A bill requiring the Arkansas secretary of state to help place a privately funded Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol grounds swiftly cleared the Arkansas Senate.
In a 27-3 vote, the Senate sent Senate Bill 939 by Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, to the House. Little Rock Democrats Linda Chesterfield, Joyce Elliott and David Johnson voted against the bill.
It's now in the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. Rapert said he expects Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, to present the bill to the committee either today or Friday.
The Senate's action came a day after the bill narrowly passed the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is comprised of four Republicans and four Democrats. Sen. David Burnett, D-Osceola, sided with four Republicans on the committee to approve it.
The bill would require the secretary of state to help private entities arrange for the monument to be designed, constructed and placed on the state Capitol grounds. No state funds would be spent on the monument under the legislation.
The secretary of state would approve the design and site selection and arrange a suitable time for its placement.
Rapert said that "the bottom line is we want to honor the historical significance of the Ten Commandments.
"The Ten Commandments are in the U.S. Supreme Court. They are honored in the U.S. House of Representatives and honored in the National Archives and courthouses and public buildings all over the country," he told reporters.
"Nobody would be forced to view the monument and nobody is asked to make a pledge to the monument and [the bill] simply allows us to give honor.
"I think it will be a great addition to the Arkansas Capitol grounds, and I look forward for the bill becoming law and for the purchase and approval of the monument by the secretary of state," Rapert said.
Earlier, Elliott told senators that the legislation is divisive and disregards the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on state establishment of religion.
"There are people in my district who are Hindu. There are people in my district who are Buddhist, and there are other people in the district who are even atheist," she said, urging colleagues not to use "the tyranny of the majority" to advance particular religious texts.
Chesterfield told senators that "my Jesus Christ said a new commandment I give you, that you love one another.
"Why aren't we talking about that as we move toward Easter Day?"
Rapert said he loves Chesterfield and Elliott.
"We are with you on other things," he said.
"The U.S. Supreme Court has two depictions of the Ten Commandments," Rapert said.
"When somebody says this is purposely divisive, I would say that when 74 percent of the country say this is perfectly permissible, that is not divisive," he said.
"I believe this is a good vote, and it does not cost the taxpayer any money," Rapert said.
In the event that the legality or constitutionality of the monument is challenged in court, the attorney general may prepare or present a legal defense of the monument or request that the Liberty Institute prepare and present a legal defense of the monument, according to the bill.
The Liberty Institute is the "largest legal organization in America dedicated solely to defending and preserving religious liberty in America," according to its website.
"The placement of the monument ... shall not be construed to mean that the state of Arkansas favors any particular religion or denomination over others," the bill states.
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, in a 5-4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments display at the Texas state Capitol in Austin. Similar displays in Kentucky, far newer than the Texas monument, were struck down.
In Oklahoma, a circuit judge upheld a 2009 Oklahoma law similar to SB939.
Republican Secretary of State Mark Martin is "neutral on [the SB939]'s passage but [stands] willing to implement [the bill] if the [Arkansas] Legislature passes the law," said Martin spokesman Laura Labay.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson hasn't had a chance to review the language of the bill yet, "but he will continue to monitor the legislation as it [moves through] the Legislature," Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said when asked whether the governor supports the bill.
Metro on 03/26/2015