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Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
0:00
amendment that I would like to introduce that adds co-sponsors to
Speaker 3
0:10
we need somebody on the committee to make a motion
Chair
Unverified
0:16
to accept represent Edwards amendment okay representative Harris has
Speaker 4
0:23
made the motion any discussion on that amendment saying none all in favor of the
amendment say aye any opposed came amendment adopted all right representative Edwards you can
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
0:51
you mr. chairman members of the committee.
The bill today, in my mind, is a step. It's nothing but a step, but it is a first step to correct what I think has been a shameful problem here in
the state of Arkansas. Many of the new members may not realize it, but our state has been
in the business for a number of years in providing nursing home care for veterans. So do most other states that surround us and virtually every
state in the nation provides care for their veterans in a partnership with the federal Veterans Administration.
I think most people on the committee would find themselves very familiar with the federal
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
1:44
VA, but we also have a State Department of Veterans Affairs that works with the Federal VA in providing care for our veterans. But we've not done a very good job in caring for our veterans. Specifically, there was a home in Little Rock, a veterans home in Little Rock, that was
something that no one in this room would be proud of.
It was more or less a hand-me-down facility, and while some of the veterans that lived there
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
2:20
might have been grateful to have that versus nothing, what they had was something that none of us would want to see for our family members, I can tell you that much. This issue came to me in late 2011 by a caring person by the name of Martha Deaver.
And she initially contacted me about problems with care for veterans in our Fayetteville home. We also have a home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, that still operates. the Fayetteville home is a newer home has a much better physical plant to it if you will but there were still issues to be resolved there and I made a visit to the Fayetteville home and to the Little Rock home
and started down this path that has led to this to this bill today back in 1980 I believe
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
3:29
81 there was a statute that was passed that established the veterans' home here in Little Rock. What I have done with this bill is that I've amended that existing statute to authorize the construction of a new veterans' home for up to 150 beds
to provide care for our veterans. The way the bill is drafted, it would give the director of the State Department of Veterans Affairs, working with our State Veterans Commission, we have a separate commission that has the principal responsibility of advising the director on how to care and house our veterans who live in these veterans' homes. there would be a decision as far as location would go on this home and as with the previous
legislation the department would work up the
rules and regulations for the
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
4:42
operation of the home. What makes this particularly shameful to me about what we've done in the past and why we must do better is that all of the states that surround Arkansas have figured this out. Okay? Today, everyone
else has figured out how to do this well.
For example, in the state of Louisiana today, they have five quality veterans' homes, five quality veterans' homes that are operated in such a way that there's no general revenue necessary to support them. Okay? Now, think about that. And the reason why Louisiana is a good snapshot for us to look at is that we are very close in veterans' populations.
They rank number 28th in total veterans. We rank number 29th. Today in Arkansas, there are a little over 255,000 veterans in our state. And these veterans are your constituents. They may be your family members. You never know where you're going to find one of these veterans. And I would be remiss today if I did not recognize, I walked into the room and he's behind me,
but Mr. Doug Walker, we served in Iraq together. And it's always a very heartwarming and positive experience for me when I see someone that I served with. And I definitely appreciate his service to our nation. But when you think that the state of Louisiana, the state of Mississippi, the state of Tennessee, the state of Missouri, the state of Oklahoma, the state of Texas, they've all figured this out.
we need to figure this out this bill is a first step it's a first step that authorizes the construction there
are still many other issues that need to be looked into and resolved I mean funding for construction and that would be a whole separate issue but there's a program out there with the federal VA that if the state can come up with its 35% share to build a new home, the federal VA will come up with the other 65%.
When it comes to the operation of the home, and I mentioned that we have a home in Fayetteville, our home in Fayetteville is operating right now with no general revenue from the state of Arkansas. all. It's operating in a fiscally successful manner. The question that we also have to ask ourselves, though, are we going to do our best to make sure that these veterans that need this
care, are they really going to get the best care? And
that's something that I think some of our other states have shown how to do it. There's a veteran's home in Bossier City, Louisiana,
that was built in 2007 at an approximate cost of $21 million utilizing this program. There's no state money involved in the operation of the home. It's successful in
its management. and one of the things they've been able to do, Mr. Chairman,
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
8:36
is that they have been able to learn from the mistakes of others over the years and they figured out the way to care for veterans. And one of those things they've done very successfully is they've managed their budgets as such that they have their own in-house physician that's done amazingly well providing the care for our veterans. We can do so much better than what we can.
