House Insurance & Commerce Committee
Video
Transcript
Bills discussed (7)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
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HB1496
· 4 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1496”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1425
· 2 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1425”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1525
· 2 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1525”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1572
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “House Bill 1572.”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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SB302
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “SB302”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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SB309
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “SB309”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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SB5
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “anybody here to present Senate Bill 5?”
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Pre-2017 bill |
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- October 4, 2026
Last week we said we were going to pick up where we left off, but unfortunately we're not going to be able to do that. Representative Barnett has some amendments to his bill. So without objection, members, I'd like to go to House Bill 1525, Speaker Pro Tem, Bobby
Pierce, you're recognized to sit at the end of the table and present your bill. Now we have sign-up sheets in the back of the room. For those who want to speak
for the bill or against the bill, please sign up. I'll turn to them and they'll introduce yourself as they go around to my left, if
Justin Allen
Unverified
1:08
that's okay, you, Mr. Chair. That's okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Justin Allen.
Speaker 20
1:19
I'm with the local law firm of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings.
Speaker 22
1:22
Okay. Mr. Chairman, I'm Ed Allis with AT&T. Mr. Chairman, I'm Timothy
Representative Bobby J. Pierce
Unverified
1:28
Pickering, also with AT&T. Mr. Chair, we have a bill here that's coming through, and it's a bill for rural Arkansas, and that's what we're looking at in this time of day to get Bob Rand out into the rural part of Arkansas.
Are you ready, Mr. Chair? I'm sorry. Yes, sir. We're ready. The subtitle of this bill is just Arkansas High Cost Fund and promotes the expansion of broadband service in rural and high cost areas of Arkansas. The bill does not increase anyone's fees or surcharges. It does not increase the size of the fund. It maintains the status quo, allows the same level of fund use to be spent on the Department of Broadband. It also improves the direction of the Public Service Commission. Everyone agrees that broadband is important to the economic development, education, healthcare,
social interest of Arkansas. The bill will help preserve these for rural Arkansas. We'll take
questions, Mr. Chair. Are there any questions from the members? Representative Viviano, you recognize the question.
Representative Mark Biviano
Unverified
2:35
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Pierce, can you define a high-cost rural area for me? Yes, sir.
Representative Bobby J. Pierce
Unverified
2:44
That would be down in either the rural or the mountainous area where there's a way from a huge metropolitan area.
Because I think a lot of times we forget when we're up here in Little Rock or in Fort Smith or Bentonville or Springdale that everybody is equipped with high speed. You get down in our rural areas in Grant County, Dallas County, and Drew County and Arkansas, we don't have the capability to have it. We're not able to get on and hit the computer switch and come up with it. And that's what this area does. it's going to let our sheriff's departments, our courthouse, our small hospitals, our schools be able to get on broadband, and that's what this is.
Representative Mark Biviano
Unverified
3:24
Can you maybe give us some examples of how this fund's been used previously on some of those examples you just gave, maybe some practical examples and some examples of if we continue this fund, what we may see, and maybe some of
Speaker 20
3:46
the target areas that we could see some investment in? MR. Representative Bibiano, AT&T has, I'm just speaking for AT&T now, but we have deployed broadband since we started receiving state high-cost fund dollars in 2007 in many
of our smallest communities. In 2008, we deployed it in 44 of our smallest communities, and they included some communities like Blackfish Lake, Dell, Grubs, Mount Holly, Village, Wilmar, and if you would like the complete list, I'd be happy to give it to you. Yeah, I would. Thank you. Anybody else?
Any more questions from the members?
Representative Mark Biviano
Unverified
4:34
MR. I've got another one. MR. Oh, okay. You'll recognize. MR. In the bill, there's an area that talks about
the uncapped administrative cost. MR. What line are you on? MR. We're on line 17, page 4, line 17. Can you give me a little bit of an explanation of what are the
Speaker 43
5:05
administrative costs? Cost of administering, HCF.
Speaker 22
5:07
Yes, sir. Last year the fund expenses were about $150,000. It's handled by Rolka and Associates. It's a firm that has expertise in handling these sorts of funds. And that amount actually had dropped in a couple of years. Can you speak up just a little bit? Yes, sir. Sorry about that. The amount had actually dropped from about $170,000 in
Representative Mark Biviano
Unverified
5:32
prior years. But there's no provision in this bill to cap that administrative cost going forward?
Speaker 20
5:39
Well, the fund itself is capped. The administrative expenses are not capped, I don't believe, but I would have to
Speaker 48
5:47
confirm that. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Okay. Representative
Chair
Unverified
5:58
Rand, do you recognize the question? Motion at the
proper time. Thank you. Is there anybody in the audience that want to speak for or against the bill?
