State Capitol briefs

Maternity-leave bill clears House 93-0

Legislation to give state workers four weeks of paid maternity leave -- to be taken out of an existing pool of unused sick leave -- passed Wednesday in the House.

The House voted 93-0 to send Senate Bill 125 by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, to Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Rep. DeAnn Vaught, R-Horatio, the House sponsor of the bill, and a Democratic colleague who had offered a more expansive proposal, both lauded the effort.

The bill would use time from the state's Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank for the birth or adoption of a child. The bank, made up of unused and donated time to be given in case of emergencies, contains 1,595,006 hours of leave, Vaught said.

In 2015, 237 births were claimed on state insurance, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. Because the donated hours already are included in the state budget, the department does not project any direct cost to the state, a spokesman said.

"It's not like we're going to delete this bank," Vaught said. "We're finally going to be able to provide something that we should have been providing for a long time."

The leave would be available to women within the first 12 weeks after birth or adoption. The bill does not offer paternity leave.

Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, who proposed House Bill 1046 to give state workers six weeks of paid maternity leave, told the chamber that SB125 is "phenomenal policy."

Under a previous shared-leave program, workers in certain agencies could donate unused leave to agencywide shared banks or directly to a co-worker.

-- John Moritz

Senate panel backs 'born-alive' measure

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed legislation Wednesday that would require doctors to attempt to save babies that are born alive during an abortion.

Senate Bill 148 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, would "create born-alive infant protection."

If an abortion results in a live birth, the bill would require the doctor to notify the mother, provide immediate medical care to the infant and call 911 if the birth does not occur in a hospital. Failing to do so would be a Class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison.

A similar law exists federally, but Stubblefield said it applies only to federal facilities, thus the need for a state law.

Arkansas prohibits abortion past the 19th week of pregnancy.

-- John Morit

Charter-panel shift gets committee OK

The Senate Education Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would allow outsiders to be members of the public charter school-authorizing panel.

The panel now consists of professional staff members at the Arkansas Department of Education.

Education Commissioner Johnny Key told lawmakers that Senate Bill 304 by Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Cave Springs, was broader than the change he was seeking. Gov. Asa Hutchinson is Hendren's uncle.

Key later told a reporter that he wanted to include someone from the state Department of Career Education on the panel, but the department had not yet drafted legislation to allow him to do so.

Hendren said it makes sense to give the commissioner the power to choose panelists from all backgrounds.

"I think this is more broad," he said. "We all know the value that having various backgrounds brings to any decision-making body."

-- Brian Fanney

Wine-shipments bill sails through House

Legislation that would allow Arkansans to have wine shipped to their homes without a visit to the winery passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

House Bill 1463, by Rep. Sarah Capp, R-Ozark, would allow small farm wineries in Arkansas to ship directly to customers. Out-of-state wineries and wineries that produce more than 250,000 gallons still would be subject to a direct-shipment prohibition.

The House voted 92-1 on HB1463, sending it to the Senate.

Referring to a more controversial measure that would allow grocery stores to sell a larger variety of wines -- which are now only offered in liquor stores -- Capp made sure her colleagues had no confusion about her measure, which she said had no opposition.

"This is not the bill you have been receiving emails about or calls about," Capp joked. She was referring to Senate Bill 284 by Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, which is in the House Rules Committee.

HB1463 would require that wineries receive identification from buyers showing they are 21 and over, and label all shipments to direct the carrier to obtain a signature verifying the buyer's age. Sales taxes for the shipments would be collected at the point of shipment.

-- John Moritz

Tree-ordinance bar falls 6 votes short

The Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation aimed at barring local governments from prohibiting or hindering a landowner from trimming or removing his trees, bushes or shrubs.

The 12-15 vote on Senate Bill 286 by Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, fell six votes of the 18 votes required for approval in the 35-member Senate.

The Senate later expunged the vote to clear the way for another vote.

The bill would bar a city, county or a town from restricting by ordinance or otherwise the right of a landowner to perform tree maintenance on his property.

But the bill states that it doesn't permit a landowner to perform tree maintenance on his property if the tree maintenance would violate a property covenant or deed restriction; or a bill of assurance, requirement or restriction imposed by a homeowners' association, a property owners' association or a similar organization imposed by a recorded master deed.

Under the bill, "an ordinance of a county, city or town that conflicts with this [bill] is repealed to the extent of the conflict."

Hester told senators that some cities have tree ordinances that require a landowner to get permission to cut trees on his property and property owners have a right to maintain their own trees.

But Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, said the bill will void tree ordinances across the state and disenfranchise people in Fayetteville who voted for an ordinance that applies to large scale developments and excludes homes.

-- Michael R. Wickline

A Section on 02/16/2017