I know we live in times that are tough. There are many challenges that we face as a state today and as a nation. But we're talking about people who took on a task that they had to go wherever they were told. Sometimes it was hard. Sometimes it was real hard. i think we owe it to these individuals we have a new generation of veterans coming on you know because they're one of the one of the myths about veterans is that well you know all the veterans
have uh that's things in the past you know well the facts are is that uh most of the veterans that live in arkansas today are the post world war ii generation um if you know any of your World War II veterans, you know, keep them close to you and hang
on to the words because we're losing them every day. By the last figures I saw, we have about 21,000 World War II vets left in the state, and we should treasure them. But
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
10:14
folks, with leadership and the will, we can do this.
Everybody has figured this out. We can do this. And I'm
honored that my lead Senate co-sponsor is Senator Jane English. Senator English is a wife of a veteran, and
she knows very, very well what you go through with multiple deployments. Her husband, Don English, was deployed on at least two occasions during the Vietnam War.
So I'm going to stop now and take any questions that the committee may have. Thank you, Representative Edwards. We
Chair
Unverified
10:59
appreciate that, and it's, you know, something that we do. We need to make sure that we take care of our veterans. Questions from the committee? Okay. Representative Alexander, you're recognized. Thank
Representative Randy Alexander
Unverified
11:16
you, Mr. Chair. Representative Edwards, I commend you for your efforts on this bill.
There aren't many things that would come before us that one of my first questions wouldn't be, what does it cost? But this is one of them. But I am interested. I have two questions. I'm interested generally, just as a point of information, what kind of funding is needed
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
11:45
to go to the next step to do the exploration of this? So if this bill passes
and then we're looking at funding for construction, I would say an estimate of $6 to $7 million would be needed to be able to be competitive for the federal VA funding.
And that's assuming if we stay at a cost of around $21 million, which I still think is a reasonable estimate. The next funding cycle is in April of this year. The funds don't have to be actually in place at that time, but
they do have to be committed. I believe, and I'll verify this, I believe the funds
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
12:35
have to be committed by August of 2013 to get into this cycle.
The next, but, so that's if you
Representative Randy Alexander
Unverified
12:47
deal with the construction. Can I clarify, is that $6 million for the construction? I was asking about funds just to do the
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
12:59
exploration, to find the location for the home. That was, and I'm basing that off the Louisiana experience. That's what I'm calling it. That was a turnkey cost for them. That covered engineering, site location, you know, all of that.
That was a turnkey cost. Yes,
Representative Randy Alexander
Unverified
13:21
sir. And, Mr. Chair, if I may, my second question has to do with the Fayetteville home. You mentioned it's better than this one, but that's a relative term. Yes. In your opinion, and this may be a separate bill, in your opinion, do we
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
13:40
also need to address renovation of that facility? Absolutely. And one of my biggest concerns, and just
for the edification of the committee, the Fayetteville home,
There was a man named Nick Bacon that some of you in this room may have known. Nick Bacon passed away in 2010. He was a Medal of Honor recipient, and I was very proud that he was my friend. He was the director of the State Department of Veterans Affairs at the time that Governor Huckabee approved the renovation and construction of the Fayetteville home. They did absolutely the best job that they could with the hand that they had been dealt with,
and I commend Nick Bacon and his memory for what he did, and I commend Governor Huckabee for the support that
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
14:35
he and his staff gave in the Fayetteville home. But as time has gone on and we've seen things and we've learned things, one of the things that we've learned about and I've seen in the Fayetteville home was that I do have concerns that we have veterans, most of which are not mobile,
that they're living like four or five floors up. Folks, if there's a fire in
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
15:04
that facility, we're going to have problems. There have been, in the past year, there have been some corrections there. I know when I
was there in December of 2011, One of the things that struck me, and I'm not trying to be Bill Nye the science guy or some kind of a health inspector nerd, but when you walk into a facility
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
15:31
and in their dining area they don't have a place for the workers to wash their hands, that is not good for seniors at all because of the risk of infections and how things get, and that issue was raised and some improvements were made there. But, yes, to answer your question, there are still things that need to be done at
the Fayetteville home. You're right, that is a relative term. But I would say that any member of the committee, I would love to take
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
16:07
you down at anybody's convenience
to see what that home in Bossier City looks like, and you would come away just saying, okay, this is how you take care of veterans. Thank
Speaker 26
16:19
you. Thank you. Representative Julian, you're next. I can't really
Representative Patti Julian
Unverified
16:25
remember how many people were in the Little Rock home when we closed it. About 70. But I was curious why you capped the number at 150 beds. If we have that many veterans still living in Arkansas,
Do you happen to know how many of them would qualify for the parameters for living there set out? I mean, are we under building? That's
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
16:56
an excellent question. And is one of the things, Senator
English has a task force bill dealing with veterans' homes that I think one of the great things about her legislation is that it will help further develop criteria for admission and clarify, which, you know, has not been done here in this state.
