).

Update II: The bill passed on a voice vote with two or three weak nays.

Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas

Tonya Domokos, Southwest Director for B.E.A.T. Tobacco, brought a good group from southwest Arkansas for a rally at the Capitol yesterday. Here I am with McKenzie Harris (Ashdown SPU president) and Harmony Bussell, Miss Miller County (from Fouke).

'Is there anything left that absolutely has to come out of here?'

You know the posture of a committee has changed when that's the most-often asked question of the chairman. After today, House Judiciary will likely meet three more times, possibly more if we get into a situation where we're having to suspend the rules, etc., and get essential items through to the floor before adjournment on April 9. We have 31 items left on the regular agenda (and for the first time, there are more -- 33 -- on the deferred calendar). I'll post updates from today's committee here.

Prior to the meetings of today's "A" standing committees, today is "members' day" in Joint Budget, meaning that House and Senate members are running individual spending bills to fund projects, etc. That meeting takes place at 9:00 a.m. in Rm. 171.

The Arkansas Lottery™

Governor signs Acts 605, 606 creating the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act

Update: A little Capitol trivia -- the Governor signed SB26 first, meaning it served as the lottery for all of 20 seconds until Beebe signed HB1002. Since the last signed of identical legislation controls, the House version will be codified as the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act into law.

Revised revenue forecast to be presented to Joint Budget this morning

I'll stop in Joint Budget at 9:00 a.m. this morning to report on the revised revenue forecast prior to other committee work. Department of Finance and Administration Director Richard Weiss will share a revision that all anticipate will be less rosy than previous reports released by the agency. Richard Wilson, assistant director of the Bureau of Legislative Research, has run several forecasts using varying formulas, most of which have been more optimistic than DF&A figures. House Budget Co-chair Bruce Maloch (D-Magnolia) has conferred with Wilson about running the numbers to be presented in this morning's meeting.

Elsewhere in the Capitol today, Governor Beebe will sign the lottery legislation into law at 3:00 p.m.

Update: DF&A Director Richard Weiss testified that the his department's revenue forecast has now been changed and that governor is in need of $100 million to use as a rainy day fund and plug holes in the budget as needed in the current economic climate. Weiss also said the state is expected to receive $14 million less than predicted earlier this year from tobacco taxes.

House committee to consider remainder of proposed constitutional amendments

The House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs will consider the remainder of the proposed constitutional amendments filed on the House side in a few hours before referring a few of them to the joint committee that will meet next week. Chairman Rick Saunders has helped organize the House efforts to build a consensus on a few of them that should receive approval. The joint committee will refer up to three proposed constitutional amendments to both chambers of the legislature for approval, who may in turn approve them to be referred to the voters, and the proposed constitutional amendments will appear on the November, 2010 ballot.

It's difficult to handicap the three likely candidates at this stage, but I'd say the leaders include some combination of HJR1003/HJR 1004 (interest rate limits), SJR6/HJR1007 (restructuring of Amendment 82), SJR3 (hunt/fish), and HJR1013 (investment in technology based enterprises).

Update (11:15 a.m.): We're meeting now and are referring three bills to the joint committee:

HJR1003 (interest rate limits - gov't only)
HJR1004 (interest rate limits - more expansive)
HJR1007 (Restructuring Amendment 82)

HJR1013 (investment in technology based enterprises) failed with 8 "ayes." We may redouble efforts to try and get that one out to the joint committee as well.

Six hours in House Judiciary

Good debates today. We let 11 bills through, voted down a couple, and held up the others. We'll continue debate on Rep. Lindsley Smith's Qui Tam bill Thursday. I'm loosening the tie here at the Capitol and am about to tackle my inbox.

HB2154: Prosecutors vs. Bail Bondsmen -- UPDATE II

We're involved in a pretty good debate here in House Judiciary as to how to fund the Victim Assistance Coordinators, who are housed in each judicial district's prosecutor's office. HB2154 would increase the bail bond fee by $20. Proponents believe that the families of victims are underserved in the criminal justice system. Opponents are arguing that there has to be a better way to fund the coordinators other than by a group of people who have yet to be convicted. Further, they say it's a conflict to require a Defendant to pay a fee to the person who will be prosecuting them. One lawmaker asked why this proposal wasn't part of the 8% increase the prosecutors sought and obtained earlier in the session. Rep. Bubba Powers is speaking most effectively for the bill.

