Senate Convenes

The. The. The. The. Senate will be called to order are there any requests for leave at this time madame secretary please call the room brought called well chesterfield park crowl davis design dots and english floor both flowers gilmore hammer hester hickey hill arvin blake johnson mark johnson king ledding love mcmurdoch patent pinso petty rice stone stabberfield sullivan turker wallace thank madame secretary if everyone in the chamber in the galleries would please rise for a prayer led by senator ricky hill followed by the pledge of alleged center hill you're recognized thank you matt we haven't you would please join me in a prayer you're only followed thank you for this day you've given us lord we pray lord mature watch over us and take care of us lord we pray that we'll make good guarantee decisions for you lauren will one of the work that we're doing in your name or we pray that you'll be with those who are suffering we praise our military spread throughout the world law we pray for their safety to make it home to their families we pray towards your watcher which over the amount take care of the emlore and we pray lord for the country be israel or reply for the amount in the decision that I have to micro we pray that you'll be with the omen in lead gan direct deal in the galley decision that's made we prior to watch over us and forgive us where we have failed you in your name we pray amian legislation through the flag united states at the moment one nation individual liberty and justice for. Thank you sender who or for those words ladies and gentlemen in the galleries welcome to your arkansas senate it is our expectation that each of you want to size proper the coral and gathering yourself accordingly during today's proceedings without objection the rules will be suspended in the senate full of spence with the reading of the journal morning hour has now begun are there any announcements or introductions at this time and the bill you're recognized colleges if you would please are pleased to want to me in a welcome our doctor the day doctor thomas de graph he's the the doctor at a little rock air force base is great to have him here today and appreciate your service and everything he does take care of our our airmen so if you would please give him around a proud of the parliament thank you very much and we have a nurse today miss brenda's good to have you here recognized thank you madame president members colleagues today in the east gallery we have the members of the arkansas school nutrition association and the child nutrition directors and with your indulgence I just wanted talk a little bit about the work that they do in the effect that we've had on their work in the last year they're here in parts today to do their jobs but also in part to celebrate a law that we passed last year act six thirty six a while that we passed was you always heard the term free and reduced lunch well if you qualify for a duce lunch then you had a copay that you had to make and why should we eliminated that copy so that every child in arkansas who qualifies for free or reduce lunch can get both breakfast and lunch at school. Free of charge of their family this amanda west is one of the leaders of this organization shortly after the school year started last year told me a story of a family and her district back in uh in senator gilmore's part of the state she works in monaster and she said that after the school you're started a mom called her and she said I have enough money in my account do I have enough money to last until september twentieth and the reason she mentioned that day was because that was the next day she was going to get paid she had two kids in the elementary school there in month seller and she did not by breakfast for her kids because they could not afford both the copay for breakfast and launch it was lunch only and miss west looked her up in the system and she said ma'am that amount that you have in your account is going to last for the entire school year and for the rest of their time in school and you can have it back because your kids now qualify for free breakfast and lunch every day in that woman cried and that is one family and the law that we passed had that impact on forty nine thousand families in arkansas in every single one of our districts and we have hard days down here but we do some really wonderful things as well and that is something that we can all be really proud of in feel really good about and we had a little bit to do with that and it's these people in the gallery who were doing that work for the kids in our districts all over the state every single day so I want to give them a very hard felt welcome today to the arkansas and that bill had thirty something co sponsors and zero no votes I wanted to mention that as well northern announcements madam secretary or their items at the desk is made and president where your committee on joint budget term was first bill twenty. Six by joint budgets cynical thirty bad joint budget symbol thirty three bad joint budget single forty three by joint budget senate bill forty six by joint budget statements sixty five by joint budget single sixty six bad drive budget single sixty seven management budget senate will sixty eight bad joint budget symbol sixty nine by joint budget and it will seventy bad joint budget single seventy one by joint budget single seventy two bad joint budget symbol seventy three by joint budgets seventy four by joint budget single seventy five by joint budget simple seventy six bad joint budget are prepared report that we have considered the bills and recommend do pass calendar there is no further business to come before the body in the morning hour if not the morning hour has expired we will now begin the business agenda then with senators senate resolution six. We will move instead to scr sender picking our sponsored pay admin here. Since the concurrent resolution one meth centre he keep to amend the joint rules of the house representatives in the senate of the ninety fourth general semi side of arkansas members what this is is uh uh basically whatever we had uh did all the bills that rework d b d what we had done as we put some of our procedures actually in the statute itself when it should have been in the joint rules so what we're doing here is just putting this in the joint rules so it'll be part of our procedures which is the correct place that it all to be the only thing that we've changed is this whenever we did set up the whatever we had set this up we said that there had to be a physical impact on basically all health benefit benefit plans of the state so what we've done is we've removed that and we just put it as it affects the public school employees in the state employees which would time back to EBD because what we had found out is that was an astronomical thing to try to do during the session