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.