And again, as an example, there are parameters that you can set.
I mean, a state is free to set their parameters, but they do have to have a discussion about what
those parameters are. Some states, for example, they authorize the admission
of Gold Star parents into a home.
And if you're not familiar, a Gold Star parent is a parent that had a child that was
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
18:03
killed in the line of duty. And that's what that's, you know, so these are things that, you know, need to be looked at. And I think that's one of the good points about Senator English's bill is to flesh these things out in an open forum. I chose 150 beds as a good starting point because I do think that Arkansas more or less needs to reboot on this issue to get it right.
But I think one of the things that the states that have done this well, they have worked to put their facilities, number one, near major VA medical facilities. So the patients,
you know, you can look at this, if you keep it focused on patient care and honoring these patients, you want to have a facility to where when someone's needing clinical care in a hospital,
you don't have them riding around in a van or an ambulance for an hour at a time and saving money on transportation costs and really make this efficient. And, again, I will probably wear people out talking about Louisiana, but they have operated
their facility, the one in Bossier City, since 2007. They've paid their bills, they've taken care of their veterans, and they've built a million-dollar surplus, which is held in a special account,
that their state legislature can appropriate as they deem fit for other additions onto their deal. But 150, I think, is a good, manageable number. And you may even want to go a little
bit smaller, but that's a very manageable number. Most of the homes in Louisiana are rated to hold anywhere between
150 and 154 patients. and it works out real well for them.
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
20:11
Thank you. Representative Harris, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Edwards, I've got a couple questions. I think until you, I have an aging father that's a vet, and I'm very, aging father-in-law, sorry. I'm just shocked at sometimes the treatment he gets when he goes to the VA. IT JUST, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, UNTIL YOU GO THROUGH IT, YOU DON'T REALIZE THE SYSTEM THAT THEY OFTENTIMES HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
AND SO ONE THING YOU MENTIONED THAT I WANT TO TOUCH ON, ON THE VETERAN HOME, THE CONTROL, STATE CONTROL, FEDERAL CONTROL. IF WE DO 100%, YOU KNOW, WE MATCH WITH THE 7 MILLION, AND THEN THE FED DOES THE REST OF IT, WE HAVE CONTROL BECAUSE DO WE NEED need to pitch in more money to have state control because, you know, we got into the Fayetteville issue as far as administration. It caused a little bit of heartburn for us.
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
21:16
How much control will we have if we do a... You have total state control as far as the operation of the facility. You know, the feds,
the federal VA folks, they're looking, quite frankly, to find ways to have this more state-based to give, you know, the people closest to where the veterans live an
opportunity to work with them.
So, you know, your directors, all of the people are state employees. There would be total oversight by the General Assembly on this. And this is another good learning point. We're talking about the State Department of Veterans Affairs, but it could be any state agency. And I think this is one of the things that each of us as legislators, no matter how new or how long you've been around, you know, folks, this is our chance. You know, any of us can ask a question of anybody when we see something that doesn't look good.
And this is how you exercise our control and our authority.
So absolutely, these facilities are under state control. Thank you very much. Representative
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
22:39
Holcomb, you're next. You're recognized. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. Just briefly, Representative, you touched on some of this already, and I think this is a matter that we all have concerns with. I think everyone here touches us some way. But you alluded to the fact about the states around us that they figured it out.
And I assume that to be that they figured out some kind of revenue to help themselves. Could you give an example of how we might pattern ourselves after some of them, if you
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
23:10
would? I'd appreciate it. Yes, and also we can look at, again, our own example in Fayetteville. The
Little Rock home, for all of its – and had a wide variety of problems. One of the problems was its admissions policies led it to being non-sustainable from a fiscal matter.
I need to go back and check my figures, but I think previously the General Assembly had appropriated, for the Little Rock home only, roughly $632,000 annually for its operation. And again, that was because the procedures weren't in place to find a way to make it
pay. So the way, like the Fayetteville home works, and there is no general revenue involved in it from the state, The
admission policies they have there, veterans either who qualify for Medicaid,
they either qualify for veterans' pensions, or there's a thing called aid and attendance. So there are various programs out there that will help pay for the care of qualifying veterans. The state of Louisiana, for example, the home in Bossier City, they pay for their operations of their home through a combination of veterans benefits for the veterans.