and again that's the bill i'll attempt answering questions any questions with senator senate payment your recognized thank you madame president how does this affect the camel for following the bills it's got the total mention for download well right now right now within the statute it says it it you have to file the bills within fifteen days so what that's going to do is make that consistent with our rules the reasons that were the reason that we're actually putting it in the rules is this as we say all the time as far as our procedures ago that one general assembly cannot buy and another so by putting in in the rules it would be in the general assembly and the reason we're doing this in the physical session is it so all the members know before the regular session gets here and employed for that so it's not changing the deadline is just adopting it into the rules. That is exactly craig yes we we we currently have fifteen days in the statute somebody could make an argument that you know that again that one general assembly couldn't born other within the statute but as long as we've got it in the rules and we adopt those rules ever time that'll be part of it thank you sir senators and your recognized that you manage are there anything is there anything additional being put into that fifteen day window that is not currently part of the rules as they're being changed at I didn't think there was that you're just making all inclusive to the program in general right as as as it relates to state employees insurance in public school insurance we're taking out something we're not putting anything in addition what we're taking out of court of course is all health benefit plans which would have included hard education in some other things the reason that you know they have their own plan a lot of money you have their own consultants and to be quite honest even if we file some of these bills they could actually use use our fiscal impact study themselves to extrapolate back to extrapolate their cost so there's nothing but i'm saying there's nothing additional any other types of bills that would be included that are not currently included that like private insurance or things to that nature because there was a class for that nose for those are not included we did not do that yesterday thanks for the question any other questions which speak against the balls are those in favor of please signify the same I in the opposed as head said it can current resolution one is adopted please transmit to the house we will now move to the budget calendar center this may. Memor a minimum to the senate low team of this man you're recognized about this is an amendment to change really some names for some wording that since that she does not have anything to do with the actual dollar amounts it's uh to change there's something called savry which is the structured assessment of violent risk in youth and it changes that to the assessment of behavioral health screenings and it does that again for those related program expenses to assessment screening expenses any questions for a sender this may seem to buy percent I can any opposed as habit the member is adopted please enter everything amendment to the senate they'll twenty two this just there's no change in preparation levels this does move appropriation thresholds up and down amongst the the bill the same thing will be true for you am here in the minute on their next bill but again there's no no increase authority spend overall any questions for center of this man all those in favor of police significant same I posed as have it amendment is adopted please send to in brooks amendment one to send it the twenty five again no change in the overall preparation any questions for sender of this main all those in favor of the minute please sign a five percent I can be opposed as her at the amendment is a doctor please entering our members on the next set we're going to batch we're going to have two batches one for the first page uh set of bills so that's going to be speed to through speed thirty seven and then we're going to have a second batch that will start with SB thirty eight and go through SB sixty two uh what i'm going to do on the first page is read those out if you have one that you want a whole for a separate batch let us know we'll pull that out or bachelor for a separate vote. Let us know we'll pull that out we will do that for both the first page in the second page will have a vote on all those that want to be individually pulled and they will have two batch votes again one for the first page one of the second page someone read through that if you have one that you need to pull out for a separate vote let us know cynic bill to five six seven eight fourteen fifteen eighteen twenty twenty seven thirty four thirty five thirty six thirty seven so we're not going to pull any from those never going to go to the second page is on page two we're going to count thirty seven to age two year man did not act so thirty seven it's actually going to be in this next round it cuts off different on my page so then it's going to be thirty seven thirty eight thirty nine forty one forty two forty eight forty nine fifty two fifty five fifty six to determine fifty eight sixty one sixty two like full any of those bills out for separate vote. Fifty nine I got thirty nine all right anybody at signature will vote page one first. Any objection to rolling the vote on the back on the first bank man secretary please well about boen branch called well chester bill clark crawl davis days this mine doesn't english flip of flowers gill more hammer historically help or have in blake johnson mark johnson king ledding love the key maradoc payton penzo petty rice stone stabberfield sullivan tucker wallace any sender wish to change his or her vote saying nan please cast up the balance by vote thirty five ya dispatch bills has an emergency clause are adopted please transmit to the house second voucher. Good. Right anyone have an objection to rolling the vote on the second match madam sectory please roll the boat board brand called well chesterfield clark crowl davis days this mine doesn't english flipper flowers gilmore hammer hester hickey hill arvin like johnson mark johnson king letting love making murdoch pattern pinson petty rice stone stability sullivan tapper wallace any senator wish to change his her vote sender king are good sector and please cash up the balance by vote of thirty five yay zero name second batch passes emergency clauses are enacted please transmit to the house. Send your history you're recognized by a mountain a dinner i'm going to ask that we recess for five minutes and i'd like to visit with everybody back in the quarter of just on some logistics over the next few days if you might send it will stay in the research for five minutes. Senator will be back in come back to order sender days you're