March 13, 2013
Video
Transcript
Bills discussed (31)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
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HB1633
· 6 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1633”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1136
· 4 mentions in transcript, chapter
Matched: “1136. House Bill 1136 for Representative Linderman to clarify disability retireme…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1447
· 3 mentions in transcript, chapter
Matched: “…over House Bill 1617. Representative Fite moves we re-refer House Bill 1447 to the House Judiciary Committee. That's a”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1746
· 3 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1746”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HR1023
· 3 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HR1023”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1584
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…er, we your committee on state agencies to whom is referred House Bill 1584 House Bill 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bi…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB2
· 2 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “SB2”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1403
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…Affairs, beg to leave a report that, to whom was referred, House Bill 1403, 1569, 1755, 1771, and Senate Bill 199, beg to leave a repo…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1457
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…we your committee on state agencies to whom is referred to House Bill 1457”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1582
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…mmittee on Insurance and Commerce, to whom it was referred, House Bill 1582, 1583, 1779, 1933, 2056, Senate Bill 464, 535, 665, and 789…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1617
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “have passed the bill. Pass over House Bill 1617. Representative Fite moves we re-refer House Bill 1447 to t…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1665
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ittee on state agencies to whom is referred House Bill 1584 House Bill 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House B…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1747
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “This is the passage of House Bill 1747. Prepare the machine, Mr. Clerk. Has everyone voted?”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1754
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…encies to whom is referred House Bill 1584 House Bill 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House B…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1756
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…referred House Bill 1584 House Bill 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House B…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1790
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…Committee on Aging Children and Youth, to whom is referred House Bill 1790, House Bill 1811, House Bill 1812, and House Bill 1813. Beg…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1800
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ill 1584 House Bill 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House B…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1811
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ng Children and Youth, to whom is referred House Bill 1790, House Bill 1811, House Bill 1812, and House Bill 1813. Beg the lead report,…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1812
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…outh, to whom is referred House Bill 1790, House Bill 1811, House Bill 1812, and House Bill 1813. Beg the lead report, we had the same…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1813
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…rred House Bill 1790, House Bill 1811, House Bill 1812, and House Bill 1813. Beg the lead report, we had the same under consideration.…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1819
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ll 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1878
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ll 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1895
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ll 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate Bill 803, and Sen…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1950
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ll 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate Bill 803, and Senate Bill 807.”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB2024
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “Agriculture, to whom was referred House Bill 2024, beg to lead the report, we've had the same under considera…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB199
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…o whom was referred, House Bill 1403, 1569, 1755, 1771, and Senate Bill 199, beg to leave a report, we had the same under consideration…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB422
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ll 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate Bill 803, and Senate Bill 807.”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB464
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…m it was referred, House Bill 1582, 1583, 1779, 1933, 2056, Senate Bill 464, 535, 665, and 789. Beg the lead report, we've had the same…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB797
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “SB797”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB803
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ll 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate Bill 803, and Senate Bill 807.”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB807
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate Bill 803, and Senate Bill 807.”
|
Pre-2017 bill |
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Speaker 1
0:00
...Baltz and Stephen McGee, and to remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance to be led by Representative Debbie Hobbs. Let
Speaker 3
0:15
us pray. God, our good and loving Creator, we give you thanks for your abundant blessings that you bestow upon us as people. and thanksgiving for this great nation gives us the wonderful freedom
of our rights to worship you and help us to continue to enjoy these freedoms in a way that will honor you and glorify you Lord I also ask your blessings upon our elected official the representatives of the house and thanksgiving for the trust that this good people of the state of Arkansas have placed in them.
Lord, they continue to ask for your wisdom, your guidance and your directions and all the decisions that they make. And they make them for the betterment of the people of the state. For those who have no voice, for those who are defenseless, for those who deal with injustice and for those who need to know that they care and there are people watching over them forgive them the wisdom from above
in making all the decisions that will continue to glorify you and to build up this wonderful state and help us continue to be more grateful for this nation and the people of this state we do pray everything we do will bring greater justice and peace throughout our lands we also continue just to help us to be the people that you have created us to be for all those difficult decisions we do rely upon your guidance and your direction
above all everything that we do help us to listen with a tint of ear help us to respect your people who they are creating your image and likeness and help us even though we disagree that you will continue to help us to show our brotherly love and care for the people. So bless our nation, bless our state, bless this body of representatives and help us to be led and guided and directed by you always. For we ask all this through Christ our Lord.
Speaker 8
2:42
Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Speaker 13
2:56
Members, please indicate your presence by pushing your yellow present button. Prepare the machine, Mr. Clerk.
Cast with the ballots, there are 97 members present. The chair seats a quorum.
Speaker 1
3:33
Are there any requests for leave? Representative Wilkins, you recognize. Mr. Speaker, request for leave for Representative Love. Leave granted for Representative Love. Leaves, granted.
Representative Nichols, you recognize. Representative Walker. Leave, granted, for Representative Walker. Leave, granted. Any other requests for leave? Representative Dickinson, you recognize. I am here. I'm
not sure mine showed up. Ms. Clerk, Representative Dickinson
Speaker 13
4:06
is here. Please include her in the present totals. Any other requests for leave? Representative James L. Ward moves we dispense with the reading of the previous day's journal.
No objection, so ordered. Are there reports from select committees? Are there reports from standing
Speaker 24
4:26
committees? Read the reports, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Speaker, we, your Committee on
Chair
Unverified
4:31
Agriculture, to whom was referred House Bill 2024, beg to lead the report, we've had the same under consideration, and herewith return the same with the recommendation. do pass respectfully submitted Matthew Shepard, Chair Mr. Speaker, we your committee on state agencies to whom is referred to House Bill 1457
begs Lee to report if it had the same under consideration herewith return the same with the recommendation that do pass as amended respectfully submitted Representative Andrea Lee, Chair Mr. Speaker, we your committee on state agencies to whom is referred House Bill 1584 House Bill 1665, House Bill 1754, House Bill 1756, House Bill 1800, House Bill 1819, House Bill 1878, House Bill 1895, House Bill 1950, Senate Bill 422, Senate Bill 803, and Senate Bill 807.
And Begley Report, we've had the same under consideration here. We have to return the same with the recommendation that they do pass. Respectfully submitted, Representative Andrea Lee, Chair. Mr. Speaker, we are Committee on Insurance and Commerce, to whom it was referred, House Bill 1582, 1583, 1779, 1933, 2056, Senate Bill 464, 535, 665, and 789. Beg the lead report, we've had the same under consideration.
Here we have returned the same with the recommendation that they do pass. Respectfully submitted, Representative Tommy Wren, Chair. Mr. Speaker, we, your Committee on Aging Children and Youth, to whom is referred House Bill 1790, House Bill 1811, House Bill 1812, and House Bill 1813. Beg the lead report, we had the same under consideration. Here we have returned the same with the recommendation that they do pass. Respectfully submitted, Representative David Meigs, Chair. Mr. Speaker, we, your Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs, beg to leave a report that, to whom was referred, House Bill 1403, 1569, 1755, 1771, and Senate Bill 199, beg to leave a report, we had the same under consideration, herewith return the same with the recommendation that they do pass, respectfully submit a representative to David Fielding, Chair.
Speaker 13
6:51
Is there any unfinished business? Are there any executive communications? Mr. Clary, read House Resolution
Chair
Unverified
7:02
1023. House Resolution 1023 by Representative Lee to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and to honor the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas for its contributions to educating Arkansans about their rich
Irish culture and heritage. Representative Lee, you're recognized to explain your resolution. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker 29
7:21
Chairman. As you all are aware, I'm sure, Sunday is St. Patrick's Day.
Speaker 32
7:28
After immigrating with their parents from Ireland to the United
Speaker 29
7:33
States, 111 years ago, my grandparents, William Ring and Helen O'Dowd, decided to make a positive move and marry. Nineteen years later, they gave birth to their sixth child, my mother, Helen Dean. 35 years ago, Phil made the positive move, Phillip Lee made the positive move, to marry me. Happy anniversary, honey.
I am proud of the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas that informs and celebrates the rich Irish culture I was raised in. They're here today in the capital? Are they here in the... No, they're not here. They're visiting down in the land commissioner's office. I respectfully request that you read the resolution. Representative Lee
Speaker 13
8:20
has explained the resolution. Does anyone wish to speak against the resolution? For the resolution.
Speaker 14
8:31
I'm sorry. Read the resolution, Mr. Clerk.
Chair
Unverified
8:37
Whereas the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas is a non-profit public service organization founded in 1996 to educate Arkansans in the aspects of the culture and history of Ireland, and whereas the Society provides Irish food and object to Irish art for folk festivals and fairs, provides concerts of Irish music and dance, and participates in community service programs and events,
all in an effort to reconnect Arkansans with their Irish heritage, and whereas the Society was originally founded by a group of Irish nationals, many of whom had immigrated to Arkansas during the nursing shortage of the 1980s. Recruited by area hospitals, nurses from Ireland and Great Britain came to Arkansas originally intending to work for a few years and return to their homeland. Instead, they married and settled in Little Rock and began to raise families. As their children grew, they realized the importance of passing on their Irish culture and heritage to their American-born children.
And whereas the goals of the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas are to develop and further enhance local interest in the culture of Ireland and its people, to publicize the presence of an active Irish community in Little Rock area, to reacquaint Arkansans of Irish descent with their cultural and ethnic history, to familiarize the general public with the culture of the Irish people and the richness of their contributions to the United States and the state of Arkansas. and whereas the Society has about 80 members who share a love and interest in Ireland
and whereas the Society presents an annual St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown Little Rock and north Little Rock. Before the parade, the Society holds an annual festival on or near St. Patrick's Day. As the success of the annual festival has grown, so has the interest in the community-wide parade and whereas the 14th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade will occur on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 1 p.m., and the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas wishes all Arkansans a very safe and happy St. Patrick's Day.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the 89th General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the House of Representatives recognizes and commends the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas all for its contributions to educating Arkansans about their Irish heritage and culture and encourages Arkansans to celebrate St. Patrick's Day not only for its fun and traditional joviality but also for its rich cultural heritage. Representative Lee has explained the resolution.
Speaker 13
11:14
Does anyone wish to speak against the resolution for the resolution? If not, the question before the House is a passage of House Resolution 1023. All in favor say aye. Any opposed, nay. The ayes have it. The motion carries. Members, I'd
Speaker 39
11:30
like to take this time to recognize our doctor of the day, Dr. Tommy
Speaker 1
11:36
Wagner, Jr., of Manila, Representative Wes Wagner's brother.