And they have a, I think they have 20 Medicare certified beds
that, and they don't really want more than that, but those are beds that are utilized when people are coming back
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
25:04
and forth from hospitalization. So it works very well for them to cover their expenses. But again, and this is a quote, I think, from Senator English,
but there are examples out there where we don't have to reinvent the wheel. So it's just that we've got to have, you know, the proper oversight
and the proper leadership. There is new leadership in the State Department of Veterans
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
25:35
Affairs. Colonel retired Sissy Rucker is the new director. And, you know, she's been like a buzzsaw going through the problems with that agency. And I want her to keep cutting wood.
Chair
Unverified
25:50
Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Representative Armstrong,
Representative Eddie L. Armstrong
Unverified
25:56
you're recognized? Yes, I've had a lot of questions about location. Are we going to try to use the same location for the new site? Is it enough room there to expand
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
26:07
and we need the expansion? No, one of the things that was earlier looked into, and that's an excellent question, Representative
Armstrong, and this is like old home week because we were also in the same National Guard unit together.
So, again, you keep looking around, and
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
26:23
I see Ms. Hart over there, so we're stacking the room as we go. But the previous facility in
Little Rock, number one, it was a hand-me-down facility. It
was never designed for that. It would be so cost-prohibitive to try to turn it into a decent facility. The process that's going on with it right now is that the State Building Services is working with the State Department
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
26:53
of Veterans Affairs to have it placed on the market so it can be sold.
Representative Ken Bragg
Unverified
27:05
Representative Bragg, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to point a clarification on some of the language in the bill on the second page, it makes a statement about the home may be used as a nursing home without obtaining a certificate of need. Are you looking at a dual-purpose facility, and what does that mean about without obtaining a certificate
of need? Well, normally a regular nursing home obtains a certificate of need,
and in the previous language that I've retained that we're just not making the state veteran's home go through that. But one of the things that the Little Rock Home had a problem with in its
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
27:54
enabling legislation was it was also a domiciliary. And this is where some of the fiscal problems started. There were
people that were living there that probably had other options available to them.
and there was no reimbursables from any other programs to help pay the cost for that. And that's what really, that was the difference that caused the fiscal problems in Little Rock Home where you did not have those same problems in Fayetteville. Okay, thank you. Representative Ferguson, you're recognized. I really just had
Representative Deborah Ferguson
Unverified
28:36
two questions. Because admittedly, it's not anything I know much about.
I guess where are the veterans' needs being met now, and why a veterans' home? Is that need not being
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
28:51
met in the private sector nursing homes? That's an excellent question, and I'm
glad you asked it. And the way I answer it is this. When I was a child, I was a Cub Scout. And during the Christmas holidays, we would go to nursing homes in South Lone Oak County and we'd sing Christmas songs to people.
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
29:13
And every nursing home we went to at that time, there were plenty of veterans in those facilities. And the reason that was true was because you were dealing with people from the World War II era, even, you know, some remainders from World War I at that time, because everybody served. If I was in this room right here in 1946, there
wouldn't be a soul at this table that had not served themselves or had a direct family member that served.
Today, we have men and women who volunteer to take this task on, and more or less they subsidize the rest of us from not having to serve. There is no draft, and
because you have a smaller overall footprint of the force today and you don't have universal service, you also don't have that universal connection. And I think it's very important that people who,
and I can tell you right now,
people who serve in the military, they benefit from
being around other veterans. I'm not a doctor, but I've talked to doctors about that, that they believe that. You
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
30:35
look at the suicide rates with the current generation of veterans, there
was recently a report that came out that showed that there were more suicides in 2012 by veterans than
there were casualties in Afghanistan. Part of that reason,
I don't know the whole answer, and this is something that the military
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
31:00
spends a lot of time working on, but part of that reason is the isolation that these
veterans feel. So I think it's very important that we say to our veterans and to our future veterans about how they're going to be cared for that if you
want to have a place to stay and live
with your fellow veterans that we're going to provide
that you know place for you to have that camaraderie it's a unique thing being a a veteran I don't care where you served or how you served uh... but when you've worn that uniform you have a bond with somebody that you just don't easily find in any other thing in
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
31:46
life and uh... and certainly there will be many In most cases, I mean, there will be the need for all types of facilities, you know,
private facilities, facilities that help not just veterans but seniors in general be able to stay in their home, their own home for as long as possible. But I think it's really important as we go into this new generation of veterans that we realize that it's really important for veterans to have the opportunity to be around each other. And that's, to me, that's one of the compelling reasons for having it. And it's also just about, you know, keeping that covenant with our veterans.