recognized cinema and solution six passenger days to recognize the grab it has school living lands girl softball team is the twenty twenty three four a state champions thank you madam chair i'd ask for leave for the state chairmanship teams from grab it at the common in here and get settled. All right all right. Well members we have a great group here from grab at arkansas we have the state championship men's wrestling team we also have the the lady softball team that couldn't be here today that are also champions and we have the lady's cross country team and synergots and I share a lot of part of this districts who were here today excited to welcome you to your arks off state senate madame chair thank you for the opportunity to read a resolution i'm a read of a portion of all three of their resolutions and excited to celebrate them today it's also special today too because our very own the ten governor has her sister in law is a teacher in gravity school district second grade teacher so we give a very special welcome to her services there to the team but today were three a little bit for them whereas the twenty twenty four grave at high school lions boys wrestling team won the state championship in the four a division at the term in little rock on february twenty third to twenty fourth two thousand twenty forty four instead of tournament high with a hundred and eighty four points whereas the thirteen qualified team members were named to the all state team energed metals at the state wrestling tournament whereas the twenty twenty four gravite high school lions boys wrestling teams modo was g g g for grab it goes gold and gravit went goal whereas the twenty twenty three grab at high school ladies lions cross country team won the for a state championship and hot springs on thursday november second twenty twenty three and whereas the twenty twenty three grave at high school lady lions cross country team team victory in the in the four a state chipship marks a historical achievement by making the team go back to back for a state championship and four a one conference champions in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three whereas the team was led by coach of the year women's cross country coach of the year chris weller. And whereas also the gravit high school lady lines softball team completed the twenty twenty two twenty twenty three season as state champions and went twenty three and two whereas the great grab it high school lady lines software team was led by coach samantha luther and assisted coach kevin call and whereas the grab at high school lady line softball team contribute to their set success by plain with grit heart and if it never giving up understanding the importance of playing together as a team and in which every player's role matters so whereas we recognize all three of these grab it teams now therefore be it resolved by the senate of the ninety fourth general assembly of the state of arkansas that the senate recognized the grab it high school lady lions softball team as a twenty twenty three four a state champions and the lighty the lady lions cross country team as the twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three for a six champions and finally the grab at high school wrestling team as a twenty twenty four state champions be it further resolved that upon adoption of this resolution a copy will be given to both all coaches in members I ask for a great vote for this resolution to support this team these coaches this community and all parents involve that led them to be the lines that they are today members asked for a good vote of resolution senate resolution six to recognize the grab at high school lady lines rural softball team as the two thousand and twenty three four a state champions are those in favor please sign a part of the same I am any opposed as head resolution six is adapted and now we will take up senate resolution seven so although senator these talked about all three resolutions we're going. To take them up individually in vote on them individually senate resolution seven by seventy days to recognize the grab it has to lines boys were a slight team as a twenty twenty four four a state champions are those in favor of senate resolution seven to recognize the grab at high school lions boys wrestling team as the two thousand twenty four four a state champions please sign a final saying any opposed as have it sent a resolution seven is about center resolution after these to recognize that where I would have school lighting lines girls cross country team as the twenty twenty two twenty twenty three for a state champions and four a one conference changes are those in favor of senate resolution eight to recognize the grab high school lady lions girls cross country team is the two thousand twenty two into twenty three four a state champions and for a one conference champions police signature five percent I oppose as have it sent resolution eight years adopted into these medicare thank you in members if we'd have two minutes for a quick picture and to smile their parents appear for all their hard work and it will take it easier a couple of moments for quick pictures and it's mallet parents and i'm on a compound and join you off. Yeah I went to capital for a year. Yeah. Is there any further business or announcements yesterday. Excellent okay members month sender hester you're recognized for an announcement so i'm gonna ask the lieutenant governor when the appropriate time is that we just recess until the house has completed their work so that we can file and read bills across the desk is that well once the house. Just. Okay Members I just want to point out there's been some movement on special language it is seven thirty tomorrow morning so just if you have something on the agenda you want to present please be there if you prefer that you visit with me before just so we understand how to understand what's going to take place tomorrow but if you have something on general get with me but it's seven thirty more morning other announcements. Any other amounts sorry for your heads through your recognized a members so whatever passes in the house we we can we can go ahead and say we're adjourned subject to clearing the desk the desk will be open till five o'clock whatever passes out of their committee the member it off its kings or brians for urbans they can foul the bill and it can go ahead and be read across the desk in the sand to committee that does not require us to be in session to make that happen that makes sense so we can go ahead and we can move on about our day just subject to clearing the desk the bill members will follow bills and they'll be read and send to sent to committee. Michael tomorrow right no further announcements they send it or stand and a german subject to the plan at the dask until one PM tomorrow april eighteenth two thousand twenty four.