Okay. Representative Butch Calhoun, are you in the audience? We recognize to come to the table and speak for the bill. Thank you,
Speaker 52
6:27
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I am the director of the Department of Rural Services, and one of our goals is to enhance the quality of life in rural Arkansas. And I see this as an asset to the rural areas, just like Representative Pierce mentioned, the hills, the delta, and places where people cannot get broadband.
And this money would be used to help enhance that. It would help farmers. It would help hospitals, the doctors and stuff where in a lot of the rural areas you don't have the specialists and this would give them the technology in the future that would probably save a lot of lives and enhance people's lives. It's just endless. You'd be surprised at the communities that don't have that out in the rural areas and they need all the help they can get. And I'm here strictly as a spokesman for rural Arkansas which is part of my job.
Thank you. Is there anybody else in the audience that want to speak for or against the bill? Did you sign up, sir? Not
for this bill, sir, but I did sign up for this bill. Wait a minute.
Speaker 55
7:38
Did you sign up to speak for or against this bill? I signed up to speak against another bill. Oh, okay. Well, we'll get to
Chair
Unverified
7:44
you when that bill comes up. That's all right with you. Representative Rehan, you're recognized.
Yes. Do pass at the proper time. Okay. Any
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
8:10
discussion? Alec. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was just curious, is which company primarily are these funds coming from,
or which company is providing this service? The rural telephone companies and several
Representative Bobby J. Pierce
Unverified
8:25
of the big ones, too. It's not just one telephone company. Oh, it's not? No. Okay. It's the small companies out in the rural areas that's going to benefit a whole lot from this because it gives them extra money to put in extra wire and stuff that we don't have right now. Because right now I'm living in an area where they're pushing mine as far as they can, and it's beyond what it's supposed to be pushing. I have it about three or four days a week.
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
8:49
Okay. Is this regulated by the PSC? Does this go through them for any kind
Representative Bobby J. Pierce
Unverified
9:02
of oversight? No. No. Okay. But we'll have somebody
Speaker 20
9:05
here who will speak about that if you will. Representative Kerr, just a clarification in that the administrator that we talked about a
Speaker 20
9:14
pull the microphone down for you. The administrator is actually engaged and hired by the Public Service Commission.
So he is a hired consultant expert that is hired by the PSC to administer the fund. So they have a role from that perspective. Okay. All right, Mr. Chairman, thank you. I'm going to go
Speaker 71
9:42
out of order and recognize you this time, Mr. Viviano, but we recognized you before.
Representative Mark Biviano
Unverified
9:47
Just a quick question. You offered to give us a list of projects that have been completed previously.
Do you have a list of projects that are kind of on the docket going forward? Yes, I do. Okay.
Okay. We have a motion. All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed?
Speaker 16
10:11
Congratulations, Representative Pierce. You passed the bill. Thank you, committee. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is Prissy in here?
The next item on the agenda is House Bill
1425. Hickerson, you are recognized to come to the table
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
10:43
to present your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And to my left, I have here today is Billy Tarpley with Arkansas State Dental Association. And thank you all for allowing me to present this bill this morning.
This bill, House Bill 1425, is an act to remove insurance restrictions on non-covered dental services. And it's just a simple bill. It prohibits insurance companies from setting fees that dentists charge for services the insurers don't cover as part of their benefits plans. This bill is necessary because federal and state laws prevent dentists from working collectively to resolve these issues with insurance carriers.
It's basically an issue of fairness. And 16 states have passed similar bills, and there is no fiscal impact to the state. Arkansas dentists and insurance carriers have an excellent relationship working together. They promote and provide affordable dental treatment necessary for good oral health for our citizens. I ask you for a good vote on this bill. And I'll be glad to
Speaker 78
11:55
take any questions at this time. Okay. Representative Barnett?
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
12:01
Uh-huh. That's what I figured. You recognize the question? I should have said except for Representative Barnett. Yes, sir. Representative Hickerson, I'm curious, do the
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
12:12
dentists on both the Arkansas and Texas side of the line, do they all support this bill? Well, I have not asked any of the
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
12:21
dentists on the Texas side of the state line. because that's not our state, but I'm sure that they would. There's a dentist in Texarkana.
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
12:31
I think his name is Randy Hickerson. Does he support this bill?
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
12:34
Yes, sir. He certainly does, and he's a very good dentist, too. Thank you very much.
Representative Les "Skip" Carnine
Unverified
12:47
Representative Carnine, you're recognized. Motion do pass at the proper
time. Okay. All right. Any further questions from the committee members? If there are anyone in the audience that want to speak for or against the bill. Representative Hickerson, you recognize the close on your bill.