I think the first political figure that ever mentioned caring for veterans was President Lincoln during his second inaugural address when he
was closing. And he was talking about, you know, caring for those who borne the battle and their widow and their orphan. And this is a covenant we've had as a nation, and it's something that you can't replicate anywhere
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
32:58
else. And when you look, and as a veteran myself, when I see what the other states around us have done,
when I see how those veterans love being able to interact among themselves, and then when someone comes and visits them. And I'm really glad you asked this question because there's one more
thing I want to make real clear where I think we're heading because we still live in a dangerous world. There are still things that can happen. Because of the great medicine that our veterans receive in combat today, the great medical care,
We have veterans that in previous generations that would have died, they've survived. And some of these people, and many of these people, they weren't all older guys like me. Some of these folks are very, very young, and they're going to be around a long time. And as they age, you're going to need more care. You're going to start seeing younger veterans
that are going to be needing care sooner because we've had so many injured veterans survive.
You're going to see what we didn't see in the World War II generation, you
know, women veterans. There's going to be so many more women veterans that are going to need care than ever did before because, by and large, you did not have women in service roles in our past history. Women today are such a significant part of our total force. And it's for all these reasons that I think that having this, you know, home is important for those people who want to live there.
And if you don't want to live there, you know, live wherever you want to live. If you want to live in a private facility, great. If you want to live in your own home, which I personally always believe, Mr. Chairman, is the best place if you can stay in your own home. But if we're going to have a place for these men and women, then let's make it a good place. And that's what I'm hoping that we
can do in this state. Okay. Any other committee members have any questions?
Representative Gary Deffenbaugh
Unverified
35:25
Representative Deffenball, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Edwards, I was just curious. Now, the federal grant that you mentioned, I don't know much about that. Does that stand in law? Is that always going to be open to us
as far as we know? Is that permanent? Well, that's another excellent question. And I never presume to speak for what the federal government may or may not do.
But I know, number one, that no one's obligated to anything unless the funding's actually
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
36:05
there. And number two, it does seem to be the federal funding for veterans programs does seem to be in fairly decent shape compared to some other budget items. And as a note of just interest from the federal side on this, I've personally spoken with a lot of interest from Senator Bozeman's office, Steve Gray and Senator Bozeman's office, Senator Mark Pryor, Randy Massanelli.
Recently, I got a phone call around 7.21 morning from Congressman Griffin, who was very interested in making sure that the funding would be in place on the federal side. And so I think there's a lot of support from our federal legislative leadership. But, again, if, you know, if the money's not, if the federal money were not in place,
then ultimately the state money would not be obligated. It's a very good question. Thanks.
Chair
Unverified
37:26
I appreciate it. Representative Smith, did you have a question? I didn't know if you. Representative Scott. Okay,
I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. Representative Scott, you're recognized. Thank you. I have a couple of questions and then one comment. I recently visited with a friend who runs a nursing home in Rogers, and her comment was to me that great employees make happy clients. Are you all able, with your budget, to hire good, wonderful, qualified people to take care of the veterans?
Is that something you
strive to do? I believe it's certainly possible. I believe that with the new leadership that we have, and again, going back to you having a
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
38:16
part of this role now to continue to press that point, the experience that I have seen in Louisiana, And they have been successful in being able to attract and retain good employees.
And as I mentioned earlier, they've even gone the extra step
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
38:44
to having their own in-house physician. When I spoke with the staff in Fayetteville last year, and I think this is something you're going to see in all places, like with CNAs, there
will be issues there, but that's part of doing business anywhere.
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
39:09
But I'm personally convinced with strong leadership and good legislative oversight, this will not be a challenge. But
that's not what we've had in the past, and that's what I think
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
39:24
we can correct. But when you look at what this home in Bossier City has accomplished, and it's strong management. I mean, they have good leadership, good management. there's some things that they contract out
for example like they said you know trying to run your own laundry and they're very blunt down there you know trying
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
39:51
to own your own laundry is just crazy we have someone that goes out there and does our linens and all of that we run our own food service so we can make sure we take care of the diet needs of the patients
there But, no, I absolutely believe, you know, we can do it, and I think it's something we owe our veterans.
I have another question. I agree we do owe our veterans. I do feel like, though, there could be a laundry facility put in the new facility such that some of the veterans might help with that. Who knows? There might be someone who would enjoy doing that to give them something to do, to give them responsibility. I'd like to see you be more self-contained and take care of the needs by the people that you have. I think it would benefit them. And
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
40:44
that's one thing that some of the states have done a really good job of,
of having the activities for their veterans. But I cannot stress enough the aspect of the socialization, and being able to congregate together and do things together, what it does for their well-being. When you do build, and I
hope you get to, when you do that, will there be a lot of emphasis put on recreational areas for the veterans? Going back to
a previous comment I made, I think that's one of the great things about the task force bill from Senator English.
it's another opportunity to put suggestions forward to the State Department of Veterans Affairs on the things
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
41:34
that we would, you know, like to see and the things that would be important. And I may be coming back. I'm still doing some, Mr. Chairman, I'll get off topic but get right back on real quick because it's germane to the question. And I may be looking at another piece of legislation that would reorganize how our State Department of Veterans Affairs Commission operates
to help provide some additional focus like what you're speaking of right now. Because I do think there's, in the past, there's been some issues with the focus. And
I think some of the members, the current members of the commission will acknowledge that.
