A Democratic state senator on Monday appealed Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr’s ruling that a voter-ID bill only required a majority vote in the House and Senate for approval. The lawmaker’s objection delayed action, for at least a day, of Senate Bill 2, which requires Arkansas voters to produce photo identification before casting a ballot.
Also Monday, the Senate approved bills to overhaul the qualifications for the director of the state Department of Higher Education and to require school board elections to be held in November.
The House approved legislation to exempt energy used in agricultural structures such as breeding houses from the state’s sales tax and to require teachers to allow a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day.
State Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, appealed Darr’s ruling that SB2 needed only a majority vote in the Senate and House.
Flowers said she believes that the House Rules Committee last week made the wrong decision in ruling that the bill only required a majority vote when it was approved by the Senate. After the ruling, the House approved the legislation by a 51-44 vote. The Senate approved the bill in a 23-12 vote last month, but the bill returned to the Senate because it was amended. A majority vote is 18 votes in the 35-member Senate; a two-thirds vote is 24 votes.
“I think we’ll look at it objectively, and we’ll go with the letter of the law,” said Flowers, a lawyer.
The sponsor of SB2, Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, told reporters that “it’s just another obstacle that is getting thrown up.
“It’s disappointing to know that this bill has been out here for two-and-a-half months in the Legislature and now, all of a sudden, right here at the end, you start throwing up concerns and it’s part of the process,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything yet that says - or any of the attorneys that I have talked to that have been involved in this process for several years that say - it requires a two-thirds vote, but we’ll see what happen.”
Senate Rules Committee Chairman David Burnett, D-Osecola, said the committee will meet today at noon to consider Flowers’ appeal. The committee comprises nine Democrats and six Republicans.
Senate attorney Steve Cook said the Senate Rules Commission will make an advisory report on Flowers’ appeal, and the Senate will decide by majority vote whether to uphold Darr’s ruling or overturn it.
The Senate is made up of 21 Republicans and 14 Democrats.
SCHOOL ELECTIONS
In a 26-8 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 587 by Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, requiring school board elections to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
The bill narrowly failed to clear the Senate last week, but the chamber 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.
HIGHER ED DIRECTOR
In a 26-2 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 812 by Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, to no longer require the director of the state Department of Higher Education “have relevant experience on a campus of higher education” and be “an experienced educator in the field of higher education.”
Citing family health concerns in September of 2011, former state Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, backed out of a bid for the permanent director’s job shortly before Attorney General Dustin McDaniel released an opinion confirming that under Arkansas law, the director must have “relevant experience on a campus of higher education.”
Hutchinson said his bill is aimed at hiring a competent and qualified director for the department without having to recruit somebody with on-campus experience who will want to be paid more than $200,000 per year. As interim director, Shane Broadway’s annual salary is $129,309; the last director made $188,699.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature enacted a law requiring college experience for the department’s director during Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee’s administration and such a requirement is not necessary, Hutchinson said.
Broadway, a former Democratic state lawmaker from Bryant who lost to Darr of Springdale in the race for lieutenant governor in 2010, has served as interim director since former Director Jim Purcell left to lead Louisiana’s higher-education efforts in February 2011.
Broadway, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, previously served as director of client development for In-Sight Communications and as a consultant with the Saline County Economic Development Corp.
Broadway served in the Legislature from 1997-2011, spending his first six years in the House of Representatives and the last eight in the Senate.
SCHOOL CHOICE
A bill that would allow students who transferred under the Public School Choice Act of 1989 to remain in their nonresident schools if the act is later ruled unconstitutional or is repealed failed to clear the Senate by one vote.
The Senate’s vote on House Bill 1294 by Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, was 17-6. Eighteen votes are required to approve a bill in the Senate. Twelve senators didn’t vote on the bill.
The act was struck down by U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson in June. That decision is on hold and has been appealed. A panel of federal judges is deciding whether transfers between districts can be restricted on the basis of race. The bill also would allow a sibling of a nonresident student to enroll at the same school for the duration of their secondary education.
TREASURER’S OFFICE
The Senate voted to send Senate Bill 838 by Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, back to the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee, at Rapert’s request.
The bill would expand the state Board of Finance, increase its oversight of the state treasurer’s investments and require the board to select several employees in the treasurer’s office.
Rapert said he plans to amend the bill to have the chief investment officer in the treasurer’s office be the only employee in the treasurer’s office to report to the board of finance. The state treasurer will appoint the chief investment officer with the finance board’s consent, he said.
AGRICULTURE EXEMPTIONS
The House voted 94-0 in favor of a bill that would provide a sales-tax exemption for energy used in agricultural structures, such as breeding houses.
Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, D-Hermitage, said House Bill 1039would benefit poultry farms and hatcheries around the state.
The state Department of Finance and Administration has said the bill would reduce state revenue by about $4 million in fiscal 2014 and about $10 million in fiscal 2015.
Legislative leaders have said they want to cut taxes by $100 million to $150 million in fiscal 2014, but they have yet to announce an agreement on which tax cuts would be included in their tax package.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
The House of Representatives passed 79-4 a bill that would require teachers to allow students a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day.
Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, said House Bill 1690 would give pupils the opportunity to pray, reflect or quietly work on some other activity at the beginning of the day.
Hobbs said some pupils are exposed to stressful circumstances outside of school and would benefit from a moment to pause before going on to school work.
STING OPERATIONS
The House approved 78-1 a bill that would make it a felony to trick a licensed firearms dealer by knowingly misleading him in the sale of a weapon or ammunition.
House Bill 1503, sponsored by Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, would make it a Class D felony to obtain a firearm under false pretenses. A Class D felony is punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The bill would not apply to law enforcement officers or to a person acting under a law enforcement officer’s direction.
AEROSPACE AND AVIATION CAUCUS
A group of about 25 lawmakers, several of whom are pilots, have banded together to create an Aerospace and Aviation Caucus to educate their colleagues about the importance of the industry in Arkansas.
Co-chairman Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, said he doesn’t expect any aviation-related legislation this session. He said the caucus will organize aviation-related tours for interested members after the session ends.
“This industry is critical to Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “I think it’s time we highlight them.”
The caucus will also stress the role of military bases in Arkansas.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 03/19/2013