Speaker 39
11:45
And also, Dr. Frank M. Griffin of Van Buren. And our nurse of
Speaker 13
11:56
the day, Ms. Geraldine Rambo. The morning hour has ended. Jefferson Malone, you're recognized to give a report from the Rules
Speaker 14
12:12
Committee. Please, you're recognized to give your report.
Representative Stephanie Malone
Unverified
12:20
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Rules Committee recommends to the Speaker that Senate Bill 2 did receive the requisite numbers of votes to pass the Senate and therefore is properly before the
Speaker 1
12:36
House. Thank you. The speaker adopts the report
Speaker 39
12:40
from the committee. Pass over House Bill 1584. Read House Bill 1746.
Chair
Unverified
12:53
House Bill 1746 for Representatives Klemmer, Ferguson and McGee to require a mental health services provider to warn an intended victim and a law enforcement agency of a credible threat by a patient. Representative Klammer, you're recognized to explain the bill.
Speaker 39
13:07
Members, you may have noticed that we passed
over this bill a couple of days, and I just want to tell you briefly why.
We introduced this bill, or I introduced this bill with my co-sponsors, and it was on the committee calendar the next day. And it passed without any no votes, by the way. But after that, we had a little bit of input from various people. And so this bill, we're going to go ahead and run it today. There will be some amendments on the Senate end, and it will be brought back here for us to concur in the amendments. Let me briefly tell you what the bill does.
Essentially, the majority of states currently have laws in place that require mental health professionals to notify intended victims and law enforcement if their patient issues a credible threat against someone's life. It's what I think we would all want if our life was being threatened. And we don't, the research shows that mental health professionals are, excuse me, mental health patients are no more violent than the average population.
But if a mental health patient issues a threat, there's something like 90% more likely to go through with it. So when a mental health professional gets one of these threats, over 50% of the states, I think 27 states right now, have a requirement in law that requires that person, that doctor, that nurse, that mental health professional, and these are listed in the bill, to make the victim and law enforcement aware of the threat.
Now, some members later came to me and said, okay, how hard is it going to be to track down potential victims or if they're underage, the parents of victims? We're going to make the amendment on the Senate end that allows law enforcement to get in touch with the potential victims, allows law enforcement to assess a threat. So that all the provider would have to do then is to notify law enforcement. If you're looking at the current version of the bill, the state police is in there as an or.
Well, the state police did not like being in the bill even as a backup to be notified, and I accepted their objections to that, so we're taking that out as well. So essentially, the only thing that is changing in the bill going forward is that the mental health professional will notify law enforcement when a credible threat, and they do have to assess that it's credible, is made against a person's life. I'll be happy to take any questions. I have
Speaker 52
16:08
lots of notes. Representative Harris, for what purpose?
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
16:16
Question. You're recognized. Representative Klenmer, can you just, for clarification, tell me why the Arkansas State Police would not want to be included in
this important matter? They said they were not the primary, that was not their primary function, that that was typically a local law enforcement function. And so they wanted just to be eliminated from the language of the bill. Okay.
I would have appreciated them telling us before the committee voted for it, but they waited until afterwards. Is that
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
16:45
another question, if you may, Speaker? You recognize. Is that something maybe we can work on, not with the state police before? We could. I mean, no
amendments have been drafted at this point, but I wanted to get this off of the House. It was already on the calendar here, and so I wanted to go ahead and move on this bill and let you know.
But right now, as the bill will stand going forward, it's simply that mental health professional must notify local law enforcement. Thank you. Representative Klemmer has explained the bill.
Chair
Unverified
17:27
Does anyone wish to speak against the bill for the bill? Representative Bell, you're recognized to speak for the bill.
Representative Nate Bell
Unverified
17:42
I'd spoken with many of you about some concerns I had with this bill, and I just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Representative Klemmer has addressed my concerns and would appreciate a good vote. Representative Bell has spoken
Speaker 39
17:57
for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill, for the bill? Not the question before the House.
Speaker 70
18:02
This is the passage of House Bill 1747. Prepare the machine, Mr. Clerk. Has everyone voted?
Speaker 13
18:13
Has everyone voted? Cast with the ballots for the 89 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 present. and you
Speaker 70
18:21
have passed the bill. Pass over House Bill 1617. Representative Fite moves we re-refer House Bill 1447 to the House Judiciary Committee. That's a
Speaker 13
18:32
proper motion. Representative Fite, you're recognized to explain your motion.
Representative Charlene Fite
Unverified
18:43
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, there was a technical mistake made in committee with my amendment so we need to send it back to the committee to fix it. I would appreciate a good vote. Representative Fida has
Chair
Unverified
18:58
explained the motion. Does anyone wish to speak against the motion for the motion? If not, the question before
Speaker 70
19:04
the House is a re-referral of House Bill 1447 back to the House Judiciary Committee. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? No. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Mr. Clerk, send the bill
back to the committee. Read House Bill House
Chair
Unverified
19:28
Bill 1633. House Bill 1633 by Representative Edwards to amend the Digital Product and Motion Picture Industry Development Act of 2009.
Speaker 70
19:47
Mr. Clerk, let's pass over House Bill 1633, read House Bill
Chair
Unverified
20:05
1136. House Bill 1136 for Representative Linderman to clarify disability retirement requirements and eligibility for administration in the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and to declare an emergency. Representative
Speaker 13
20:16
Lenderman, you recognize to explain your bill.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
20:19
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. House Bill 1136 was brought to me by the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. There are a few points that need to be made. The bill came out of committee with no dissension whatsoever. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System has a relaxed standard for disability retirement. A member with just one quarter of a year of service can qualify for disability benefits. This bill would increase the service requirement to five-year service in the teacher retirement system, and it would also allow benefit to relate back to the first month that a member did not work.
One of the problems has been that people would delay implementation of applying for disability benefits, and this has caused a hardship on the system. This is one of the bills that they brought forth that would hopefully make a small savings into the system. We'd appreciate a good vote. Thank you. Representative Linderman, does explain the bill. Does anyone wish
Chair
Unverified
21:15
to speak against the bill? Representative Kerr, for what purpose? For the bill? Against the bill. For the bill.
Speaker 39
21:28
If not, the question before the House is a passage of House Bill 1136. Prepare
Chair
Unverified
21:37
the machine, Mr. Clerk. Voting on the
Speaker 39
21:39
bill and the emergency clause. Has everyone voted? Has everyone
Speaker 13
21:44
voted? Cast the ballots with 84 yeas, 0 nays, 85 yeas, 1 nays, 0 present. You pass the bill on the emergency clause. Without objection, we'll
Speaker 14
21:51
go back to House Bill 1633. Hearing none, Mr. Clark, read House Bill 1633.
Chair
Unverified
22:03
House Bill 1633 by Representative Edwards to amend the Digital Product and Motion Picture Industry Development Act of 2009. Representative Edwards, you're
recognized to explain your bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't want anyone to worry. I'm not going all Hollywood on y'all today. But we do want to promote the film industry in this state. And back in 2009, we had a rebate program created that's been successful. Many of you have heard about the movie Mud that was filmed earlier this year, but we've got some tweaks to it.
First, the tweak is we have provisions in the bill that requires and ensures that the money eligible for a rebate is spent within the state of Arkansas for products and services that come within the state of Arkansas. We raised the limit from 15% to 20% rebate, and I think also importantly is that before the rebate can be given to the movie producers, that there has to be verification that all bills have been paid to vendors and all obligations to our Arkansas citizens, so I'd appreciate a good vote.
Chair
Unverified
23:14
Representative Edwards has explained the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill for the bill? If there's some macro, we recognize
Representative Mark D. McElroy
Unverified
23:27
to speak for the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I don't think we really realize how important the movie industry could be to Arkansas. Down in Louisiana now, they have a similar program to this, incentives, and they're almost a new Hollywood. I've been in four movies, and I was in W for my Republican friends, and I was the one clapping real loud for them, too.
And we recently had mud here, and it was in Deshaies County and Arkansas County. And I've got a, you can see my bald head, I'm a bounty hunter chasing after Matthew. But while we were there, since I'd been in movies, they had let me cast 130 extras. They said if we could do it inside our county, locally, that they wouldn't go outside. And I figured 130 of those people, and I made a whole $74.55.
And they held taxes out of that, too. But that amounted to about $13,000 that turned over in our community about 12 times. And they would really like to come to Arkansas because in Louisiana they don't have mountain scenes. They can drive two hours in Arkansas, and they can have a farm scene. They can have a mountain scene. They can have an urban scene. And it costs so much to build up that on the back lot in Hollywood.
And they found out that the people in Arkansas are just as great as actors, and some of them even have long, flowing hair, and they do really well. So I would appreciate a good vote. I think it's a positive move, and I would have loved to co-sponsor
Chair
Unverified
25:12
that. Thank you. Ripson McElroy has spoken for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill, for the bill? Ripson Gilliam, you recognize I
Representative Jeremy Gillam
Unverified
25:25
speak for the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I have not been in any movies like my colleague has, but for those of you who know me well, you know that I love movies very, very much.
I used to, before my wife redecorated, I used to have movie posters all over my wall. Now, she is from New Mexico, my wife is, and I have been able to see firsthand what this industry has been able to do to New Mexico's economy. They are shooting a tremendous amount of movies in New Mexico now because of the landscapes that they have to offer. Now, we have different landscapes, as Representative McElroy mentioned, and there is an interest in taking advantage of what we have here in Arkansas.
Those natural resources that Representative Link is always fond of trying to protect can be in movies. And it's my feeling that this is a step in the right direction of putting Arkansas into this equation so that we can start to get these types of movies coming here. And I think it can be a great asset to our economy. And I think it could also really help a lot of our citizens be able to break into this business because they do a lot of times recruit extras when they're in this area.
I have a cousin, two cousins actually, that appeared in the movie Sling Blade. And so it can be something that people can use now to get into the business if they're shooting here. So I personally am very, very proud that Representative Edwards has brought this bill. I believe that it is a great bill, and I really, really encourage everyone to get behind it. Thank you very much. Representative Payton, for what purpose?
Representative John Payton
Unverified
27:09
You recognize for a question? Representative Gillum, I've got a question about what the rebate is on, but is there a fiscal impact with this bill? We're raising it from
Representative Jeremy Gillam
Unverified
27:21
15 to 20 percent. I'm not aware of a fiscal impact on this bill except in the positive to the economy. Okay, thank you. Hobbs, for
Representative Debra M. Hobbs
Unverified
27:36
what purpose? question. You recognize. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Gillum, do you know of any other industry that we
Representative Jeremy Gillam
Unverified
27:43
give similar rebates to? I'm not an expert on all the rebate possibilities
that we have in Arkansas. I'm sure that there
are numerous ones. I just happen to be very much in favor of this particular bill. Thank you.