Do you think that some of the great businesses that we have in Arkansas would be willing to contribute to
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
42:29
the project? That is an excellent question, and I'm so
glad that you asked it.
There is also, under Arkansas Code 2081-107A, a provision where the Director of the State
Department of Veterans Affairs can accept, on behalf of the department, gifts for any purpose
that the department carries forth, including this. And one of the things that the city of Bossier did, they made a gift to the State Department of Veterans Affairs for their land that their facility is built on.
So there is state law currently in place that allows what you're talking about, and it's something that I certainly want to encourage. and the only mistake we can make on that front is not to ask. Representative
Scott, are you through with your question? Just
Chair
Unverified
43:40
want to make sure. Okay. Any other members of the committee have a question? Representative Payton, you're recognized. Representative Edwards,
Representative John Payton
Unverified
43:48
number one, I'd like to thank you for your service and your continued service.
In your bill, who ultimately has the authority to select and purchase the location? Are we giving all that authority to the director, or is that going to be the commission or the task
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
44:08
force that may exist later? The director
would be the, quote-unquote, decision maker as far as getting the site location. But that would be done with seeking the advice of the commission. And, of course, the way our process works, there would be a lot of legislative oversight into that matter.
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
44:32
And one of the things, going back to Senator English's bill, that I think will, as issues are looked at to determine what's best, I think one of the things they'll find is that locating a facility near where surgical care, hospital care can be had is what makes sense. And one of the things that some of the homes in the nation that maybe had not
been so thought out,
they would have their homes
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
45:14
in a place that was really far away, you know, for the veterans who lived there to receive, you know, care. But the other reason why, and I think one of the problems with the previous legislation that specified you are going to put this home in this old rundown facility at Madison Street here in Little Rock, Arkansas,
So I think it tied the commission and tied the department to a really bad decision. And what I want is, and I think what we can achieve with all the pieces of the puzzle that would come together, would be a lot of oversight in selecting a good place for a home and maybe even having the opportunity to have some land, you know, donated.
But, again, you have to look at, you know, all these factors about, you know, what's best for patient care. But I think that's one of the things that I would like to see the task force help, you know, flesh out that Senator English is working on. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Davis, you're recognized. Motion at
Chair
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46:39
the proper time. Okay. Okay. Representative Dickinson actually beat you to the punch on that vote. Appreciate it. All right.
Speaker 4
46:45
Any other members of the committee have any questions? Okay. Seeing none, I don't have anybody on the sign-in sheet from the public that wishes to speak for against the bill unless that's changed. No? Okay. Representative Dickinson, you recognize to make your
Speaker 4
47:16
pass. as amended as amended okay all right all those in favor of passing house bill 1013 say aye
any opposed representative Edwards congratulations you've passed your bill thank you mr. chairman Okay. We're going to now give Representative Sabin a crash course in being chair. The next bill
Chair
Unverified
47:47
that is on the agenda is Senate Bill 7, and I am going to actually move to the end of the table
and actually run the bill. So, Representative Sabin, you now have control.
Okay, look out. We'll wait for Representative Meeks to make it down there. Okay, members of this committee, the next item on the committee's agenda is Senate Bill 7. Representative Meeks, you're recognized to present Senate Bill 7. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Speaker 4
48:25
Senate Bill 7, what we're going to do is I'm
Chair
Unverified
48:28
going to start out by making a motion to amend the bill. All it does is add a
few co-sponsors to that bill. Okay. The chair will entertain that motion. Representative Harris. Representative Harris has moved to accept the bill as amended. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Any discussion? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Okay. Motion passes. Representative Meeks, you're recognized.