Full disclosure: I worked in the Pulaski County Victim Assistance Office after college when Mark Stodola was prosecutor. I still think there has to be a better way to fund it, but this may be the best mechanism that can be devised.

Update: The bill failed by a vote of 10-10.

Update II (5:25 p.m.): We're back in committee after adjourning from floor votes. We're now debating the False Claims Act. Rep. Martin pulled down his open carry bill to make an amendment regarding a minimum age to carry an open firearm.

Today in House Judiciary

We've worked our way through much of the session's work in Judiciary, and the only new items on the agenda are bills and amendments that arrive from the Senate. We're down to 36 bills on the active calendar. 31 others are on the deferred calendar and can be moved back to active with two days' notice.

We have three special orders first up this morning, all from Rep. Butch Wilkins. One includes a modification to the fleeing statute, which previously failed in committee last week when members objected to a mandatory six-day jail sentence for fleeing by vehicle (by contrast, the mandatory sentence for DWI 1st is one day, which, in practice, is normally sentenced as "time served" for the booking process). We're expecting an amendment to be presented in committee, and the bill will be re-presented for the final time today.

Elsewhere on the agenda, we'll take up a couple of DWI interlock device bills and the proposed DeAunta Farrow Act, which would prohibit the sale of imitation toy guns to minors. This bill stems from a minor carrying a toy gun who was shot and killed by West Memphis police. I understand Wal-Mart may present some objections. Other gun bills on the calendar include the bill to allow the carry of open firearms (Martin) and an enhanced version of the castle doctrine (English). Rep. Lindsley Smith is also going to present the Arkansas False Claims Act this morning. Here's the full agenda.

Lottery one step away from being implemented

The Senate version of the Scholarship Lottery bill passed the House 94-0 moments ago. The House's identical twin is up for debate on the other end of the Capitol and is expected to pass today. We'll transmit both bills to the governor today and may even see dual cites in the code if both are signed. The governor's signature is the only act required before the lottery can be implemented.

Wednesday's Joint Budget Committee

We'll get a look at the anticipated revised revenue forecast from DF&A during Wednesday's meeting of the Joint Budget Committee. It'll be significantly less rosy than the previous report. The real news, though, will be the legislature's reaction to this revised DF&A forecast vs. other revenue forecasts from BLR.

Uh oh

GIF not the money grab it formerly was in the House

With the 2006 Wilson v. Weiss ruling clarifying that many (most) appropriations from the General Improvement Fund violated the special and local legislation prohibition outlined in Amendment 14 to the Arkansas Constitution, the Arkansas House has drastically changed how it distributes its portion of the fund. Max Brantley named the portion of the General Improvement Fund designated for individual legislators Hogzilla, and rightly so in many instances.

The recent change in how the fund is distributed in the House does not mean that attempts to fund local projects with state fingerprints have ended, but the House now has a few large bills to funnel GIF funds through specific agencies to (1) rural fire departments to supplement Act 833, (2) senior citizen centers and (3) rural services. In 2007, we also greatly increased the turnback funds for cities and counties and put the obligation on those entities to fund projects in the area if they so choose. We may be prohibited from passing local and special projects, but once funds are appropriated to local governments, they are free to use the funds however they choose -- truly the only way to avoid special and local legislation.

Some valid criticism of these bills is that legislators can continue to have input and direction in determining what projects are to be funded, but that is still contrary to the purpose of increasing turnbacks and to put an end to local legislation (plus, much of the criticism comes from the legislator's ability to prefer some projects over others -- it's strictly a political deal, many say). House Budget Chair Bruce Maloch is in the unenviable position of telling legislators to withdraw bills that appear to violate Amendment 14.

Is it perfect? No. One person's pork is another person's pleasure (ie, War Memorial Stadium). Still, most view rural fire departments, senior citizen centers and turnback funds to be in the latter category of essential projects. So long as the General Improvement Fund exists with money to fund it, there will be disagreements as to how to use it, or whether to use it at all.

Spring birthday party

Four years ago, I was sitting in the House chamber when I got word that I needed to get back to Texarkana ASAP, as Camille was on the way. It's amazing how time flies. Here are a couple of pics from today's birthday party -- good day to be outside with a dozen four year-olds.

