BENTONVILLE -- Money for a new headquarters for Arkansas State Police Troop L is close to approval in the state Legislature, lawmakers said at a forum Saturday.
"As far as regional issues go, this might be the most important one for us in this legislative session," said Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale.
Woods was among lawmakers speaking at a forum hosted by the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce and the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce on Saturday morning at Northwest Arkansas Community College.
In 2011, state police bought 25 acres in Lowell for the facility. The agency had been trying since 2005 to buy land to build a new regional headquarters.
Senate Bill 636 by Woods would keep current fees on driver's licenses, typically $12, in place. A portion of those fees goes to pay bonds issued in 1997 to build a state police headquarters in Little Rock. The same 1997 bond issue also paid for the statewide radio communication system used by the state police.
Those bonds are due to be paid off in June 2018, and the fees dedicated to those bond repayments will expire at the same time. SB636 would extend the life of the fees -- which amount to $10 million a year -- and authorize the state police to issue new bonds to build regional headquarters.
Money from the fees also would be used to maintain, improve and expand the communications system and pay for new vehicles for state police.
Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, is the House sponsor of the bill. The measure passed the Senate 33-0 on Thursday. It received the approval of the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday.
The current headquarters of Troop L in Springdale is too small to allow the 30 troopers stationed there and their five commanders to meet at the same time, Della Rosa and Woods said.
The new headquarters is tentatively planned to be 36,000 square feet. It also would house investigators of crimes against children. A driver's license testing center, which is currently in a rented building, would be moved to the site. Bigger, more secure storage space for evidence is also planned, and space for a state revenue office is possible, Woods said.
The site is 6.5 miles north of the current headquarters of Troop L, northwest of the intersection of Interstate 49 and Arkansas 264 in Benton County. Access to I-49 was a major consideration for the state police in picking the site.
Troop L covers Washington, Benton, Madison and Carroll counties.
In other topics at Saturday's forum, Rep. Sue Scott, R-Rogers, announced that 67 of the 100 members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors of her bill to allow veterans of the armed services to be licensed to practice their trades in Arkansas more quickly.
House Bill 1723 would allow state boards or commissions to issue temporary licenses or certifications in skilled trades, such as welding, to veterans or their spouses if they are already licensed to practice in another state.
The bill also would allow those boards and commissions to consider the military training and experience of veterans and grant licenses more quickly if that training and experience qualifies them. HB1723 also fixes a problem in which a member of the armed services could lose his certification during a deployment to active duty.
Metro on 03/08/2015