Speaker 4
48:57
Thank you. Senate Bill 7 basically allows a military spouse to
Chair
Unverified
49:02
be able to come in and apply for a temporary license. The reason that this bill is important is because as a spouse, you don't have the option normally on where your spouse gets transferred to when you're in the military. And so you may have a transfer into Little Rock Air Force Base, and that spouse may be
a teacher, may be a physician, a nurse, could be any number of things that actually requires a license. And so she gets here, or he gets here, and then they have to wait several months to go through the process of applying and getting a license, and during that time, that person is not able to get a job in the field in which they either want to be in or in which they're they're actually licensed in. So what this bill does is it allows the board or state board or commission to issue a temporary
license to the spouse of the military, the person that's in the military, for them to be able to continue practice. The key here is is that the spouse has to be licensed in another state. So it's not like the person just come in and say, I want to be a teacher and we're going to give them a license to be a teacher. They actually have to be certified in another state to be a teacher, to be a physician, to be whatever. And then that will allow them to get employment and then to go through the process of getting their permanent Arkansas license if they choose to and if there's enough time before they
potentially would get deployed again out of state. This does have the backing of the governor. The department heads are also for it as well. A similar bill like this has already passed in 26 other states. It is a good bill, and I would appreciate a good vote on it. With that,
I'll take questions. Okay. The chair recognizes Representative Julian for
Representative Patti Julian
Unverified
51:00
a question. You said a temporary license, and while they go through the regular licensing process, if they wish, I mean, is
Speaker 85
51:10
there some time limit to this, Representative Meeks?
Chair
Unverified
51:12
Yes. happen is that each department or each state board or commission will generate rules based on their licensing and so it's going to vary depending on the board some boards meet basically once or maybe three or four times a year okay sometimes with licensing went to get a permanent license here in Arkansas you may have to go through a background check and of course that may take a month or two to get that done you know there are other things as well so the reason
why this bill doesn't have necessarily time limit is because of the varying boards and commissions that issue license have have different rules and regulations that's how they do that second reason is because sometimes when you're deployed and you move like once a year and I think mostly with with it being Little Rock Air Force Base I think this you know they're stationed at two or two to three years, but there's always that possibility that the spouse may only be here a year, and so there may not be necessary for them to go through a permanent licensing
spending all the money to get it when they're just
going to be here for that short of time. Thank you. Are there any other questions for members of the committee? I'm not seeing any. Oh,
Representative Frederick Smith
Unverified
52:36
wait, sorry. Representative Smith, you recognize. Thank you, Chair. I got a question. I'm close to the state line down there in West Memphis, close to Memphis. People are crossing over the state line to get ID, for a temporary ID, and their ID over in Tennessee might be suspended
and coming over to another state and able to get a temporary ID. Is
Speaker 4
52:57
that somewhat dead? Once again, this is only for military spouses, and they do have to have an actual license that's not suspended in another state. And,
Chair
Unverified
53:04
again, that will be the state agency, and we'll have to provide oversight to make sure that they are doing it, is that they should be, you know, making sure and checking with the state that they're coming from that, you know, the license is not suspended and that, you know, it is – that they're okay with it.
Okay. The chair recognizes Representative Deffenbaugh for a question. Thanks,
Representative Gary Deffenbaugh
Unverified
53:29
Mr. Chair. You probably said this, Representative Meeks. say somebody comes in here they get a temporary license they start working and then the second year they're gonna stay here what did you say about that well basically it's going to be up to the Board
Speaker 4
53:42
of Commission to set a time limit on that license on that on that temporary license you know and it may be that they can expedite it and get it
Chair
Unverified
53:51
done and so they may set a six-month
time limit and other a Board of Commission says you know what because of the long process or whatever we may allow that temporary license to be for a year before they have to either have a permanent license or potentially try to renew their temporary license so again we're going to leave it up to the Board of Commission the legislature you know the legislature will have continued have oversight as far as the rules and regulations that are put into place so as we go forward you know if we you know if we as a legislature think well that's too long of a time period or too short of time
period or whatever then you know we'll be able to come
back and make adjustments as necessary thank you
Representative Mary Broadaway
Unverified
54:35
chair recognizes represented Broadway for question thank you very much mr. chairman I know in the
language in section 1a that it indicates that the state border Commission may allow so it appears to me that there is an out if a particular board determines that that is not in the best interest for their
particular certification or profession. Is that the case, sir? Yeah. There are some boards of commission that can pretty much,
Speaker 4
55:01
you know, meet and issue a license right there. There is
Chair
Unverified
55:03
no need for them to issue a temporary license. So in some cases when they meet, you know, the person doesn't have to go through background check. They don't have to go through all the things. They just fill out paperwork and the board actually will issue them a permanent license. So that's why the May is in there. There are some boards, you know, they can just issue that permanent license right away. there's no need for