Draft this man for the state senate. Please.

I'm looking through the pictures I took at last night's event at the Clinton Library, and no one had a better time than Gregg Reep. As his House career draws to a close this term, it's easy to see that he'll have a hard time hanging it all up after 24 years as an elected official in the public arena.

Knowing him, he'll have worn a hole in the carpet and'll be driving Beverly crazy within a week or two of term limits kicking in. For his own sake and sanity, and for the betterment of southeast Arkansas, I hope he considers a run ton continue the honorable service of Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, when he retires in 2012.

Political giants convene at the Clinton Library

I'm just returning from the Clinton Presidential Center, where Clinton, Bumpers, and Pryor told tales and political stories from stump speeches and difficult policy decisions their time in Arkansas politics and in Washington. Mack McLarty did a great job of moderating the event. The program, which lasted close to two hours, seemed like it was over 10 minutes after it started. The crowd was a who's who of Arkansas politics, and all agreed that this is one of the most historic and reflective events we're ever to witness. Governor Beebe kicked off the main portion of the event. The Associated Press has a good synopsis of the discussion.

After the event, a reception was held next door at the Clinton School. Here are some pictures:

Governor's weekly radio address

A window to Arkansas
Click play on the console below:

From the Speaker

Robbie sends in this cell phone picture from the White House this afternoon, where he's attending a leadership forum today by the National Conference of State Legislatures.



He posted a few pictures from his morning run along the National Mall over at his blog.

Former Congressman Mickey Edwards

Went and heard former Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma tonight at the Clinton School discuss his book "Reclaiming Conservatism" (Oxford University Press, 2008). He's on All Things Considered pretty routinely and is now a lecturer at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School. He formerly taught alongside David Pryor at Harvard's Kennedy School. Pryor was also in the audience, as were legislators Bryan King and Ed Garner. Skip Rutherford, of course, moderated.

A couple of points he raised include being irked when conservatives use the Reagan phrase "government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Edwards says that the quote is virtually always taken out of context and that Reagan was actually making a point contrary to the way that phrase is now used. He also made it a point to say that true conservatives should advocate "limited" government, not small government. Interesting program. Here's a pic:

Update on highway stimulus funds

This afternoon, Governor Beebe signed the final certification required by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation stating that Arkansas will use stimulus money to supplement, rather than replace, highway funding. Last Friday, the Arkansas Highway Transportation Department gave final approval for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects. Read more about that meeting here. Here are a few Arkansas-related stimulus links that include the list of projects and a map showing statewide distribution of these projects:

Governor's Arkansas stimulus site
List of projects
Map of projects

Close to 500 bills signed into law so far this session

As of today, the governor has signed 496 bills into law. Among today's signings included Sen. Tracy Steele's legislation that will provide schools across the state with defibrillators.

Makes it all worth it

Here's an excerpt from an e-mail I received this morning stemming from Joshua's Law of 2005 and its 2007 folow-up to fund Tandem Mass Spectrometers for early detection of Cystic Fibrosis and 28 other conditions:

Were you the author/sponsor of HB 2428 (Act 1931 of 2005), which was referred to as Joshua’s Law? It initiated newborn screening for cystic fibrosis.

According to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, my infant daughter is the first child in Arkansas to have been diagnosed as a positive case thanks to the screening. While my wife and I are very concerned, we want to thank you for your efforts that led to the early discovery of our daughter’s illness. She is very healthy at this time, and because we caught it at birth, we are hopeful that we can keep her healthy until a cure is found.

Having been around children diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, I can tell you that there's nothing more inspiring than to see the determination of the families to deal and cope with the condition. I'm hopeful that early detection will help researchers and scientists develop new procedures to fight and eventually cure Cystic Fibrosis.

Imitation guns and open carry

I'm re-reviewing the 39 bills on this morning's House Judiciary active agenda, and we're expecting some debate on two -- maybe three -- gun bills:

HB2184 by Rep. Mark Martin allows for the open carry of firearms. Three neighboring states allow it, three do not.

HB2160 by Rep. Fred Allen would prohibit the sale of imitation toy guns to minors. I covered this news item from which this legislation stems back in January, 2008 on the blog.

HB1890 by Rep. Jane English is a version of the Castle Doctrine (a little different from the 2007 bill).