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
13:03
I'm closed, Mr. Chairman. Thank you
very much. Representative Carnine, you recognize. Motion do pass. Okay. Any discussion? All in favor,
let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? No. Congratulations, Representative
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
13:19
Hickerson. You passed your bill. Thank you,
Speaker 89
13:25
Mr. Chairman. Thank you, committee members. Thank you. I'll be back in a little
anybody here to present Senate Bill 5?
House Bill 1572.
Speaker 97
14:16
Okay, he's not here. Don't worry about it. Darren, you're up. Which
one are you going to run? 1496. Okay. Representative Williams, you're recognized to come to the table and present your bill. Yeah. MR. 1496.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
14:46
MR. I think he's changed his mind. MR. Oh, he's not going to use
it. MR. He's not going to run it, man.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
15:02
MR. Chairman Williams, you'll recognize the Presential Bill. MR. Thank you, Chairman Allen and members of House Judiciary. I appreciate this opportunity. We're on House Bill 1496. I've got a couple in front
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
15:12
of you, but. MR. Representative Williams, just as a correction, we're not in Judiciary, we're in Insurance and Commerce.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
15:17
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so used to being in this room in Judiciary. I apologize. We realize that. Thank you, sir. It would be a lot easier if this was Judiciary, I think. Members, House Bill 1496 is an issue that I've been working on for, this is my second session actually working on this issue in 2005 the
General Assembly passed the basically we call the bid card law which regulated the purchase and sale of salvaged vehicles the intention of the bid card was really to protect Arkansas salvage dealers as opposed to out-of-state dealers. Basically what the bid card did provided for a fee of up to $35 for in-state salvage dealers and up to $350 for out-of-state salvage dealers. You might think that would provide a decent benefit to in-state auto dealers. Unfortunately, that's unconstitutional. The
interstate commerce clause will not allow a state to treat an in-state business different than an out-of-state business. There are, quite frankly, just a plethora of cases from the United States Supreme Courts that hold that. I want to read for you just some quotes from just a few of them. The first one, Maine v. Taylor, a state cannot violate the Commerce Clause of the United States when the state acts to favor in-state business over out-of-state business. The Commerce Clause prohibits states from enacting laws that discriminate against
out-of-state business to benefit in-state business. The burden on the state when a statute discriminates against interstate commerce is to demonstrate not only that it serves a legitimate local purpose, but there is no available non-discriminatory method to advance that purpose. Also in FCA Carbone v. Town of Clarkship, the court said time and time again, this court, meaning the United States Supreme Court, has held that in all but the narrowest of circumstances, state laws violate the Cummer's Clause if they mandate differential treatment
of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that benefits the former over the latter. So what we have here is a statute that is blatantly unconstitutional. I asked the Attorney General's Office to look at this issue, and after looking at this issue, the Attorney General's Office did not really want to issue an opinion because, of course, the AG would have to defend our statutes, and having served as the Chief Deputy Attorney General, I understand the predicament that my opinion requests put the Attorney General in.
The Attorney General met with me and the folks from State Police who received the funds from this bid card and suggested heavily that we fix this problem. If we did not fix this problem and the state was sued, we'd probably be subject to losing that lawsuit and paying attorney's fees. So what you have in front of you in House Bill 1496 is my effort to correct an unconstitutional provision of our statutes. What you will hear probably from those who oppose this is that the bid card is needed to protect consumers.
This is actually not correct. The bid card provides no additional protection for consumers prior to having a bid card. Consumers were quite well protected. In 1999, I had the pleasure of serving as the Chief Deputy Attorney General for Mark Pryor. In
that session, we came in and we strengthened Arkansas' salvage title laws. Arkansas used to be a place
where people would come and watch salvage titles. They'd take a car that had one half of a car, the front half and the bottom half, and put it together.
And then they would bring it here in Arkansas, get a clean title, and set it
as a new car. Well, the AG fixed that. And again, in 2005, General McDaniel also further strengthened the law. So now Arkansas has some of the strongest salvage title laws in the country. So there are no consumer protection or safeguards with regard to having a bid card. Not only is Arkansas doing this, several other states have recently repealed their bid card laws
in whole or in part. Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Utah, just to name a few. So we're joining the 40-plus other states that do not have or recently repealed their bid card laws by doing this.
Well, the fix that I suggest is just to simply get rid of the fee, get rid of the whole section. And by doing this, we're doing a couple of things that are very important. We are eliminating an unnecessary fee. We are removing unnecessary red tape for business. And we are removing a redundant government bureaucracy. By doing this, we are restoring proper balance, opening up to our insurance companies for greater competition.
