Scholarship trim awaits Beebe pen

Campus gun-carry bill also gets OK

State Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, spoke in support of legislation Monday which would allow college faculty and staff with concealed handgun permits to carry their weapons onto campus, unless the school’s policies prohibit them. The legislation passed easily.

State Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, spoke in support of legislation Monday which would allow college faculty and staff with concealed handgun permits to carry their weapons onto campus, unless the school’s policies prohibit them. The legislation passed easily.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

— The Arkansas Senate on Monday sent Gov. Mike Beebe legislation restructuring the state’s Academic Challenge Scholarship program, and Beebe’s spokesman said the governor intends to sign the measure.

The Senate also handily approved a bill to allow employees of the state’s higher education institutions with concealed handgun permits to carry weapons on campus, and Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor is likely to sign it into law.

On Monday, legislation also advanced that would allow private colleges and universities to create their own law-enforcement agencies; grant the Parole Board discretion to deny parole to offenders convicted of one of more than a dozen offenses; and make volunteer firefighters eligible for an income-tax deduction.

ACADEMIC CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIPS

In 34-0 vote, the Senate late Monday afternoon sent the House’s version of the bill overhauling the Academic Challenge Scholarship program to Beebe. The bill is HB1295 by Rep. Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia.

Earlier, the Senate voted 31-2 to approve the Senate’s identical version of the bill, SB 294, by Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home. Sens. Eddie Cheatham, D-Crossett, and Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, dissented.

Key said the legislation represents a compromise between the state’s two-year colleges and four-year universities, though a few lawmakers have said they are worried the measure would hurt students at the universities in the future.

“This has not been an easy thing,” Key told senators.

In the coming school year, first-time recipients of the scholarship would receive $2,000 as freshmen, $3,000 as sophomores, $4,000 as juniors and $5,000 as seniors at four-year universities. Under the bill, new scholarship recipients enrolling in two-year colleges would get $2,000 a year for both years.

Currently, students who were first awarded the scholarships in the 2010-11 school year each receive $5,000 a year to attend Arkansas’ universities and $2,500 a year for community and technical colleges. Those who were first awarded the scholarships in the 2011-12 or 2012-13 school years get $4,500 a year at universities and $2,250 at colleges. Key said he doesn’t believe that the Legislature will have to change the scholarship amounts each year as a result of the legislation.

The lottery revenue of $90 million to $95 million a year, plus $20 million a year in state general revenue, “just cannot sustain” the scholarship program that’s paying out $130 million to $140 million in scholarships, he said.

If HB 1295 becomes law, State Department of Higher Education officials project that the scholarship program will have enough money to award the scholarships through fiscal 2018, assuming the lottery raises $90 million a year for scholarships.

This year, 27,088 lottery scholarship recipients are attending universities and 5,741 are enrolled in colleges, according to the state Department of Higher Education.

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said Beebe would sign the legislation.

GUNS ON CAMPUS

In a 31-4 vote, the Senate sent Beebe HB 1243, sponsored by Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, to allow employees of the state’s higher education institutions with concealed handgun permits to carry weapons on campus.

Under the measure employees with permits would be able to carry concealed weapons on their campuses unless the governing board of the university or college opts out of the provision. Any policy banning concealed weapons would need to be renewed each year; otherwise it would automatically expire.

Democratic Sens. Linda Chesterfield of Little Rock, Joyce Elliott of Little Rock, Stephanie Flowers of Pine Bluff and Uvalde Lindsey of Fayetteville dissented.

Beebe will likely sign the legislation because it allows college governing boards to decide whether concealed handguns- possessed by employees with concealed carry permits - are allowed on campus, DeCample said. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed the bill 70-11.

PRIVATE COLLEGES’ POLICE

In a 29-3 vote, the Senate sent to the governor HB1252 to allow private colleges and universities to create their own law-enforcement agencies with the authority to arrest and detain people.

According to the Department of Higher Education, 11 institutions would be affected by the bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Biviano, R-Searcy.

Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, said private schools such as Harding University in Searcy and Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia are located in towns without the police manpower to cover these large campuses.

But Key, who voted against the bill, said the bill gives state police powers to private colleges and senators “need to think long and hard” about granting such powers to private entities

PAROLE BOARD DISCRETION

In a 30-1 vote, the Senate approved SB 259, sponsored by Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, to allow the state Parole Board to deny parole to inmates convicted of certain major crimes.

The list of offenses includes attempted capital murder, attempted first-degree murder, soliciting material support for terrorism, making a terrorist threat, exposing the public to toxic biological, chemical or radioactive substances, attempted aggravated robbery, arson, aggravated residential battery, illegal discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, and an offense for which a person is required to register as a sex offender.

The Arkansas Sentencing Commission projected the bill would increase the state Department of Correction’s costs by $3.4 million from 2014-2024.

RAPISTS’ CUSTODY RIGHTS

The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would strip rapists of any custody rights upon conviction when the rape results in a pregnancy.

HB 1002, proposed by Rep. John Edwards, D-Little Rock, would eliminate rights to custody and visitation immediately after the father’s rape conviction.

LAST VOTE

The House voted 94-0 in favor of a bill that would count the vote of a service member who voted from overseas by absentee ballot if they die before the election.

“No one has any disagreement about allowing the vote for a service member overseas,” said Rep. Doug House, R-North Little Rock, the sponsor of HB 1283. Current Arkansas law states that if a person casts an absentee ballot and dies before the polls open, their vote isn’t counted.

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS

The House voted 97-0 to approve a bill to make volunteer firefighters eligible for an income-tax deduction of up to $1,000 a year.

HB 1399, sponsored by Rep. Joe Farrer, R-Austin, would allow volunteer firefighters to deduct the cost of firefighting equipment that they buy, plus the value of any personal property that is damaged or destroyed while on duty. The bill defines a volunteer firefighter as someone who receives less than $5,000 in total compensation during the tax year from a volunteer fire department or firefighting unit.

Rep. Tommy Thompson, D-Morrilton, said he met with the chiefs of two of the 28 volunteer fire departments in his district last weekend.

“They have equipment, they’ve got firehouses, they’ve got fire trucks. The thing they don’t have is people out in the rural areas. They don’t have enough volunteers, and this will certainly serve as an incentive to help recruit folks,” he said.

John Theis, an assistant revenue commissioner for the state, has said about 11,500 volunteer firefighters would be eligible for the tax deduction. The state projects the bill would reduce state revenue by about $48,700 a year.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/26/2013