We're also expecting Rep. Mark Perry to introduce HB2211, which is similar to SB251 that failed in committee earlier in the session.

Update: None of the sponsors of these bills are here to present them, so we're moving further down the agenda. We've diverted to interlock devices and parental consent for the marriage of a minor.

Kumpuris Lecture Series to feature Clinton, Bumpers, Pryor and McLarty Friday

Former President Bill Clinton, Senator Dale Bumpers and Senator David Pryor will reminisce about their terms as Arkansas Governors, their time in Washington D.C., as well as their views on the current political climate tomorrow evening at the Clinton Presidential Center. The program will be moderated by Mack McLarty. I'll be attending and will post pictures and a recap here.

1994 National Championship Razorbacks to be honored at Capitol today

Former Razorback roundballer John Engskov tells me that he and his teammates from the championship team that live in Little Rock (Corliss, Scotty, Reggie Merritt, Al Dillard) will be honored at the Capitol this afternoon by Sen. Tracy Steele. Steele will present SR20 as the first item on the agenda once the Senate convenes at 11:00 a.m.

On the House end, Rep. Jon Woods ran a resolution through House State Agencies yesterday giving recognition to Nolan Richardson.

Lottery bill being debated on the floor of the House now -- UPDATE: Passes 99-0

Speaker Robbie Wills is now presenting HB1002 on the floor of the House now.

Update: Wills accepted a question from Rep. Lea, and Rep. Davy Carter spoke for the bill. The bill passed by a vote of 99-0 (Rep. Greenberg was absent). The Senate passed an identical bill today. However, unlike other states, we're unable to send identical bills that have each passed one chamber to the governor. We'll take up the Senate bill in Rules tomorrow and vote on it on the floor on Monday.

Alcopops

We've adjourned from State Agencies and are now in House Rules, where we're debating a bill to increase the tax on flavored malt beverages, or "alcopops" (and also prohibiting these drinks from being sold in grocery and convenience stores). Speaking for the bill are the director of the Quapaw House in Hot Springs, the Waldron Chief of Police, and a senior at the UofA, who all testify that one of the largest segments of society that drinks these beverages includes females between the 6th and 12th grades. Against the bill are the Oil Marketers Assn. (convenience stores), Wal-Mart, and the ABC.

Update: The bill failed on a voice vote.

In State Agencies now

We've had a refresher on the rules as to how to refer the proposed constitutional amendments to the joint committee. Unlike other proposals, we'll refer a bloc of proposed amendments to a joint committee made up of the Senate and House members of State Agencies before three or less are referred to the chambers of the legislature.

Thanks to committee staffer Marietta McClure's reference to Rule 36(n) of the House Rules and this post from 2007 on Under the Dome, we've confirmed the procedure and are now hearing testimony from Rep. Bruce Maloch on his HJR1003. This proposal would remove the interest rate limits on bonds issued by and loans made by or to governments. The proposal is similar to HJR1004 by Rep. Cheatham, which also applies to other types of loans (update: being debated now).

State Agencies to take up proposed constitutional amendments today

The House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs will take up the 13 proposed House constitutional amendments in today's meeting at 10:00 a.m. For all that pass, they'll go into a pool for prioritization. We can refer three of them out to the people, and historically, we rotate as to which chamber refers out two of them. It was the House's turn in 2007, but we couldn't agree on two of them, so of the three that were referred to the people for the 2008 ballot, two came from the Senate. The 13 proposals from the House this year are as follows:

HJR1001 (Greenberg): Modifies constitution regarding conduct of special elections
HJR1002 (Ragland): Abolishes the office of Constable
HJR1003 (Maloch): Removes interest rate limits on bonds/loans involving gov't
HJR1004 (Cheatham): Concerning interest rate limits
HJR1005 (Greenberg): Changes apportionment
HJR1006 (Shelby): Increases terms of county officials to 4 yrs; adds recall procedure
HJR1007 (Wills): Amends Amendment 82 (super-projects)
HJR1008 (Hutchinson): Changes Amendment 42 concerning the Arkansas Hwy Commission
HJR1009 (Carroll): Allows atheists to hold office and testify in court
HJR1010 (J. Burris): Equal Rights Amendment.
HJR1011 (Green): Amends Lottery Amendment
HJR1012 (Roebuck): Modifies Amendment 33 (boards/commissions governing state instutions)
HJR1013 (Wills): Promotes growth and jobs through investment in technology-based enterprises

Several are generating e-mail from constituents, particularly the constitutional right to hunt and fish over in the Senate (I have 429 in my inbox currently that need responses). This is a recycled proposal from 2007 that did pass if memory serves but didn't receive a high enough priority to be referred to the voters. My priorities from the House this year are HJR1013 and HJR1003, and I'm also in support of restructuring Amendment 82 to give us more leverage to attract "smaller" projects.

