State Capitol briefs

Senate panel backs higher-ed formula

The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill to fund state colleges and universities on the basis of their productivity instead of enrollment.

Without dissent, the committee approved House Bill 1209. The House passed the bill 80-10 Tuesday.

The model is a priority for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has pledged an additional $10 million for the state's 11 public universities and 22 public community colleges in fiscal 2019, starting July 1, 2018, if the Legislature adopts the new formula measure.

Maria Markham, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said the change would encourage institutions to advance students.

But Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, argued in committee that the state had not invested enough in higher education.

"What we are doing may be helpful, but the biggest thing we're doing is not invested in higher ed," she said.

-- Brian Fanney

Bill to curb review of accident reports

A bill filed Tuesday would shield accident reports from immediate disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act.

House Bill 1403 by Rep. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith, would prevent the public from reviewing accident reports, supplemental information and traffic accident reports until 30 days after the accident.

The bill also states that the "compiling, copying, or distribution of a list of accident reports to a person not employed by an agency that is the custodian of the reports under this section is not permitted."

-- Brian Fanney

Filing by campaigns electronically urged

Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, on Wednesday revived a push to require lawmakers, constitutional officers and judges to file campaign-finance reports electronically.

The state mandates that candidates file reports that specify who gave them money and how the candidates spent it. The reports can be handwritten and need not be typed into a database or spreadsheet file.

The secretary of state's office, which oversees elections, keeps the finance reports on file.

"What we have today is what I would call a token gesture," Della Rosa said. She said the current system is not useful because it's difficult to track donation trends across candidates and races.

House Bill 1427 was filed as the Arkansas secretary of state brings a new $700,000 electronic finance reporting system online. Without required electronic filing, "the public will have a wonderful search engine for an incomplete database," Della Rosa said.

The new system should silence criticism about the old system, which was considered clunky and unreliable, she said.

To assuage the concerns of lawmakers who lack access to the Internet, Della Rosa's bill allows candidates to attest that they don't have technology necessary to file the reports electronically. They would be able to file paper reports. In 2016, at least 31 states mandated electronic disclosure, according to the state Bureau of Legislative Research.

-- Brian Fanney

Gift-ban exemption clears Senate 35-0

A bill to exempt legislators' use of facilities of state agencies and local governments for meetings from the gift ban under Amendment 94 to the Arkansas Constitution sailed through the Senate on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 169, by Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, was approved 35-0.

Amendment 94 bars lawmakers and other state officials from accepting certain gifts from lobbyists, including meals in one-to-one meetings.

Williams said the Bureau of Legislative Research paid Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville for room rental and other costs for a legislative committee's meetings. Mullenix & Associates is registered as a lobbyist for the Arkansas Northeastern College Foundation. The bill would allow the committee to use the rooms for free.

Arkansas Northeastern College charged the bureau $1,500 "for rent, set up, test, and monitor sound equipment for meetings" from Sept. 28-30 with "unlimited water and coffee for meetings," according to the bureau's records.

Other colleges and universities have charged legislators to use their meeting rooms for committee meetings because of Amendment 94, Williams said.

-- Michael R. Wickline

Senate OKs repeal of '05 incentive act

The Senate on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 160 by Sen. David Wallace, R-Leachville, that would repeal the Non-Profit Incentive Act of 2005.

The 26-0 vote sends the proposed legislation to the House.

The law, enacted in 2005, allows incentives of state and local sales and use tax refunds and payroll rebates to eligible nonprofit organizations approved by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.

Wallace told senators the law was designed to draw nonprofit organizations to the state, but they would rather stay in Washington, D.C.

The incentives authorized under the law have never been used, and the commission asked him to sponsor the bill eliminating the program, he said.

-- Michael R. Wickline

Rules panel favors speaker's gifts bill

House Speaker Jeremy Gillam's proposed legislation that would allow foreign and U.S. governments with lobbyists to pay for lawmakers' travel expenses cleared the House Rules Committee on Wednesday.

Lawmakers are barred by the Arkansas Constitution from receiving certain gifts from lobbyists, but the prohibition does not include informational materials such as books or pamphlets.

House Bill 1401 would expand the definition of informational material to include "transportation for tours and briefings."

The language would specifically allow for domestic and international trips paid for by U.S. and foreign governments that bear a "relationship to the office." Such payments can include food, transportation and lodging.

Gillam's bill also would reduce from 30 days to 10 the amount of time lawmakers have to repay or return illegal gifts.

The 15 members of the Rules Committee are selected by the speaker, a Republican from Judsonia. The House considers the bill next.

-- John Moritz

Sex-offender rules for schools advance

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday endorsed stricter rules on when sex offenders may visit public school grounds.

Senate Bill 32, by Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, would prohibit Level 4 sex offenders -- the most serious designation -- from attending ticketed events such as football games. Level 3 offenders would have to give the school 24 hours' notice and provide for security to escort them.

Under the current laws, written in Arkansas Code 5-14-132, the two most serious categories of sex offenders may enter school grounds only if they are students, parents who need to deliver personal items or attend teachers conferences, or individuals attending a graduation ceremony or other ticketed event open to the public. Sex offenders also can go on school grounds on days when there are no students present.

Hickey's bill only makes new rules for ticketed events. Those events would be open to relatives who are within four degrees of consanguinity, such as cousins, unless they are Level 4 sex offenders.

-- John Moritz

A Section on 02/02/2017

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