Speaker 65
27:57
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Burris, for a purpose. Question. You
Representative John Burris
Unverified
28:01
recognize. Thank you. Representative Gillum, following up on representative payton i know there may be no fiscal impact on this change are you aware of how much the state has spent in the form of the credit to incentivize the companies to come here and film i personally am not okay do you know how long the bill when the original act was passed
2009 it's on the board okay thank you thank you
Chair
Unverified
28:26
very much representative gillam has thank you Thank you, colleagues. Spoken for the bill. Does anyone speak against the bill? For the bill? Representative Nichols,
Speaker 99
28:42
do you recommend speaking for the bill? When this bill, I think it
Representative Jim Nickels
Unverified
28:46
was my first session here, passed, and my son actually spoke in the committee in favor of it because he has a degree in film from UCA, and he felt
like that would help his job prospects in that area. And he has always talked to me favorably about this particular type of legislation. And he's somewhat jealous of Louisiana and them having a very good incentive program. And he feels like if we had one here, it would help people like himself and others. And we have college degrees in this. But it's hard for these young people to actually get jobs in this field because there's just not enough activity in Arkansas.
Now I'm going to tell you another little story about Arkansas' connection to the film industry, and I hope Representative Vines is listening to this. Apparently not. But there is a lady from Hot Springs, Arkansas, by the name of Dawn Hudson, who is the head of the Oscars. So there's a straight Arkansas connections to the filmmaking industry. She's head of the Oscars, and I don't think within that type of industry you could get much higher.
So hopefully this bill will pass, and it will help our young people, help our college graduates who are training in this field. I've only talked about my family, but I'll take questions. Representative Payton, for a purpose. question thank you
Representative John Payton
Unverified
30:23
representative nichols i'm just looking for somebody that can answer my question is this a rebate on taxes or is this a rebate on their production expense are we paying 20 of their production expense
Speaker 102
30:32
i think they will get a some type of rebate or tax credit or something
Representative Jim Nickels
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30:38
like that they have to reach certain thresholds uh in hiring and money spent before they can and get their rebates or credits. And those rebates
Speaker 102
30:52
or credits are on their expenses or on their taxes? Well, it's based
Representative Jim Nickels
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30:58
upon how much money they spent, what type of salaries they were paying, and then they can get some type of reimbursement either on their tax
return or some mechanism like that.
I know Mr. Edwards has already exited the well, but he may be able to cover some of those things when he closes
Chair
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31:21
for his bill. Thank you. Representative Nichols has spoken for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill? Representative House, I recognize you speak
Representative Douglas House
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31:40
against the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and gentlemen, as I look through this bill, Well, Representative Payton, the way I read the English language is we are paying 30 percent of the production cost, is what I read in this bill.
I don't see any return on this investment to the state other than they come and spend the money, which we have reimbursed them to the tune of 30 percent of those costs, not just taxes. And I think that's the answer to your question. The thresholds that they do have to spend before that rebate starts are fairly low, so basically if you come in, one place I think it mentions $50,000, another place it mentions $200,000, but after they have made that expenditure, then the rebates kick in.
So we're basically paying up to 30% of those monies. Ripson Malone, for what purpose? In order.
Speaker 111
32:41
What's your point? Electronics are not allowed in the well when you're
Chair
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32:45
down in the well. That's a good point. I'm sorry. The point of order was raised that you can't have electronics in the well, and that is a valid point. So you have to remove your electronic device. Thanks. Ripson Wilkins, for what purpose?
Mr. Speaker. Which mode? Media consideration. My trusty parliamentarian says that Mr. House has the well, and I cannot take the motion. Representative
Representative Douglas House
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33:27
House, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am done. Since I don't have a paper copy, I'll have to remember.
As a matter of principle, I'm going to vote against this bill because we are taking taxpayers' money, giving it to an industry to come and operate in here. I do not see a return on the investment to the people of this state. And it's nice to make movies here, but it's a net loss to our taxpayers, and I'm voting against it.
Chair
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33:59
Representative Collins, for what purpose? Question for Representative House. Representative House
Speaker 75
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has left the well. Representative Milkes, for what purpose?
Mr. Speaker, what's your motion? Immediate consideration. That's a proper motion,
Chair
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34:16
non-debatable. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. No. Motion requires two-thirds of a quorum.
Speaker 13
34:24
The motion fails. or if it's embarrassed for what purpose? Rick, can I speak for the bill?
Representative John Burris
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34:40
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn't want my comments and questions to Representative Edwards earlier to be misconstrued, or I'm sorry, to Representative Gillum earlier about this bill to be misconstrued as not supportive. There's not a, well, depending on your perspective at least, there's not a lot of opportunities that I get to come out here and just totally tell you that I was wrong. So I wanted to make sure I took this chance to tell you that I was. I voted against this bill in 2009 for a lot of the reasons that Representative House spelled out.
I do have some of the same concerns as him. Those aren't unique. If we were starting from scratch, maybe I would feel differently. But I will say that this credit has been in place for four years now. We have seen some immediate effect from it, some of the movies that were mentioned. I think it's smart to make the amendments that have been presented and to allow the credit to continue to exist. And then maybe at a certain point, next session, session after, General Assemblies can assess the long-term repercussions and costs of what we've done
and determine whether or not it truly benefited the state in the way that it was presented to do. But right now, I think we're about halfway across the creek. It's just smart to let it go and see what kind of effect it will have. I'll be happy to
Speaker 96
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answer any questions. Representative Hammer, for what purpose? Question,
Representative Kim Hammer
Unverified
36:08
please. You're recognized. Representative Burris, I was wondering, there was the point raised about the amount of tax credits or however it's going to be termed. I was wondering if you know what the revenue impact to the state of Arkansas is for this industry.
I may have missed that a while ago, or I'm just curious if
Representative John Burris
Unverified
36:26
you know what the impact is. No, sir, but I think it's a good point because it's really impossible, I think, to assess because, as Representative McElroy pointed out, a lot of these dollars cycle through the economy time and time again. And so in a lot of ways, I think it's just smart to pause, let the train continue on the tracks that it's on, and then at a certain point, we can do a more thorough evaluation of where it is and the effect that it's had in terms of cost to the state for the credit,
but then also economic impact that it's had in the communities that have been able
Representative Kim Hammer
Unverified
36:59
to utilize it. So would you agree or disagree that it's better to have an industry that would bring in potential income than to have no industry to create any income from? I do. I think what's safe to assume is that
Representative John Burris
Unverified
37:13
without the credit, the activity that was listed out probably wouldn't have occurred. Now, whether or not it's going to be a net positive for the state, I think time will only tell.
But I do think it's safe to assume that without the credit in place, the economic activity through the production of movies that occurred in these towns that we've talked about probably wouldn't have occurred without it being there. So it's
Representative Kim Hammer
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37:35
a way to get an investment into the state without us actually having to pay any
Representative John Burris
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37:39
money? Right. It's hard to quantify what it is, but I think just looking at the – just anecdotally, you can see it. I think it's just going to take time to quantify the impact that it's had, the positive impact. All
Speaker 96
37:49
right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Representative Murdoch, for what purpose?
Speaker 121
37:54
Question. You recognize. My good friend, Representative Burns, in the – you mentioned transparency when you came to the well. Well, in that vein, wouldn't you agree that you're right now just stalling so that you can get numbers
Representative Douglas House
Unverified
38:27
of a house for a purpose. You recognize? Representative Burris, if this bill does not pass, as I read it, it is raising the rebate from 15% to 20% plus an additional 10% on certain costs.
So if this bill does not pass, then the rebate that exists will continue. Am I not correct in that understanding? I think you very well may be. So we're not just going with the current program, as you say. We're increasing the turn-back funds to the production companies. My recollection, there's a lot of
Representative John Burris
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39:01
water under the bridge since then, but I think that the people that supported
this credit then, including Representative Nichols, viewed it as kind of a, well, I don't want to speak for him.
Talking to other people that had supported the bill also, they viewed it more of a long-term, somewhat of a phase-in. You know, there's a step one, if it's successful, let's take a step two, and then beyond and beyond and beyond. And so I think from the perspective of the sponsor and the others that supported the bill, we've seen it have an impact. Let's continue doing what was – let's continue on the path that was set and allow it to run the full course that was intended and then make an assessment of whether or not it's been a net revenue enhancer for the state.
Speaker 102
39:46
Thank you. Representative Collins, for what purpose? Mr. Speaker, question. Which question? Representative Burris, is there a way for us to incorporate in this some type of additional return to the state of Arkansas? In other words, if we're going to increase our investment in the production of a movie, is there a way for us to participate if the movie actually grosses a high
Representative John Burris
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40:10
dollar figure for the firm? I think that's a good idea, and I think it's certainly possible. without having the amendment in front of me and looking back at the previous act that was passed.
It will be hard for me to gauge exactly what other changes could be made to it. But I think what you're talking about is a legitimate idea that could probably be incorporated in future amendments or when the act is modified in sessions after us.
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
40:41
Representative Harris, for what purpose? Do you recognize? Representative Burris, just for my knowledge, would we not
have to have a fiscal impact when it will possibly impact the budget?
Representative John Burris
Unverified
40:51
No, sir. My recollection of the rules, which serving on the House Rules Committee, I can tell
you that fiscal impacts are required for various things, including changes to legislation that would have a direct impact on things such as schools, prisons, a variety of other entities that are specifically listed out in the rules that allows for a member to ask for a fiscal impact on. But I don't think this would be one of them because it's just the overall state budget.
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
41:21
Okay. I'd like to clarify, I am not in stalling for any time, so I would really thank you for answering my question. These are very good questions.
Representative James McLean
Unverified
41:46
Rep. McLean, for what purpose? Question. You recognize? Have you, Rep. DeBurris, has someone who's
Speaker 98
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ever spoken for a bill been asked this many questions before?
I can only speak for myself,
Representative John Burris
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41:55
but I've spent a lot of time down here. And probably on more complex issues, but I mean, I think this is important. Okay, very important
Chair
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42:14
indeed. Thank you. Representative Ballinger, for what purpose? You're not recognized. Representative Viviano, for what purpose? Question. You're not going to
recognize you. Representative Shepard, I can't take your motion while Representative Burris is in the well.
Representative Shepard, what purpose? Motion. What's your motion? A motion to the House recess
Speaker 75
42:38
for 10 minutes. That's a proper motion. All in favor, say
Speaker 20
42:41
aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. No. Prepare the machine, Mr. Clerk. Majority of a quorum.
Speaker 142
43:22
Is everyone voting? Cast the ballots, 51 nays, 40 a's, zero presents. The House is recessed for 10 minutes.