Representative Mary Broadaway
Unverified
55:26
a temporary license but also conversely cannot a state board
say we're not comfortable actually providing a temporary license we need you to go through the certification and they would be permitted to make that decision they would be you
Chair
Unverified
55:39
know again we we're going to encourage them if if they can't issue a temporary license and it is a a several month process you know we're going to make sure that they're they've got a very very good reason to do it because the military member is already making sacrifices, chances are because unfortunately
we don't pay our military members enough, they're already making a sacrifice and a lot of times the spouse has to work in order to make him meet and we don't want to put any more hardship on that military member by not allowing that spouse to potentially get
Representative Mary Broadaway
Unverified
56:17
a job in which they're licensed in. MS. And I do understand that, but basically just to perhaps reassure some folks, there could be a way that that a state board would not have to do that I mean I think of the example of a law license and perhaps you have someone that is
licensed in another state it has not been able to pass the bar in Arkansas and so the state board of law examiners could make decisions about the parameters under which they want to grant that temporary license or make the decision that they want
them to go through that certification. I just use that by giving. Sure. No, that's actually an
Chair
Unverified
56:55
excellent example. I mean, you wouldn't want somebody who's licensed to practice law in Tennessee and has no idea about Arkansas statutes or whatever. You wouldn't want to necessarily
give them a licensed practice law in Arkansas if they don't know the ins and outs of some more statutes. That is
Speaker 82
57:15
a good point. Thank you, sir. The chair recognizes
Representative Bill Gossage
Unverified
57:18
Representative Gossage for a question. Thank you, Chairman. Let's say, for instance, they're a chemistry teacher and they're guaranteed a temporary license and they're teaching at a public school in Arkansas. And then at the end of the day, for whatever reason, their application is rejected and they're not going to be certified as a licensed chemistry teacher.
What would be the effect on the school district for having employed someone who was not certified to teach? Would they be in violation of standards of accreditation at that point, or what would happen? I
Chair
Unverified
57:54
can't give you an exact answer on that question. It would be, you know, I'd probably have to do some more research on that, but I'm sure that there are policies in place or that there will be policies put into place because you already have examples potentially of teachers who are teaching
or, you know, somebody else in a position that may have been licensed already that for whatever reason they don't do the right thing or whatever. They don't keep up their continuing education credits, for instance. You know, you have your continuing education that you have to do, And so in those cases, there are already policy in place for that. And, again, as we go forward, you know, that's a good discussion to have when we start putting these rules and regulations into place to make sure that we address that, you
Speaker 88
58:48
know, to make sure that schools don't fall under some kind of liability unknowingly.
Representative Bill Gossage
Unverified
58:55
One other question. Does this only apply to spouses of military personnel who live in the state of Arkansas? Or, for instance, if some military spouse in an adjacent state just across the line would like to teach school in Arkansas, would this law also apply to them? Well, if you look at line 35, it says military service members stationed in
Chair
Unverified
59:13
this state. Okay, thank you. So that would answer your question. Are there any other questions from members
of the committee? Seeing none, are there any members of the audience who have signed up to ask questions or make statements?
Seeing none, the Chair would entertain a motion from a member of the committee. Representative Alexander,
Representative Randy Alexander
Unverified
59:40
you're recognized. I move to pass for
this bill as amended. Great. Motion before the committee is a do pass as amended. Is there any discussion? Okay. Is it – do we need a second for that? Okay. okay no okay well we'll just all and all those in favor of the motion please
indicate by saying aye any opposed congratulations mr. chairman you've passed your bill thank you thank you you're back in business up
Speaker 2
1:00:17
here great job dude thank you Okay. That is all
Speaker 4
1:00:30
the business that we're going to have today because of the hour.
Chair
Unverified
1:00:37
It is my understanding I got an email that says that we are going to meet tomorrow. The House is in session tomorrow at 10 a.m., which leads me to believe we will not be here again on Friday. So with that being the case, I do not foresee us meeting on Friday again. So the next regularly scheduled committee meeting will be next Wednesday at 10 a.m. Do we have anything else? Okay.
Speaker 4
1:01:02
Just want to make sure. All right. No other business. I declare the meeting to be adjourned.
Agenda
HB1013
SB7
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Representative John Charles Edwards
Unverified
Speaker 2
Speaker 3
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 4
Speaker 10
Representative Sue Scott Chair
Unverified
Representative Randy Alexander
Unverified
Speaker 26
Representative Patti Julian
Unverified
Representative Justin T. Harris
Unverified
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
Representative Eddie L. Armstrong
Unverified
Representative Ken Bragg
Unverified
Representative Deborah Ferguson
Unverified
Representative Gary Deffenbaugh
Unverified
Representative John Payton
Unverified
Representative Warwick Sabin Chair
Unverified
Speaker 85
Representative Frederick Smith
Unverified
Representative Mary Broadaway
Unverified
Speaker 82
Representative Bill Gossage
Unverified
Speaker 88