LITTLE ROCK — The 88th General Assembly is winding down and at least 1,058 bills had been signed into law by Gov. Mike Beebe as of Friday afternoon, according to governor’s spokesman Matt DeCample. Several more remain to be signed. Legislators introduced 2,234 bills for consideration during the session. Several will affect residents of Northwest Arkansas.

Law Targets Adoption Scam

Police and prosecutors discovered there was no specific law when they tried to charge a Fayetteville woman with adoption fraud in 2009.

Now a law defining the crime of adoption fraud fills the void.

“It was the first time in my law enforcement career that I couldn’t help somebody because there was no law,” said Detective Travis Lee of the Fayetteville Police Department.

Lee was investigating Shelly Ramirez, who took money from several couples in exchange for promising to let them adopt her baby. Once the baby was born, Ramirez kept the child and the money. Lee and Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Threet had to settle for a charge of theft by deception.

“We got her convicted, but there’s a big difference between scamming somebody out of a CD player and a baby,” Threet said. “It’s not something you can easily go out and replace.”

Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, contacted Lee and Threet after reading about the Ramirez case. Her bill, approved by both chambers and signed by Gov. Mike Beebe, becomes law July 1. The crime could be either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on how much money the birth mother took.

The law, while welcome, probably won’t be used often, said Marti Woodruff, a Fayetteville lawyer who specializes in adoptions. Woodruff, who represented one of the prospective adoptive couples, brought Ramirez to the attention of police.

“I’ve only seen one or two similar cases in more than 32 years of adoptions,” Woodruff said.

Birth mothers do get up to 10 days to decide to keep a baby. In Ramirez’s case, the intention to defraud was clear because she took money from several couples, Threet said.

The baby, born last year, was taken into state custody because no father could be determined. Ramirez was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Officers Can Ride ATVs On Streets

Cpl. Rick Crisman and his fellow Fayetteville police officers have used an all-terrain vehicle to get around at Razorback football games and other large events for years.

They had to park the machines, though, when they found out it was illegal to drive them on public streets, even as police. The state Legislature approved two bills in the recent session regarding official use of vehicles that are normally banned from the roads.

“It’s not like we were handing each other tickets, but there could have been some liability issues if somebody were hurt on one while driving on the street,” Crisman said.

One new law allows police offers to drive all-terrain or other vehicles on roadways. The second allows utility and infrastructure workers the same protection, but only during bad weather or declared emergencies.

Neither bill covers other emergency services workers, such as search and rescue teams.

“We use our ATV all the time, shuttling people and equipment around. Nobody’s ever brought this issue to our attention before,” said John Luther, director of emergency management for Washington County. “We’re usually working closely with the sheriff’s office, though. If we find our folks can’t do it, I guess we’ll just let the deputies drive.”

NWACC License Plates Gets OK

NorthWest Arkansas Community College plans to roll out specialized license plates next year.

The college first considered license plates as a fundraising opportunity last year, but found that state law only allowed four-year colleges to sponsor custom plates, said Becky Hudson, associate vice president for advancement at the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Foundation.

That law was changed this legislative session to allow two-year schools the same opportunity.

“It’s a bill we specifically pushed,” said Jim Hall, the college’s legislative liaison.

Specialty plates are available promoting various groups, including teachers, veterans and firefighters. The University of Arkansas has sold more than 17,000 “HogTags” plates featuring the Razorback logo, bringing in $436,000 for scholarships, said Tammy Tucker of the university alumni association.

The community college could start issuing tags as soon as 2012, Hudson said.

“We don’t have anything as instantly recognizable as the Razorback logo, so we’ll have to decide what the plates are going to look like first,” Hudson said. “We anticipate it will take at least a year to get all the details worked out.”

Suspicious Burn Reports Required

Emergency care providers in Arkansas will be required after July 1 to report to law enforcement burns that they feel could reasonably be connected to criminal activity.

Act 270 requires doctors, hospitals, druggists and others who render first aid to report a burn to a person’s upper respiratory tract because of inhalation of super-heated air or a second- or third-degree burn to 5 percent or more of a person’s body.

Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Threet said the legislation is aimed at methamphetamine labs and arson cases.

“Somebody could be injured inhaling the chemicals or fumes of a meth lab, but also an arson that was not reported,” Threet said. “Anything that helps the investigation, I’m in favor of.”

Local drug task force leaders said they got a call last year from the emergency room at Northwest Arkansas Medical Center-Springdale where doctors suspected a burned patient may have been involved in a meth lab fire.

Police welcome any initiatives that help them identify and catch meth cooks.

“We do have meth lab fires, that happens from time to time. The most recent one was in Springdale at one of the motels,” said Brad Renfro, with the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force. “If you’re cooking in a hotel or an apartment building, and it catches fire, it’s not just the person cooking that’s affected. It could be anybody that lives there.”

Cellphone Use Restricted

Hang up and pay attention. Using cellphones or navigation systems will be prohibited after Oct. 1 in all highway work zones and school zones in Arkansas.

Arkansas State Police, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department and local schools welcome the measure.

“Anything that would improve the safety of these two particular areas, particularly the school zones, would be something that is of importance to the Arkansas State Police,” spokesman Bill Sadler said.

Local school officials, while they did not push for the law, said they are happy to have it.

“Anything that increases safety in school zones is, in our opinion, a step in the right direction,” said Rick Schaeffer, a spokesman for the Springdale School District.

Highway Department officials said the rule should make the dangerous work areas somewhat safer.

“Distracted driving can be a problem not only in work and school zones, but anywhere,” said Glenn Bolick, a department spokesman. “We certainly support any efforts to make our roadways safe.”

There is an exception for emergencies.

Trooper Probation Extended

The probationary period for new Arkansas State troopers has been increased six months from a year to 18 months to allow supervisors more time to evaluate new hires before they take to the highways on their own.

“Our trooper schools are running about five months in length, and then it’s not unusual for the field training officers to be with some of these new troopers for as long as four or five months before they’re out on their own,” Sadler said.

“So, you never really get in that first year to take a close look at a young trooper operating independently. That’s the purpose, to give those field supervisors the opportunity to observe and interact through at least one performance review period, if not two, before the new employee is off of that temporary probationary period.”

OK Required To Patrol

Constables and city marshals will need permission from the Arkansas State Police to patrol controlled access highways under an amended state law.

The amendment, Act 741, was in response to a state attorney general’s opinion last year saying constables have the authority to patrol and issue traffic citations on controlled access highways within the townships they serve.

“Controlled-access facilities,” as they are referred to by the state police, include highways designated by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department as “fully controlled-access routes on Arkansas’ state highway system.” These are interstate highways and those highways constructed to meet the standard and specifications of interstate highways.

For a number of years the state police have required cities to get permission for their police to patrol controlled access highways. Fayetteville, Springdale, Lowell and Rogers have permission to patrol portions of Interstate 540, but seldom do so.

“They’ve been taken on a case-by-case basis. Certainly the sheriff’s departments already have that discretion under Arkansas statutes,” Sadler said.

Sadler said the director of the state police will continue to consider each request independently among the jurisdictions that submit applications, based on need, officer training and other factors.

Permission to patrol can be withdrawn for various reasons, including abuse of police powers. If more than 30 percent of a city’s tickets are written on controlled access highways, or, if more than half of the tickets written for speeding violations are for 10 mph or less over the posted speed limit, it is considered abuse.