Unknown speaker
44:22
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Speaker 70
53:52
The House has come to order. Representative Burris has spoken for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill?
Chair
Unverified
54:22
Rep. Payton, you recognize I speak against the bill.
Representative John Payton
Unverified
54:47
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues, I know there's a lot of other things on our mind right now, but uh i've just got to tell you that i'm not stalling for anything i truly have concerns
whenever as a government we use taxpayer dollars to subsidize private industry it's one thing when you give a tax rebate or a tax credit but uh the way i read this bill we're talking about paying 20 of their expenses and as it was pointed out earlier if we vote this bill down it still remains the way it was with 15% of their expenses being paid. I'd appreciate a no vote. Representative Payton has spoken against the bill. Does anyone wish
Speaker 1
55:26
to speak for the bill, against the bill?
Representative Edwards, you'd like to close your bill?
Speaker 13
55:37
I'll make some space left. Question before the House is the passage of House Bill 1633. Prepare
Speaker 71
55:49
the machine, Mr. Clerk. Has everyone voted? Has everyone voted? Cast the ballots
Speaker 1
55:54
to 64 yeas, 22 nays, and 0 present. You have passed the bill. Senate Bill 2.
Chair
Unverified
56:08
Senate Bill 2, but Senator King et al. an act to require that a voter provide proof of identity when voting and to provide for the issuance of a voter identification card. Mr. Meeks, you're recognized to explain the bill. Thank
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
56:25
you, Mr. Speaker. Members, it's my privilege to bring to you Senate Bill 2, the voter identification bill, on behalf of Senator King, who was my seatmate last year. The bill that I bring you is not something that's been put together hastily.
It's not something that has just been thrown together. Mr. King, or Senator King, has been working on this issue since 2007. He's worked to make this bill the best possible bill that we can have for the state of Arkansas. And what I'd like to do is to kind of go over briefly what the bill does, the provisions of the bill, and then try to address some of the criticisms of the bill. And then, of course, sure, we'll get into a very lively debate on the bill itself.
Senate Bill 2 is a bill that requires a voter whenever they go to cast a ballot to show some form of ID. The IDs that will be acceptable as they're written in this bill are a driver's license, a photo identification card, a concealed handgun carry license, a United States passport, an employee badge or identification card, a military identification document, or a student identification card that has been issued by a secondary educational institution in the state of Arkansas.
We have made every effort on this bill to make this as wide-scoped as possible. If it is a document that has an expiration date, we even allow you to show that document, provided that it has not been expired for more than four years. So you can bring your expired driver's license and show that as a proof of ID as well, provided that it has not been expired more than four years. We also realize that there are members of our society who this will negatively impact our senior citizens that are in nursing homes.
So in this bill, we've made allotments. Any of our senior citizens that are members of a nursing home can vote without a voter ID, provided one of their administrators signs an affidavit saying that, yes, they are a resident of this long-term facility. So we're making allotments for that. We also exempt those that are in the military, that are overseas. Their voter requirements will not change. Those will all remain the same. This bill also states that for those of our citizens that do not have identification,
that the Secretary of State will provide to them free of charge, no charge, will provide to them an identification that they can use from there in perpetuity. That will be provided for them at no cost. If a voter comes to the polls and they fail to show an identification, what do we do? Well, as the bill is written, they will cast a provisional ballot. That ballot will then be set aside, and they'll have one week until the following Monday at noon
to go to the county clerk's office and to show ID. Then their vote will be counted just like everyone else's. Again, as I stated, the people that don't have voter ID cards, they will be issued one for free. The bill provides that the voter ID law will not go into effect until the Secretary of State has been able to provide the voter IDs, the free ones, available to the public. So we have that stipulation in there as well.
As far as some of the criticisms of this bill, those of you that are on the state agencies committee know that we have debated this bill long and hard. In the Senate, it enjoyed about two and a half hours worth of debate. It came down to the House. We debated it for about two hours on one day, and then the following week we debated it for another hour. Of course, this morning it was debated over in the Rules Committee, so this bill is probably one of the most thoroughly debated bills that we've discussed this session. Some of the concerns of the bill, some of the critics will state that this bill presents a poll tax.
Courts in other states have looked at this, and they have said that voter ID does not constitute a poll tax. Going to get an ID if you don't have an ID is no different than having to go to register to vote to begin with. When you drive to your county clerk's office to register to vote, that's not considered a tax. Likewise, going to their office to get an ID is also not considered a tax. There are those who say that there is no voter fraud, and because there is no voter fraud, there is no need for a bill such as this.
I have with me a couple of pages here, it's about 10 pages long, of all the voter fraud cases in the United States in the last seven months. Had I printed this out for the last two years, it would have been a much thicker sheet of paper. And these cover all sorts of, one that I'll read you in particular. here in minnesota a college grove man told police that someone had committed voter fraud by signing
his name at a polling place making it impossible for him to vote so someone went in signed for him but it wasn't him i have another case where a father and son i guess worked out a deal where the the son went in cast a ballot and his father's name then the father came in a little while later and went to try to vote and he couldn't because his son had already voted in his place so they gave him a provisional ballot, and guess what? His vote counted twice because his son went also and voted in his name. Arkansas, of course, is not immune to voter fraud. We all are familiar
with the case of Mr. Hollum. I also have documented cases here in Arkansas. I've got two cases from 2006 and another case from 2003 that include voter fraud. So voter fraud does occur in the state. There's also some concern that this is going to cost money to educate our voters that they will need to bring an ID to our state, or excuse me, that they'll need to bring an ID to the ballot box with them. I don't agree with that argument because right now every voter in the
state is already asked to present an ID before they're allowed to vote. They don't obviously have to present one, but they are asked. I have numerous people that I have talked to that have told me that because of that, they already believe it's a requirement that they have to show an ID to vote. We actually heard testimony that evidently there's one or two counties that if they don't have an ID right now, they're still allowed to vote. They just have to sign on the roll book that they didn't have an ID. But evidently there's one or two counties that are already requiring a provisional ballot. So they're already following the spirit of
the law, even though it's not the law of the land yet. The last issue that I will bring up as far as trying to address some of the criticisms, there was some concern that this bill required two-thirds vote to meet constitutional muster. Of course, the Rules Committee debated that this morning. But I will say that our lawyers over in the BLR have, we've talked with them and our own lawyers that we rely on for all of our legal counsel have said they believe it just requires
a simple majority vote to pass out of this House. As a matter of fact, those of you that were members of this chamber just two years ago, we passed out a very, very similar bill and sent it down to the House or sent it down to the Senate with just a simple majority. So there's precedent already in this House that we only need a simple majority to pass this out. And with that, I will try to entertain as many questions as I can. Representative Ward-Law, for what purpose?
Representative Jeff Wardlaw
Unverified
1:04:11
Question. Recognize. Representative Meeks, in committee, y'all waited a week, if I remember right, for an
impact statement. Sir. And it came back and showed my memory. $300,000. Something like that. Where would that money be spent from? Is that coming out
Speaker 149
1:04:24
of our county budgets, our city budgets, or our state budget? That'll central services out of the Secretary of State's office. Representative Wilkins,
Representative Butch Wilkins
Unverified
1:04:36
for what purpose? You reckon it is? Question, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Makes, you mentioned Hudson Hallam. Now, this bill does
Speaker 159
1:04:41
nothing to address the problems associated with Hudson Hallam, does it?
Speaker 160
1:04:46
None of the problems that he was accused of,
Representative Butch Wilkins
Unverified
1:04:49
correct? It is, in fact, an absentee ballot issue. This bill does not address absentee ballots. It does address absentee ballots. Can I follow up? Do you realize how easy it is now to produce a fake ID? All I've got to have is an address and a picture of myself. And as limited as I am on computers, I can probably produce a fake ID that will most elect workers at the polls would accept.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:05:18
Do you agree with that? I agree.
Then they'd be guilty of two crimes. Excuse me? They'd be guilty of two crimes. They'd
Representative Butch Wilkins
Unverified
1:05:29
be guilty of fraud, and they'd also be guilty of voting. But who's going to catch him? I mean, you know, they're going
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:05:37
to accept it, I think. I think you could pass almost anything. Right, and I will concede this point to you, that this is obviously not going to fix every voter fraud problem. That there, you know, if someone, you know, this is only meant to address specific issues within the voter system.
Representative Butch Wilkins
Unverified
1:05:54
Mr. Speaker, one more question, please. And I'll sit down, Mr. Meeks. Thank you for taking me. Sure. But you realize, of course, as I do, that provisional ballots are almost worthless unless it is a real close vote. Provisional ballots are not counted. You know, they announce a winner on election day, so if you have to wait a week to verify who you are, in fact, you're not voting at all. So
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:06:24
the response I'll say to that is on a race like the races that we run where there's 10, 15,000 people voting in that race,
that if three or four people commit voter fraud, it's probably not going to determine the outcome of that race. But there's a lot of our local races, our cities, mayoral race, city aldermen, school boards. Those races are determined by very, very thin margins, and those are the races that are most affected by voter fraud. And those are the races that those provisional ballots would make
Representative Butch Wilkins
Unverified
1:06:56
the difference in. What evidence do you have that that's occurring in school elections and these elections that you mentioned?
Speaker 165
1:07:04
As far as? What evidence do you have that it is occurring now? That voter fraud? Voter fraud. What do
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:07:11
you have? I mean, I've just showed you this list here. It's got all sorts of evidence that voter fraud is occurring. In Arkansas? Yes, Arkansas is included in that list. As a matter of fact, we heard testimony down in the Senate where one of the, I believe it was one of the election commissioners from, I believe it was Pine Bluff, you may correct me if I'm wrong, but he said that they had a man that was trying to vote there who was, evidently he was from Texas, he had a Missouri license plate, and he lived in North Carolina, and he was trying to vote in Pine Bluff.
Did he get to vote? No, because the commission... Thank you,
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
1:07:45
sir. It was a curve, for what purpose? Question. You recognize. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Meeks, do I recall that in committee it was
Speaker 172
1:07:54
mentioned that the Secretary of State's office already has the cost of this included in their budget? I don't know if
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:08:01
they've got it in the cost of their budget yet, but, you know, we've got to get it passed before. But they mentioned that. Yeah, and if this becomes law, they'll have to get it in their budget and make provisions for it in order for this to become law.
Speaker 96
1:08:15
Okay. Thank you, sir. Representative Cazale, for what purpose? Questions? You recognize.
Mr. Meeks, I was looking at the guts of the bill, and particularly I'm looking at page 5, lines 33 through 35, and it's describing the provisional ballot casting process, and I was hoping you could help me with that. As I'm looking at the list, it says that anyone who does not provide proof of ID shall be able to cast a provisional ballot. Right. And it sets out several criteria for that, that the voter returns to the Board of Elections within the next week,
provides proof of identity or an affidavit but then there's this curious thing in line 33 it says uh and the voter has not been challenged or required to vote a provisional ballot for any other reason am i understanding that right that a poll watcher could challenge anyone who's unable to provide photo id on the day of the election and bar them from casting a provisional ballot even? No, I don't
believe they can. Then could you explain what the function of those lines in the
Speaker 149
1:09:28
statute is? Are you talking lines? Commencing at line 33 going through
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:09:33
35. Well, this is just saying that this is where it says the Secretary of State shall provide
Speaker 161
1:09:44
a voter identification card for people who don't have one. This doesn't deal with the provisional
Speaker 179
1:09:54
ballots. The provisional ballots are lines 2 through 28. Okay, then let me take another run at it. Section 7-5-321C2.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:10:10
As I read this, I think that would be correct. During the question-and-answer session, let me get clarification on that, and in my closing remarks, I will verify that. And I've got another couple, if you
don't mind. No, far away. In the absentee ballots, and I speak out of the interest of the folks in my district, many of whom are quite elderly,
that in submitting an absentee ballot, they need to submit a copy of, among other documents, their bank statement. What certainty do they have that that bank statement will be protected and their financial information protected? As you know, many elderly Arkansans are susceptible to identity theft and fraud. When they send their bank statement in, if they can
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:11:03
scratch out all the bank information, the only thing that's required is that it has their name and address
Speaker 149
1:11:09
on it. But if they mark through that, will
it be counted by the election board?
There's no provision in the statute. It seems to indicate the copy must be
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:11:20
unredacted. The only requirement is that it's similar for utility bills. As long as it has name and address, then it's
good. But the statute doesn't say that. And if I
could just one more, please. It doesn't say opposite either. Well, I agree with that, but it doesn't give any clarity. And then in page two, it talks about the various forms of identification that would be acceptable, among which is a concealed handgun carry license.
Correct. Here just recently, we passed Senate Bill 131, now enacted under the emergency clause and operating right now as Act 145. Is this a mechanism of forcing concealed carry handgun owners to disclose to other people? I mean, it seems like it frustrates the purpose of the statute of protecting those folks' privacy. I don't see how. Well, we just passed a law that said they don't have to, it's not subject to the FOIA. But now we're asking them to provide it among other documents in order to vote.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:12:30
As long as it's a valid ID, has their photo on
Speaker 96
1:12:38
it, they can present it. Thank you. Representative Hammer, for what purpose? Question, please. Representative Meeks has left
Chair
Unverified
1:12:45
the well. Representative Meeks has explained the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against
Speaker 1
1:12:50
the bill, for the bill? Representative Walker, for what purpose? against the bill. You recognize to speak against the bill.
Speaker 187
1:13:15
Mr. Speaker. You recognize. Thank you,
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
1:13:37
sir. To my colleagues, I really don't want to be here because I think that we are not representing the state of Arkansas well.
As a body, when we even take up consideration of a bill which has the direct, overt intent to repress voter presentation and representation. And it is very clear that that's what this bill is all about. We are here as public representatives to try to promote the best interests of the state of Arkansas.
I think everybody took an oath to do that. And when we come to this body, we interact with each other and we respect each other based upon at least one belief, and that is we all committed to the development and promotion of this state of Arkansas. And when I interact with you all, I am sincere as I speak with you and as I share my views with you and as I oppose and or support your bills.
And I smile and you smile and we are all smiling faces. But smiling faces mean different things. Because good faith and good intent should accompany smiling faces in this body. And I do not like to be in a situation where one of us applauds the other and pats him or her on the back.
and then at the same time takes a metal instrument and wills it in such a way as to take away a fundamental right none of which is more important than the right to vote. I don't say that lightly but most of you who sit here don't have my color or my history and you've never been deprived or denied the right to vote, nor have you had to endure the hardship of an impediment to it.
Remember, the 13th Amendment was about citizenship, but then we started talking about the right to vote. And even though my people couldn't vote then, that right became imbued in law. And then it took a long time for us to get it. And after then, there were, in the respective primaries, Democratic and Republican, efforts to try to repress that vote. And that there were different ways. You came up with all kinds of rules.
But that was not ever done on the basis of the majority race. It was all intended initially against people of my color and against women. I know that some of you women have stand on this bill. But it wasn't not too long ago that you couldn't vote either. And it's only now that you're beginning to vote, and you still don't have your proper numbers in this chamber, and you don't have your proper numbers in the House nationally.
You have 55% of the vote, and you have 10 to 20% of the representation. We are not a representative country. Now, under the circumstances, when you have the repression, it continues to play out so as to entrench and to keep in place those who are in place. And I say to you that this is not what Arkansas is about, as we seek to have two-party government in Arkansas. Two-party government ought to be more respectful of fundamental rights, such as the right to vote.
The poll tax was intended to be against me. Registration was intended to be against me, but we weren't like Mississippi, Alabama, and the other voter-right states. But now we are joining them. And why do we have to join Mississippi and Alabama on everything? I mean, I understand some northern states want to do it too, but that's about political power. And I guess political power means that you can smile and you can keep on going, and then you can deny fundamental rights. But in this situation, what we have here is, first of all, contrary to what Representative Meek says,
there is no objective showing that there is voter fraud that is traceable to a race of people that is substantial. But when we start talking about fraud and things like that, fraud is evident in many places. Nobody talks about putting businesses out of business. Corporations out of business, when they engage in deceit and things like that. I mean, would you say that because General Motors engaged in deceptive practices, they should be excluded or they should be put out of business?
No, you don't want to say that. You tailor the legislation to deal with the problem that you have and that there is no correlation between this legislation and what you have tailored. I notice that the supporters are nice people. At least I've determined that you all who pat me on the back and smile and I smile back are nice people. But I notice one thing. Most of you live a particular place and don't have the problems that exist in my neighborhood or in my section of the state.
And I call that neighborhood that area that begins up around West Memphis and comes down to Little Rock on Highway 40 and then goes south on Highway 30 to Texarkana. And everything to the south of those two lands is beginning to be desolate and in despair. And on the other side, Representative King, Representative Burris, Representative Meeks, Representative Harris, those areas are prospering.
But you don't prosper at the expense of harming a section of the state. It is not lost on me that the sponsors of this bill, almost to a person, live to the north of those parameters that I set out. They live to the north of Interstate 40 or to the north of Interstate 30. Look at the list. I spoke with Mr. McCrary, and he said that while he's on here and he lives in Lone Oak, he's one person who does not live to the north.
There may be one or two other exceptions, but it's easy for other people to try to set the standards in a biracial community, which is in need of evolution and progress, when the effort is something else. I ask you all on this side, I'm calling this side, more republics on this side and democrats according to that. But I ask that you all at least don't go with a bill like this because it doesn't accomplish anything. It does some other things that are really harmful.
It makes a poll watcher an agent of the state. A poll watcher who can look at a, who's authorized to look at a signature, can see whether that person's signature matches with the person who appears. So that person is making a judgment of whether that is the same person. But if the person decides that he doesn't want to accept one's identification, all he has to do is say, you're not that person. And then that imposes a burden of proof upon that person to show that he is.
And there's no way that that person has for overcoming that other than to necessarily go to court. But then if the poll watcher mischieflessly or negligently or for ulterior motives decides to just challenge votes indiscriminately, then that person becomes a state agent, in my opinion. But can he be sued? Are you all authorizing a right of private action against the poll watcher? I don't think you want to do that. I do think, though, that it all comes back down to one thing. Do you respect the way that the law on voting has evolved? Do you respect the fact that in Arkansas too few people vote and that too few of those people who don't vote happen to be poor, mostly poor people who live in Delta and poor areas in northwest Arkansas?
You want to have more people participate in government, you say. But you do not do anything to promote that. You take away and cause them to be subjected to punishment. Our history suggests that we are better than this people. Our interaction with each other suggests that we can do better. And that we don't have to say to people, unless we have an evidentiary basis for our action, that we are going to go and take some action on the basis of speculation of what may have appeared to have happened in some other state,
on the basis of there being no evidence in this state of any people in any reasonable numbers abusing the process, then there's just no basis for this. On the basis of the history of participation in the state of Arkansas in terms of voting where you want more people to vote, there's no basis for trying to limit the right to vote. and the only thing that it does is it sends a message and I'll do respect to some of you who may not have thought about it
Representative Woolman sends a message to me and Representative Armstrong, Armstrong, Williams, others that we are not really your peers and our people whom we represent are not as important as your people and therefore we have to take what you give we've come too far to allow the right to vote to be so compromised. I ask you all to this time, overcome your own designations of support for this bill
and also the fact that you can carry it and this one time give it an opportunity, give yourselves an opportunity to do something for all the people of the state of Arkansas, notwithstanding the fact that you don't live with the people who would be
the victims of this bill. Representative Wilkins, for what purpose?
Speaker 52
1:24:48
Question, Mr. Speaker. You recognize? Mr. Walker, you've been
Speaker 196
1:24:51
around a long time. You've read a lot of law, haven't you? Yes,
Representative Butch Wilkins
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1:24:56
sir. Are you aware that in the last primary we had in Arkansas, 21% of the people voted?
I am. In the last general election, I think we had something over 60%. And given your background and a lot of civil rights issues, a lot of legal issues that have affected this state, would you agree that this bill is designed
Representative John W. Walker
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1:25:22
to make it harder for people to vote? Well, here's
my response to that. The voter turnout in the primary was more or less normal. Well, it was low.
But the reason so many people here got discombobulated is because you had a black president on the ballot. And so many of you wanted to make your case against him in order to send other messages and to make sure that somehow or another this doesn't happen again. Now look, this is not going to, we're not going to have another Obama for a long time. But the point is that when you have the opportunity to vote, people ought to go and vote and not be limited.
that the vote is too low here, 15%, 20%, and in a general election, which is controversial, 60% is absolutely too low. In most civilized and most democratic countries of European nature, the voter participation is much higher. Representative Nichols, for what purpose? Question. You recognize. Representative
Representative Jim Nickels
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1:26:39
Walker, would you give us a little history lesson on the Emancipation Proclamation?
Representative John W. Walker
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1:26:44
I don't want to do what
took place right before on the on the on the movie bill, but I will say that most of us here are familiar with the Emancipation Proclamation. I see Representative Klemmer. He's a teacher and some others. And we know, all of us know about slavery, and some of us here are the direct beneficiaries of that slavery, because black people never really benefited from slavery. So some of the people who have run for office here have indicated that we did.