Landmine alert. Rep. Carroll's proposal to allow atheists to hold office and testify in court has also generated a ton of e-mail and would serve merely as a clean-up. I'm voting against it and am lobbying other Dems to vote against it. First, the provisions in all nine state consitutions with this prohibitive language have been struck down in violation of Article 6 and the 1st Amendment, so the proposal has no real effect. Second, if it has no real effect, why put it above some of these other needed amendments in priority while putting your own neck on the platter for groups in Arkansas to run Kay Hagan-esque ads in your next election?

Lottery gets moving -- UPDATE

Even though House Rules is the only committee permitted to take up business during the House voting calendar, don't expect to run bill in there today if you have something on the agenda. Rules convenes at noon, and there's a special order of business for the Speaker to present the 117-page bill that implements the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. It'll get a Do Pass, and we'll put it to a vote on the floor of the House tomorrow, and the Senate will do the same. We'll hear the Senate bill in committee on Thursday, and since the Senate doesn't convene on Friday, we'll put their identical bill to a vote on the floor of the House on Monday Both bills will be transmitted to the governor's office at that time. I'll post live updates from today's meeting.

Update (11:50 a.m.): Rules starts in 10 minutes, but I'm still running Judiciary and am preparing to bring Rep. Creekmore's bill to a vote that would require the collection of DNA evidence upon the arrest of a person (for five offenses). Jeff Rosenzweig is now speaking against the bill. John Ramsey, the father of JonBenet Ramsey, is speaking next in support the bill.

Update II (12:15 p.m.): Still in Judiciary, and Rules is in progress. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's statement about the lottery bill is on the jump. I believe he'll be speaking in committee.

Update III: Passed unanimously out of committee after 80 minutes.

Touring Little Rock by Blackhawk

Rep. Randy Stewart headed up a group to view the operations of the Arkansas National Guard and to get a briefing from the State Military Department late this afternoon upon adjournment of the voting calendar. I'm hooked. I was able to ride shotgun with the doors open in a Blackhawk helicopter. All I needed to round out the testosterone was a five o'clock shadow, a cigar stub, and an M-16. Here are some pics:

Here come the tax cuts

Today's House calendar includes a litany of tax relief bills from Revenue & Tax. It's a sure sign that (a) we've budgeted conservatively enough to provide for some meaningful tax relief and (b) we're coming down the home stretch of the session. There aren't many states in a position to cut any taxes in this climate.

Among them:
SB88: Reduction in the grocery tax
HB1624: Reduction in the sales tax on energy consumption for manufacturers
HB1953: Tax credit for rehabbing historic structures

We passed the Motion Picture Industry Development Act of 2009 out of the House on Friday, which provides for a 15% rebate on all Arkansas-based expenditures for motion picture production and digital products such as video games and other digital media. Quick: besides Sling Blade, name one movie produced here in the last 15 years. It's amazing what Shreveport has done by using a similar incentive enacted by Louisiana. You're as likely to run into producers and actors by going out to eat there as anywhere, and it's being done in a way to portray that state in a positive light while bringing economic activity to the area. Currently being produced in Shreveport is "Cool Dog" and "The Last Lullaby." Click here for a blog dedicated to Louisiana-produced movies.

Senator Lincoln kicks off re-election bid

Just getting back from tonight's campaign kick-off for Blanche Lincoln at the Peabody in downtown Little Rock. Great turnout. Thanks to Biden advance staffer Betsy Lavender, my old neighbor growing up, I was able to visit with the Vice President after the event. Thanks to Robert McLarty for taking the picture.

I went with Robbie Wills and Gregg Reep, and afterwards, we slipped across the street to Iriana's to get some pizza ahead of tomorrow's marathon. I'll get a few hours sleep before the race and will check in tomorrow. Here are some pictures from tonight's event: