Voter-ID bill needs 2/3 tally, lawmaker says

Send back to Senate, he says

At the state Capitol Monday, Arkansas House of Representatives employees Jimmie White (left) and Laura Butler were busy processing new pieces of legislation. Monday was the deadline for fi ling bills.
At the state Capitol Monday, Arkansas House of Representatives employees Jimmie White (left) and Laura Butler were busy processing new pieces of legislation. Monday was the deadline for fi ling bills.

A bill requiring Arkansans to provide photo identification to vote should be sent back to the Senate because it failed to get the two-thirds vote in the Senate required by the Arkansas Constitution, a Democratic state lawmaker said Monday. But the bill’s Republican sponsor said he disagreed because legislative attorneys told him that the bill required only a majority vote to clear the Senate.

Also Monday, the 57th day of the session, bills to increase cell-phone taxes and to make volunteer firefighters eligible for a state income tax deduction advanced through the Legislature.

But bills to require school board elections to be held in November and to limit most elections to May or November failed to clear the Senate and House, respectively.

Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, said Monday that he’ll object to a bill that requires voters to provide photo identification to vote when it is read on the House floor today.

“It was passed out of the Senate without the required two-thirds vote so I’m going to ask that it be brought back to the Senate,” Nickels said. On Feb. 20, the Senate voted 23-12 to approve the bill.

Nickels said that because Senate Bill 2 by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, deals with at least one of the sections of Amendment 51, the measure requires a two-thirds vote to pass the Senate. According to Section 19 of Amendment 51, “The General Assembly may, in the same manner as required for amendment of laws initiated by the people, amend Sections 5 through 15 of this amendment, so long as such amendments are germane to this amendment, and consistent with its policy and purposes.”

House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, said he plans to send the bill to the House Rules Committee to be reviewed if it is objected to on the floor.

“I suspect I will refer that point of order to the rules committee for consideration Wednesday or Thursday, to give people the time to form their legal opinions and present their case in front of the Rules Committee,” Carter said.

Carter, an attorney, said he wasn’t sure what course the committee would take.

King said attorneys for the Bureau of Legislative Research and Senate have advised him that the bill would require a majority vote in the House and Senate for approval.

“I have not heard anything from our staff attorneys … that says it is anything but a simple majority,” he said.

CELL-PHONE FEES

The House Advanced Communications and Information Technology Committee approved a bill that would raise fees paid by cell phone users to maintain an advanced 911 program, study current 911 call centers and bring broadband to certain rural areas.

The current wireless user fee is 65 cents per phone per month, while the wireline tax varies from 5 percent to 12 percent of the base rate.

Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, told the committee that his Senate Bill 797 would create a new monthly fee of 40 cents per customer and that would raise about $20 million.

Of that amount, about $17 million would be placed in the Arkansas High Cost Fund and used to finish bringing broadband to people across the state.

About $2 million would be split among rural 911 systems and about $1 million would provide funding for a program called Smart911. With Smart911, first responders can access information about a caller, such as their health problems, via an online profile linked to the caller’s cell phone number. Arkansas became the first state in the nation to implement Smart911 in June.

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TAX BREAK

In a 34-0 vote, the Senate sent to Gov. Mike Beebe a bill to make volunteer firefighters eligible for an income tax deduction of up to $1,000 a year.

House Bill 1399 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 during their firefighting duties. It defines a volunteer firefighter as one who receives less than $5,000 in total compensation during the year from a volunteer fire department or firefighting unit.

About 11,500 volunteer firefighters would be eligible for the tax deduction, which would reduce state revenue by about $48,700 a year, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER

A bill requiring school board elections to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November narrowly failed to clear the state Senate.

The Senate’s 17-12 vote on Senate Bill 587 by Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, fell one vote short of the 18 required for approval. The Senate later voted to expunge the vote, clearing the way for another vote on the measure.

The bill would allow the county board of election commissioners to include the school board election on a separate ballot if the board determines that a separate ballot is needed to avoid voter confusion.

ELECTIONS

In a 45-49 vote, the House failed to approve House Bill 1357, by Rep. Allen Kerr, R-Little Rock,

Kerr told the House that his bill would limit most local elections to May and November, increasing voter turnout “exponentially.”

Under the bill, most elections would be held at the same time as primary elections or general elections. If the election is held on a year without primary elections or general elections, the election would have to be held “on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in May or the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.”

HIGHER ED DIRECTOR

The Senate Education Committee approved a bill to lower the job requirement for the director of the state Department of Higher Education.

Senate Bill 812, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, would eliminate a state law requiring that the department’s director “must have relevant experience on a campus of higher education” and be “an experienced educator in the field of higher education.”

The committee amended the bill so the director could be paid a salary comparable to other positions that require similar qualifications or experience. Current law requires a salary comparable to a similar position at a college or university. The salary is capped at $192,000 and the members of the Higher Education Coordinating Board have asked for either a higher salary or a change to the job requirements so Interim Director Shane Broadway would be qualified to fill the job.

INMATE CO-PAYS

In a 32-1 vote, the Senate approved legislation allowing the Board of Corrections to implement a copay from inmates each time they receive health care.

Senate Bill 803 by Bobby Pierce, D-Sheridan, does not set an amount for the copay. Pierce has said that it would be $3.

WRONGFUL DEATH OF UNBORN CHILDREN

In a 35-0 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 417 by Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, that expands the definition of an unborn child in the state’s criminal code and in wrongful death cases.

Existing law defines an unborn child as a living fetus of 12 weeks or more gestation.

Hendren’s bill would define an unborn child as an offspring of human beings from conception until birth.

“It’s not an abortion bill,” he told senators. “It’s a wrongful death bill.”

WINE DELIVERIES

In a 78-9 vote, the House approved a bill that would allow limited wine deliveries in the state.

Rep. Mary Broadaway, D-Paragould, said House Bill 1749 would allow for the delivery of one case of wine per quarter, but the buyer would have to purchase it in person from a winery before it could be shipped. The bill would not allow Internet or phone sales.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 03/12/2013

Upcoming Events