But in terms of emancipation, we've been trying to get first-class status as citizens and human beings since 1863 when President Lincoln declared, set forth the Emancipation Proclamation. Now, it's still not here. You can look at everything that we do and you'll find that there is under-representation of black people in anything good and over-representation of anything that is bad.
So in terms of Emancipation Proclamation, the idea has to be that we are not free until all of us are enjoying the prospects and the prosperity of this country. Thank you. Rep. Walker, spoken against the bill
Chair
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1:28:05
to Zoom. We speak for the bill. Rep. Miller,
you recognize to speak for the bill. You can come down to the wheel, please.
Representative Josh Miller
Unverified
1:28:32
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You recognize. Again, I'm going to do my best to get in the middle. Folks, colleagues of mine, I'm here today for one quick reason. I'm going to bring something up that I don't normally talk about because I do not want to appear to only have one thing in mind. However, somebody dreamed up the idea some time back that persons with disabilities are a minority.
I don't consider myself as such. I am disabled, but I'm not down here to whine about that. However, what I would like to say is if persons with disabilities are a minority, the percentages of folks amongst that minority that go vote are extremely low. One of the reasons is the requirements that are currently in place
when you go to the poll. I don't know, as y'all get to be around me a little more I would rather take a swift kick to the shin as to have to sign something. It's a pain in my already sore butt. Now, this bill, ladies and gentlemen, brings about a practical solution for a lot of folks who are not currently in the polls, and that is just show your ID.
Folks, we have men and women who are in a lot worse shape than I am. Because they gave their life for this country. For our right to go vote. I got in this position because I was an idiot when I was young.
They didn't. Folks, believe it or not, I'm going to tell you all a little secret. I used to buy chewing tobacco. I had to show my driver's license to buy shoe and tobacco. I don't think it's too much to ask to honor our system, honor the folks who have given their life for our right to vote, for you to reach into your cockeyed wallet and pull out a driver's license.
Chair
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1:31:22
Thank you. I'd appreciate a good vote. Representative Miller has spoken for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill? Representative Williams recognizes to
speak against the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I debated
Representative Darrin Williams
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1:31:49
whether I would come down after Mr. Walker's fine testimony,
but I came down to share just a couple of points with you. Tell your story about my mother. I was adopted when I was an infant at six weeks of age by a fine family. My mom and dad, in their late 40s, early 50s, when they adopted an infant. My mom was a school teacher first in the segregated schools of Conway County. Then, after schools were integrated, she taught at North Rock Northeast at that time, now West Campus, I believe, or East Campus.
My mom died in 2007 at 86 years of age, and she never drove in her life. She never had a driver's license in her life. She never failed to vote. This bill would disenfranchise her because she had no driver's license. Now, fortunately, she had me who could take her to get this photo ID that's required to vote, but there are far too many people who are elderly, who are poor, who suffer from not driving and don't have transportation, who may have a hard time fulfilling the requirements necessary to vote, though they are registered.
so i came to really speak for her from the grave to you to encourage you to not to put this burden on people like my mom and others it's not many people i i i would grant you that not not many people have this problem but we ought to be encouraging voting not discouraging voting there are people who are in that category and i think we ought to protect their right to vote as well. Mr. Meeks said that there's a lot of voter fraud. And I've
looked at this quite a bit. And he mentioned many cases, including the case of Hudson Halland, which, as was noted, was not voter fraud since they would be impacted by voter impersonation, but absentee fraud, which this bill would have nothing at all to do with. So I researched this issue a little bit. And back during the Bush administration, there was a multi-year investigation of voter fraud in the United States of America. And after thousands of investigations and years of research, less than two dozen cases nationwide of voter impersonation
was found. Then I ran across a study by a very reputable foundation that looked at 2,068 reported cases of fraud between 2000 and 2012. Of those 2,068 reported cases of fraud, 10 cases involved voter impersonation. With 146 million people registered to vote, that's one in 15 million occurrences of possible voter impersonation.
So then I say, well, what is this about? Why are we doing this since this is really not a rampant problem? Who are we trying to impact? And so I would just look at who's less likely to have a voter ID. 18% of senior citizens nationwide are less likely to have a voter ID. 18% of young people between 18 and 24 are less likely to have a voter ID. As already been noted, those who suffer physical disabilities are less likely to have a voter ID by 10%.
And then, of course, racial minorities, Asian Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans are less likely to have a voter ID. In fact, African Americans are 25% less likely to have a voter ID, like my mom, who did not have a valid government driver's license. I say voter ID, I mean a valid government driver's license. So I stand here today to speak up for my mom, who always voted, respected the right to vote, believed in her country, did not drive, did not have an ID, but wanted to vote.
I ask you to vote against this bill. It is not necessary. The right to vote is more than a privilege like driving. It truly
Speaker 204
1:36:11
is a right that we ought to protect. Thank you. Representative Williams has spoken against the bill. Does anyone wish
Chair
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1:36:18
to speak for the bill? Representative Klemmer, you recognize I speak for the bill. You know, thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It's never really fun to go to the well to argue
against people that are sincere in their beliefs as you are sincere
in your beliefs. I want to speak in favor of this bill, but before I get to some of the specifics, I think we need to be especially mindful not to impugn the intent of legislation, not to assume we
know what legislation is about, and to assume that elected representatives of this state Come before you today to keep people from voting. It is horrifying to me that anyone in this room believes that about me or anyone else. I didn't stand before you joyfully carrying on, I mean duty bound carrying on, on the controversial bill I brought to you before.
But I did not accuse anyone in this body of wanting to kill babies. I didn't do that. You know I didn't. I was respectful of your beliefs. But you tell us today that we don't want people to vote and you accuse people of my party. our party is the party of voting rights our party is and representative walker acknowledged
this in committee we are the party of the 15th amendment but we have also in the delta been the party that hasn't been allowed in the polling places we have had very poorly run elections in this state. And the point has often come to keep Republicans from being in the voting place,
from having primaries in public buildings. I can cite the date and the time and the phone call where we were told we were not allowed to have a Republican primary. so we can argue this bill but please don't say that we don't want people to go to vote i will pledge to find anyone in the state i may not personally do it but i will find them a ride if they need a ride if they need help tracking down a document at the department of vital records
i will pledge today to help anyone who needs that help i may not do it myself but we will find somebody to do that.
Let me say this about the proof of voter fraud. First of all, let's be clear. There's
election fraud, which is a whole big topic from counting the ballots, from tearing up ballots. And this bill isn't in problems with absentee voting. This bill isn't going to address
that. That is only going to be addressed when we get voters educated, when we get poll workers educated. But let's talk about vote fraud. Everyone says there's not much proof. If you check the law, the only time you can challenge a vote is between the time the voter calls out their name and signs their name on the voting register. That is the only time a vote
can be challenged. That's about 30 seconds, maybe, in my polling place. And let me tell you something else, if you don't know, if you weren't in committee, only a poll watcher can challenge a vote. A poll worker, if they know you're not who you say you're, your signature doesn't match. I contend to you there's no place in the law that that poll worker can challenge your vote, that you are who you say you are. We do have instances, I think our county is pretty
well run, but my county clerk came to me and said last November we had somebody that came to vote and they said you've already voted, you voted early. Well they hadn't. They checked the signatures, check the ID, and sure enough, somebody else had voted for him. How does that happen unless there is vote fraud? But I contend to you, we don't know how many people, and maybe it's not, maybe it's 1%, maybe it will never make the difference in an election, but we had better guard our ballot
boxes. We want to encourage voters, but we need to guard the sanctity of the ballot box by assuring that we know the person is, who they say you are. We have IDs required to stay in a shelter when it's below freezing temperatures. IDs required. Heard it on the radio. Come down to the Salvation Army. Be sure you have your ID to stay in a shelter. To go to DHS, you need your ID. To buy cigarettes, to buy alcohol, we need to get IDs out there for folks that need IDs. I think this bill
helps to get those IDs in people's hands, maybe alleviating other problems they have. I ask you for a good vote on this bill. Thank you. Representative Klemmer has spoken
Chair
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1:42:20
for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill? Representative Klemmer, you recognize to speak against the bill. You
recognize? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Friends, and I
come to you as friends because I believe the members of this chamber to be honorable people who seek to serve the people that they represent.
I do not believe that anyone here has disingenuous or dishonest or dishonorable motives nor intentions. But as Mr. Burris has mentioned over the past several days, if you vote against something, maybe you owe us the courtesy of explaining why. So I'm coming with that courtesy today. I'm not angry about this bill. I think there's a lot of common sense things that could go to help the process, as Mr. Miller has already said.
Does it kill us to show ID? Is it kind of convenient for a lot of folks? Maybe this bill could be permissive. I don't know. I wouldn't have any problem with permissive voter ID. But I have four reasons that I oppose this particular bill, and let me share them with you quickly. First, I represent a great number of elderly people in District 26, particularly in downtown Malvern. And the thing that concerned me the greatest deal, and I'm not here to quibble or to argue on how much voter fraud there is,
But the one thing I have become acquainted with as Melbourne City Attorney over the last four years is that it seems to me that financial identity fraud is nearly epidemic. And it troubles me that in the absentee ballots, we ask my constituents, my older people, put your bank statement in the mail and send it to the courthouse and everything will be okay. I don't know what to do with that, but I feel very uncomfortable with asking them to provide their banking information into basically the stream of commerce and hope it all works out.
Secondly, the challenge provision, which I mentioned earlier in my question, it mentions that a provisional ballot cast by a voter who did not provide proof of identity shall be counted if, and it provides two things. One, the voter returns to the County Board of Election Commissioners or the county clerk by noon on the Monday following the election. And two, the voter has not been challenged or required to vote a provisional ballot for any other reason.
I don't know what to do with that. I don't know if that means that a poll watcher is sitting at the poll to challenge someone. I don't know what recourse there is. The statute doesn't specify what to do if the challenge is bad. It just seems to indicate that if there is a challenge, there can be no provisional ballot cast. And I have problems with that. As I also mentioned earlier in my question, earlier on in this session, we passed Senate Bill 131, which under the emergency clause is now good law, Act 145, which prevents a person's concealed carry handgun license from being subject to the FOIA.
But now something that's been held is private, and many of my constituents contacted me on and found it a matter of personal safety. We're making that a matter of carrying it down to vote. I'm concerned about it just as a matter of policy. And fourth, the statute says that the Secretary of State will produce rules by which these IDs are produced, But there's no appropriation, there's no funding mechanism, and I'm concerned that that will be passed on to my county.
And my county judge and my county quorum court have their hands full trying to keep the roads patched and trying to keep the deputies paid and trying to do all the other things that the county is responsible for, and it feels like we're adding one more thing on them without
the resources to do it. And for that reason, members, respectfully, I will be voting no. Thank
Speaker 65
1:46:46
you. Ripson Burris for a purpose Motion Which
Representative John Burris
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1:46:51
motion Mr. Speaker I respect the passion And the arguments that have been made on all sides
But I would make the motion for immediate consideration It's a proper motion It's non-debatable
Speaker 1
1:47:01
It requires two-thirds of the quorum All in favor of the motion say aye Aye All opposed no No The ayes have it Brother of Sheen, Mr. Clerk. Has everyone voted?
Has everyone voted? Cast the ballots for 51 yeas, 44 nays, and 0 present. You passed the bill.
Chair
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1:47:35
5.7 Meigs moves for the clincher. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, no.
Speaker 16
1:47:43
No. Clinton is adopted. Read Senate Bill 797. Mr. Williams, for what purpose?
Representative Darrin Williams
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1:47:54
Question. I thought we just voted on whether to cut off a debate. The motion on the table was Mr. Burr's motion to end debate, not a vote on the bill.
Speaker 142
1:48:13
Representative Williams, I have adopted the verbal motion for media consideration. What went on the machine was a vote
Chair
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1:48:29
on the bill. Mr. Parliamentarian, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 221
1:48:43
Question? So your ruling was, by that voice
Representative Darrin Williams
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1:48:47
vote, two-thirds of us voted for immediate consideration? Yes. So you heard two-thirds wanted to end debate. That's what you heard. And we didn't have a chance, if that's the case, to ask for a roll call. I just wanted to make sure that's what we heard, that you heard two-thirds. Did nobody ask for
Speaker 70
1:49:05
a roll call for the... I thought we were voting on the motion. That's why I
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
1:49:09
didn't ask for a roll call. I'm sorry.
Representative Jim Nickels
Unverified
1:49:13
Rep. Nichols, for what purpose? Parliamentary inquiry. Yes, sir. Some of us on my row here were trying to sound the ballot that had passed by, and we were not recognized at all. Yes, there were.
Speaker 16
1:49:43
If I see five heads, I'll sound the ballot. Sound the ballot, Mr. Clerk.
Speaker 159
1:49:57
Everybody get their seat. We'll get the roll call out.
Speaker 96
1:50:13
For what purpose, Mr. Burris? Question of the parliamentarian. Which question? I just want to note it for the clarity of
Representative John Burris
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1:50:33
moving forward. Motions for immediate consideration are in a voice vote. Every member has the opportunity to roll call if they challenge the outcome. After a motion for immediate consideration, the vote immediately goes on the board.
That has been the practice of this body for 138 years. Everybody in this body had a chance to challenge that after it occurred. There was a motion for the clincher, which was adopted and ruled past. We can sound this ballot, but I want to be very clear that there was nothing inappropriate that just happened. Every member had a chance to exercise their right and challenge those votes and ask them to be on the board or challenge the rule as it occurred. Well, let's sound the ballot. All right, Mr. Clerk, sound the ballot.
Speaker 225
1:51:22
Alexander, Altus, Baird, Ballinger, Barnett, Bell, Bibiano, Bragg, Branscom, Burris, Carnine, Clemmer, Collins, Cozart, Dale, Davis, Deffenbaugh, Dotson, C. Douglas, D. Douglas,
Eubanks, Barrar, Byte, Gillum, Gossage, Hammer, Harris, Hickerson, Hobbs, Hopper, House Hutcherson Gene Kerr Lee
Speaker 230
1:52:35
Link Lowry Malone Mayberry McCrary McCrary
Speaker 225
1:52:50
Meeks D Meeks, S. Miller, Neal, Payton, Rice, Scott, Shepard, Slinkard, Westerman, Womack.
Speaker 30
1:53:18
51 yays, 44 nays. Motion, bill passes.
Speaker 16
1:53:21
The signature has already been adopted. Breach Senate Bill 797. Senate Bill
Chair
Unverified
1:53:31
797 by Senator Dismang to ensure continued broadband expansion in rural areas within the state to provide 911 emergency services to rural areas within the state to enhance the 911 emergency system and assist its funding and to declare an emergency. Representative Rand, you recognize. Explain the bill.
Representative Tommy Wren
Unverified
1:53:51
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, colleagues, everybody can smile. I'm bringing to you a bill that will be no roll calls and no immediate consideration, and you can all smile. Senate Bill 797 is an act to ensure continued broadband expansion in this great state, rural areas within this great state. It's also to provide 9-1-1 emergency service to rural areas within the state and to enhance the
Representative Wes Wagner
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1:54:17
9-1-1 system and assist its funding. This is to declare an emergency.
Representative Tommy Wren
Unverified
1:54:23
Folks, this bill does three vitally important things. The order,
Speaker 47
1:54:28
I'll give the presenter courtesy of letting him present his bill, please. Thank
Representative Wes Wagner
Unverified
1:54:34
you, Mr. Speaker. I would appreciate that courtesy. The
Representative Tommy Wren
Unverified
1:54:41
first issue that's so important is 9-1-1. And we all know that 9-1-1 saves lives. This bill, currently there's no overall organization of our 911 system in the state.
It's been cobbled together, county by county. Even within many counties, there's overlap and inefficiency. I am very optimistic that this bill provides a study that will result in the information necessary to realize statewide savings, and we will have a better, more functional system. You may think, colleagues, that this is a rural park problem, that this is a citizen's
problem. And let me give you an example. Y'all that live in a more urban area may have a fine 9-1-1 system that's properly staffed. But you may come to my wonderful area of Israel County and go fishing on the White River. And you want to make sure that you and your loved ones would be able to get out and get service and be able to get someone there to get you safely where you need to be. The second thing that this bill does is broadband expansion.
I know a lot of us in this chamber have broadband expansion. We're able to get on and have speeds and get things done. But folks, that's not the case for everyone. And it's especially not the case for students. Every student and family across our state deserves to have good broadband service available to them and their schools and their homes. This will provide the needed funding to make sure that we are able to cover the broadband needs of this state and those that don't have that broadband.
And so I come to you today and ask
Representative Wes Wagner
Unverified
1:56:37
for you to support this bill. It's a good bill, and I would appreciate a good
Chair
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1:56:45
vote. Thank you. Representative Rand has explained the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill? For the bill. Professor Thompson
Speaker 239
1:56:57
recognizes to speak for the bill. I, too, thank you,
Representative Tommy Thompson
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1:57:01
Mr. Speaker. I, too, represent one of the rural districts in Arkansas. And I've been working very closely with some of my schools trying to get broadband brought in there.
And this bill will help our education system a tremendous amount. We do a lot of, I don't know, the term I saw was telemedicine. Well, there's tele-school, school classes taught over the computers. And when we can get broadband into those rural schools where they have access to it, it's going to be very beneficial. Not to mention, if you're on Petey Jean and you need 911, you want to be sure you can get out.
Chair
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1:57:47
I'd appreciate a good vote also. Representative Thompson has spoken for the bill. Does he always speak against the bill, for the bill? Representative Wright recognizes to
Representative Marshall Wright
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1:58:01
speak for the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'll be brief. I just want to remind everybody that I, too, come from a very rural district with a lot of rural schools, and I've spoken to by administrators about this. and this would provide a huge benefit for them to provide certain access to programs that they might not otherwise be able to provide their students. So I would appreciate a good vote.
Chair
Unverified
1:58:19
Representative Wright has spoken for the bill. Does anyone wish to speak against the bill? Representative Meeks, I recognize you speak against the bill. I want
Representative Stephen Meeks
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1:58:36
you all to know I hate being down here again this year. And I don't know if I'm necessarily speaking against the bill. Just a question for Representative Wren when he comes to close. My understanding is that there is a fee increase on phone bills on this, and I would just ask that you would please address that for the body when you come back down.
Chair
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1:58:49
Thank you. Representative Meeks spoke against the bill. Does anyone speak for the bill? Representative Hammer, you recognize I speak for the bill. You
Representative Kim Hammer
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1:59:10
recognize? I think it's a reality that we live in changing times, and we have to look at the way that we do business. And we know that landlines are going away. And if I understand it correctly, I'd be corrected in a minute if Representative Wren comes down to close the bill,
but there are not as many landlines for which the fees that have traditionally been collected in order to provide these essential services. Most times when I'll dial 911, I don't do it on my landline. I do it on my landline. I do it when I'm driving down the road, and I want a quick and speedy response. I'm not in favor of raising taxes in any way, shape, or form, but the reality of the matter is if this is a raising of taxes on my cell phone bill, it's one worth paying. I think you've got to do it every once in a while. With regards to the future of expanding the broadband services, the only thing that I would like to know and maybe would get addressed in the closing comments is,
is this going to carry us out into the future? Will we need to look at coming back and doing something else in the future? because one thing we all know from the school districts that we have, that broadband has become an essential, vital part of existence, not only for the schools but for the students that go home and have to do the work that requires that. So for that part, I just wanted to be able to say that I speak in favor of the bill, even though I think that it probably has a $0.42 increase to it. When I make 911 calls, this is one I'm willing to give up, take the criticism for,
because I want the response when the time comes, and this is one of those times that we need to give it
Chair
Unverified
2:00:33
the attention it needs. Thank you. Representative Hammer has spoken for the bill. Does anybody want to speak against the bill, for the bill? Representative
Representative Tommy Wren
Unverified
2:00:45
Wren, you'd like to close through your bill? Do you recognize to close through your bill? Colleagues, I appreciate that. Representative Meeks, I will address your question. This could possibly raise $20 million, $17 million of which will go to broadband,
Representative Wes Wagner
Unverified
2:00:58
$3 million of which will go to 911 systems. It will affect every county in this state. This will give money to each county based on population for their 911 systems specifically. The broadband portion of that, the $17 million, that money will not flow to either the rural companies, to any of the companies that are associated with this, AT&T, Windstream, CenturyTel, unless that investment is made. And let me restate that.
Unless that company makes that investment in that broadband to those citizens of Arkansas, they will not recoup that money. This is handled by a high-cost fund administrator that is overseen by the PSC, the Public Service Commission. So it does. There is a fee currently in place. This could increase the fee up to 40 cents. And let me address that so that you all know. That has to do with intrastate calling on wireless or landline calls.
Mr. Hammer made a good point. We are losing landlines every day, and we are going to have to support this broadband and these 911 systems. Now, I want to address the question that Mr. Hammer about is this sunset. Mr. Hammer, currently about 90 to 92 percent of Arkansas is covered, has broadband coverage. So I see this going away. Because once we get broadband to these citizens, and as you know, it gets costly more and more with construction costs and different things, then we'll have that covered.
So I think those were the two questions that were asked of me. I think this is a good bill. I do think that we are serving Arkansans, and we are providing broadband to every Arkansan in this state, urban or rural. I think this helps with our 911 systems. The fact that we've never come together and looked at each system and all 75 counties and have a uniform plan is something that this will address. So I would appreciate a good vote. The question before
Speaker 16
2:03:05
the House is passed to Senate Bill 797.
Chair
Unverified
2:03:08
Prepare the machine, Mr. Clerk. Has everyone voted? Voting on the bill and the emergency clause, has everyone voted? Has everyone voted? Cast the ballots to 79
Speaker 39
2:03:21
yeas, three nays, and two present. You have passed the bill. Members, we're going to pass
Speaker 70
2:03:31
over the yellow budget calendar today. Without objection, I'm going to direct the re-referral of House Bills 1893 and 2274 from the Education Committee to the Rules Committee.
Chair
Unverified
2:03:41
Hearing none, so ordered. Representative Baird, you're recognized. After
Representative Duncan Baird
Unverified
2:03:46
the announcements reading of the bills, placing the calendars on the desks, amending members on bills with their own amendments, members withdrawing their own bills, finalizing resolutions, reading communications, and any remaining committee reports. I move we adjourn until 1 p.m. tomorrow. That's a proper
Speaker 28
2:04:00
motion to adjourn to 1 p.m. tomorrow. Everybody got that? All
Speaker 13
2:04:04
in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Representative Wright, you recognize for an announcement.
Representative Marshall Wright
Unverified
2:04:13
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If anybody has a bill running in Senate Judiciary, they're having problems with their calvary and notification system. So if you have a bill running in Senate Judiciary, if you'll go down to room 171, they'll hand deliver you your notice that your bill is going to be run. Representative
Representative Wes Wagner
Unverified
2:04:32
Wagner, you're recognized for an announcement. Tomorrow at lunch, Mississippi County business leaders providing catfish at Capitol Hill.
Chair
Unverified
2:04:38
Representative McLean, you're recognized for an
Representative James McLean
Unverified
2:04:40
announcement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Education will meet tomorrow, 10 o'clock, room 138.
Chair
Unverified
2:04:47
Representative Westerman, you're recognized for an announcement.
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
2:04:51
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Republican House Caucus meeting, originally scheduled for 4 p.m., will be at 4.15 at the RPA. Representative Collins, you're
Chair
Unverified
2:05:01
recognized for an announcement. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker. Revenue and Taxation Committee will leave tomorrow morning, 10 a.m., room 151. Representative Meeks, you're recognized for an announcement. I'd
Chair
Unverified
2:05:10
just like to remind everybody, tomorrow morning, breakfast
with the Bears from 7 to 8.30 over in the Capitol Hill building, so I hope you'll take advantage of it.
Representative Duncan Baird
Unverified
2:05:19
Representative Baird, you recognize. Joint budget, 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, Big Mac A. Representative Lee,
Chair
Unverified
2:05:26
you recognize. State agencies is meeting in 10 minutes down in room 151 to hear two constitutional amendments. Are there
any other announcements? Representative Barnett, you recognize. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Transportation, 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Big Mac B. Are there any other announcements?
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
2:05:49
We're going to read these right now.
Chair
Unverified
2:07:49
Read the bills, Mr. Clark. Senate Bill 30. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 30. Calendar. Read the bills, Mr. Clark.
Senate Bill 90 Without objection read the bill a second time Senate Bill 90 Calendar Senate Bill 158 Without objection read the bill a second time Senate Bill 158 Calendar Senate Bill 375 Without objection read the bill a second time Senate Bill 375 Calendar Senate Bill 435 Calendar Senate Bill 436
Senate Bill 436 Calendar Senate Bill 439 Without objection read the bill the second time Senate Bill 439 Calendar Senate Bill 443 Without objection read the bill the second time Senate Bill 443 Calendar Senate Bill 444 Without objection read the bill the second time Senate Bill 444 Calendar Without objection, read the bill the second time.
Senate Bill 475. Calendar. Senate Bill 476. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 476. Calendar. Senate Bill 477. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 477. Calendar. Senate Bill 478. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 478. Calendar. Senate Bill 485. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 485.
Calendar. Senate Bill 486. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 486. Calendar. Senate Bill 490. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 490. Calendar. Senate Bill 536. Senate Bill 505. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 505. Calendar.
Senate Bill 514. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 514. Calendar. Senate Bill 528. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 528. Calendar. Senate Bill 536. Without objection. Senate Bill 534. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 534. Calendar. Senate Bill 536. Without objection, read the bill the second
time. Senate Bill 536. Calendar. Senate Bill 538. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 538. Calendar. Senate Bill 543. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 543. Calendar. Senate Bill 544. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate bill 544. Calendar. Senate bill 545. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate bill 545. Calendar. Senate bill 555. Without objection, read the bill the
second time. Senate bill 555. Calendar. Senate bill 556. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate bill 556. Calendar. Senate bill 557. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 557. Calendar. Senate Bill 558. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 558. Calendar. Senate Bill 560. Without objection, read the bill a second time. Senate Bill 560. Calendar. Senate Bill 565. Without objection, read the
bill the second time. Senate Bill 565. Calendar. Senate Bill 566. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 566. Calendar. Senate Bill 567. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 567. Calendar. Senate Bill 568. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 568. Calendar. Senate Bill 576. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 576. Calendar. Senate Bill 578. Without objection, read the bill the
second time. Senate Bill 578. Calendar. Senate Bill 586. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 586. Calendar. Senate Bill 588. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 588. Calendar. Senate Bill 593. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 593. Calendar. Senate Bill 596. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 596. Calendar. Senate Bill 603. Without objection, read the bill the
second time. Senate Bill 603. Calendar. Senate Bill 605. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 605. Calendar. Senate Bill 608. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 608. Calendar. Senate Bill 619. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 619. Calendar. Senate Bill 631. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 631. Calendar. Senate Bill 637. Without objection, read the bill the
second time. Senate Bill 637. Calendar. Senate Bill 638. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 638. Calendar. Senate Bill 639. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 639. Calendar. Senate Bill 651. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 651. Calendar. Senate Bill 652. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 652. Calendar. Senate Bill 667. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 667. Calendar. Senate Bill 668. Without objection, read the
bill the second time. Bill 668. Calendar. Senate Bill 669. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 669. Calendar. Senate Bill 671. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 671. Calendar. Senate Bill 672. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 672. Calendar. Senate Bill 673. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 673. Calendar. Senate Bill 674. Without objection, read the bill the
second time. Senate Bill 674. Calendar. Senate Bill 675. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Bill 675. Calendar. Senate Bill 676. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 676. Calendar. Senate Bill 677. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 677. Calendar. Senate Bill 678. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 678. Calendar. Senate Bill 679. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 679. Calendar. Senate Bill 680. Without objection, read the bill
the second time. Bill 680. Calendar. Senate Bill 681. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Bill 681. Calendar. Senate Bill 682. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 682. Calendar. Senate Bill 683. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Senate Bill 683. Calendar. Senate Bill 689. Without objection, read the bill a second time. Senate Bill 689, yes. Calendar.
Senate Bill 696. Without objection, read the bill a second time. Senate Bill 696. Calendar. Senate Bill 701. Without objection, read the bill a second time. Senate Bill 701. Calendar. Senate Bill 703. Without objection, read the bill a second time. Senate Bill 703. Calendar. Senate Bill 704. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 704. Calendar. Senate Bill 706. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 706. Calendar. Senate Bill 707.
Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 707. Calendar. Senate Bill 708. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Bill 708. Calendar. Senate Bill 710. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 710. Calendar. Senate Bill 713. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 713. Calendar. Senate Bill 717. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 717. Calendar. Senate Bill 723. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 723. Calendar.
Senate Bill 724. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 724. Calendar. Senate Bill 725. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 725. Calendar. Senate Bill 726. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 726. Calendar. Senate Bill 727. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 727. Calendar. Senate Bill 733. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 733. Calendar. Senate Bill 734.
Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 734. Calendar. Senate Bill 735. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 735. Calendar. Senate Bill 737, 737. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Bill 737. Calendar. Senate Bill 738. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 738. Calendar. Senate Bill 756. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Bill 756. Calendar. Senate Bill 758.
Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 758. Calendar. Senate Bill 759. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 759. Calendar. Senate Bill 760 Without objection, read the bill the second time Senate Bill 760 Calendar Senate Bill 764 Without objection, read the bill the second time Senate Bill 764 Calendar Senate Bill 765 Without objection, read the bill the second time
Senate Bill 765 Calendar Senate Bill 768 Without objection, read the bill the second time Senate Bill 768 Calendar Senate Bill 775. Without objection, read the bill the second time. Senate Bill 775. Calendar. Upon completion of the items
Speaker 253
2:18:43
named in the adjourned resolution, the House will be adjourned until 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Agenda
Call To Order
Prayer & Pledge
Committee Reports
HR1023
HB1746
HB1447
HB1633
HB1136
HB1633
SB2
SB797
Announcements
Reading of the Bills
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 8
Speaker 13
Representative Jody Dickinson Chair
Unverified
Speaker 24
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 29
Speaker 32
Speaker 14
Speaker 39
Representative Stephanie Malone
Unverified
Representative Ann V. Clemmer Chair
Unverified
Speaker 52
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
Representative Nate Bell
Unverified
Speaker 70
Representative Charlene Fite
Unverified
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
Representative John Charles Edwards Chair
Unverified
Representative Mark D. McElroy
Unverified
Representative Jeremy Gillam
Unverified
Representative John Payton
Unverified
Representative Debra M. Hobbs
Unverified
Speaker 65
Representative John Burris
Unverified
Speaker 99
Representative Jim Nickels
Unverified
Speaker 102
Representative Douglas House
Unverified
Speaker 111
Speaker 75
Speaker 96
Representative Kim Hammer
Unverified
Speaker 121
Speaker 124
Speaker 116
Representative James McLean
Unverified
Speaker 98
Speaker 20
Speaker 142
Speaker 139
Speaker 143
Speaker 71
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
Representative Jeff Wardlaw
Unverified
Speaker 149
Representative Butch Wilkins
Unverified
Speaker 159
Speaker 160
Speaker 165
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
Speaker 172
Speaker 161
Speaker 179
Speaker 187
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
Speaker 196
Representative Josh Miller
Unverified
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
Speaker 204
Speaker 16
Speaker 221
Speaker 225
Speaker 230
Speaker 30
Representative Tommy Wren
Unverified
Representative Wes Wagner
Unverified
Speaker 47
Speaker 239
Representative Tommy Thompson
Unverified
Representative Marshall Wright
Unverified
Representative Duncan Baird
Unverified
Speaker 28
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
Representative Charlie Collins Chair
Unverified
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
Speaker 253