LITTLE ROCK — Rookie legislators aren’t rushing, at least not yet, to change Arkansas laws.
Only one new lawmaker had filed legislation by Friday. Others said they are trying to get their bearings, deferring to more-experienced legislators or waiting to hear more about the looming Medicaid issues that they expect to address in the coming legislative session.
The 89th General Assembly begins Jan. 14 in Little Rock.
Lawmakers had pre-filed 20 bills by Friday, the majority from a handful of returning members. More than 65 bills were filed before the 2011 session.
Republicans will control the House and Senate chambers for the first time since the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.
In the House, Republicans hold 51 seats, Democrats hold 48, and there is one Green Party member. Of the 100 total representatives, 41 are new.
In the Senate, Republicans hold 21 of the chamber’s 35 seats. Of the 14 freshmen, four are new to state politics and one is returning after a 10-year break.
New House member Bill Gossage, R-Ozark, said he’s waiting to see what legislation is filed for the session.
“The smart thing for me to do is watch and observe,” he said. “It just seems to me to make more sense to let these more-experienced legislators file these more-complicated bills.”
Rep.-elect Joe Jett, D-Success, said he’s focused on get-ting through his first session. Jett, who will serve as House Democratic whip, hasn’t filed any bills either.
“So much is going to be on our plates, and we have 40-some new people like me,” he said.
He said the tight party margin will force new House members to work together.
“I don’t want Little Rock to become Washington, so I know I’ll be bending over backward trying to work with people,” he said.
Rep.-elect Joe Farrer, R-Austin, is the only incoming member to pre-file a bill.
House Bill 1016 would create a $200 income-tax credit for new volunteer firefighters.
Farrer said his district has one paid firefighter, and it is hard to persuade people to volunteer.
“These guys are the first responders. … We all depend on them,” he said.
He added that he filed the bill early because he expects so much of the session to focus on the state’s Medicaid program.
MEDICAID
Lawmakers will be asked to address an estimated $138 million shortfall in the state’s $5 billion Medicaid program, which covers about 780,000 mostly poor young, elderly and disabled Arkansans.
They’ll also consider adding 250,000 Arkansans to the state’s Medicaid rolls, a move that would mean big increases in federal funding. Initially, the federal government would pay for all of the expansion, but beginning in 2017, the state would have to contribute 10 percent of the cost.
Without the expansion and the additional federal funding, state officials are warning that they’ll have to make cuts in nursing-care programs for the elderly. Even with the expansion, some Medicaid cuts are possible, if additional money isn’t found.
Rep.-elect Doug House, R-North Little Rock, said the department should look beyond the Medicaid program for the money.
“The proposals that the administration have put forward indicate that they are looking in a very small box [for programs to cut],” he said.
Farrer said he is working to learn more about the government side of Medicaid after working in health care for 25 years.
“It’s a little different, but I’m a quick learner,” he said. “I’m not diving in headfirst, but toe-first, a little bit at a time.”
Rep.-elect Harold Copenhaver, D-Jonesboro, said he expects there to be more discussion before a bill addressing the Medicaid matters is filed.
“The issues that are going to overwhelm a lot of the legislators are going to be Medicaid expansion and the Medicaid program,” Copenhaver said. “I think a consensus is coming forth, and we’re working on that.”
Sen.-elect Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, said he is open to learning more about the proposed Medicaid expansion, but there are “hurdles to cross” to convince him.
“At some point somebody is going to have to say ‘no’ to more spending,” said Hendren, a former state representative.
EDUCATION
Rep.-elect Randy Alexander, R-Fayetteville, said that since last spring, he has been working on legislation to address school choice.
“Any parent could direct money to the school of their choice for their child,” he said. “This is pretty complex, so you can’t get elected in November and write the bill by January.”
Alexander said the bill is based on legislation from the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, an advocacy group in Indianapolis. He said he has also consulted charter school experts and officials at the University of Arkansas. The bill has not been filed.
“We have schools that are failing, and over the past 10 years we have substantially increased the amount that the state spends on education, and it’s not solving the problem,” he said. “The school choice option allows parents flexibility and options so they can pick the best option for their kid.”
Meanwhile, Sen.-elect Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said he agreed with a recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of schools keeping money that they raise from a uniform tax rate when it exceeds the minimum amount each district is required to raise.
Hester said a bill might be needed to clarify the school funding equity while allowing the school districts to keep that additional money, but he would let more-experienced legislators propose the legislation.
“I feel that every child deserves an equal opportunity,” Hester said.
OTHERS
House initially said last week that he had no plan to file legislation in 2013. But then he said he may file a bill to reduce the number of boards and commissions, and restrict how they regulate different professions.
He is also considering legislation to change the state’s ethics laws, he said.
“I’ve got a lot of ideas, but how they turn out at this point I just don’t know,” House said.
Jett said he is interested in finding a way to keep people from using dummy corporations in other states to avoid paying sales tax on airplanes bought or sold in Arkansas.
“Basically what they are doing is hiding that from the state of Arkansas,” Jett said of purchasers. “We don’t really have a handle on how much the state is losing.”
In the Senate, Hendren is considering legislation to change tort laws to reduce businesses’ vulnerability to “frivolous lawsuits.”
Hendren said Texas and other states have less-strict regulations that are luring businesses away from Arkansas.
Sen.-elect Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, said he is putting the “final touches” on a bill to remove the statute of limitations on sex crimes against children. The bill stems from a recent case in Texarkana in which a former youth-baseball coach pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually assaulting several boys - a charge that could not be pursued in state circuit court.
According to Arkansas Code Annotated 5-1-109, prosecutors cannot file charges for several crimes if the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and has reached the age of 28.
“We’re looking to remove that so that those perpetrators can be tried from now on,” Hickey said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/06/2013