This is important because, as Vice Chairman Kerr knows, when an insurance company totals a car, they sell that car.
with increased competition, they'll get a better price for that car. If they get a better price for that car, they actually make a better profit. We hope that trickles down to Arkansas's ratepayers who pay insurance rates by doing this. And so this bill
really opens up the competition, but it also, again, will comply with the Interstate Commerce Clause. So I ask you to give 1496 a good passage. I appreciate a good vote, and I'd be happy to answer any questions. any questions
from committee members okay then we have a couple of people in
the audience that want to speak against the bill the motion at the proper time thank
thank you okay it's Frank Hamlin here okay you're recognized to come to at the end of the table and state your name and who you represent.
Frank Heilman
Unverified
21:21
Good morning. My name is Frank Heilman. I'm with the LKQ Corporation. LKQ Corporation is the nation's largest provider of aftermarket and recycled auto parts. I'm here to speak In opposition to this bill, our company has two fairly large salvage facilities here in Arkansas. We were engaged in this. We only learned about the bill last Wednesday. Quite frankly, I wish we would have had more time to engage in discussion with the members
of this committee as well as the chairman. I'd like to thank Representative Williams, who was very courteous and gave us a great deal of time to spend with him. He did try and work through a way to come to a conclusion that maintains the protections for the salvage pool sales, but at the same time resolves whatever issues that he has. With regard to the issue of the Commerce Clause, you do have a law that provides for a $35 in-state fee and a $350 out-of-state fee.
That's an easy fix. You know, if that's really the issue, we simply level out that fee, make it $100 across the board, make it whatever you feel is appropriate to maintain the program. If that's the only issue, that's certainly fixable. And, you know, we see this as throwing out the baby with the bathwater. You created the bid card system for a very important reason, And you've got a great deal of people in this room who were heavily involved in the process to create the bid card system.
And all of these folks are folks that hire people and employ people here in Arkansas in the recycling business. And the issue was at the time that you had out-of-state people coming into Arkansas and bidding on these vehicles. And the reality is, without the bid card system, you are actually giving an advantage to out-of-state people. The bid card is not creating an advantage to in-state people. It's only putting the guys coming in from out-of-state on a level playing field.
As Representative Williams said, the state of Arkansas has extremely good salvage laws. Your salvage industry is highly regulated, and it's a good thing. These people deal with vehicles, they deal with hazardous materials, including mercury, oils, other liquids. These are things you don't want people dealing with who aren't licensed and aren't doing it properly. And the folks here in this room are doing it that way. The bid card system provides a system whereby if I have a license from another state, I need to come to Arkansas,
I need to go to the state police, and I need to apply to bid here. And what I've got to establish with the state police is that my license that I bring in from another state is equivalent to an Arkansas license. I've got to establish that I'm doing the same things that you require your own people to do. And that's the purpose of the bid card. Now, we looked at the law very carefully after meeting with Representative Williams, And if we could come to the conclusion that as it exists, the law would require out-of-state licensees to do that.
But it doesn't. And respectfully, we don't believe it makes any sense to get rid of the bid card. The bid card is a good system. It pays for itself. The fact of the matter is the bid card was instituted. The law hasn't changed in the meantime. So if you eliminate the bid card, you're going to go back to the situation that you had prior to the bid card. And there was lengthy testimony, I was not here, but you're going to hear from others in this room, who came and presented to this legislature in order to get the bid card.
And there was a serious, serious issue with, although they had a quote-unquote license, it may not be a license that is equivalent to an Arkansas license. Those folks are competing at a whole different level. If they're not properly disposing of materials, if they're not maintaining a proper facility, as is required here in Arkansas, they're at an advantage. They're not incurring those costs that your own licensed salvage folks are incurring.
We would really strongly encourage you to keep this bid card in place. If there's an alternative fix, we're happy to work with Representative Williams and come to that fix. But this bid card is necessary. You've got a whole room full of people who have been in the salvage industry for a very long time, a couple generations of folks. There's a woman in this room, Stephanie Schreckenhofer, who is now a manager for our company, but her facility was originally owned by her father. They're second-generation salvage operators, and they're in support of this bill.
You're going to hear from R.D. Hopper, who is a recycler here in Arkansas, and he's going to express to you better than I can the need for this bid card. The bid card is necessary, it pays for itself, and it's really an important thing to keep in place. Representative Williams mentioned the fact that it really doesn't provide any additional protection for the consumer. I have to disagree. I think it provides a great deal of protection for the consumer, not only consumers here in Arkansas, but consumers in other states.
We do not want people taking these vehicles who are not properly licensed and properly equipped to deal with them. There are a number of issues that the bid card actually protects against. The salvage vehicles represent threats to consumers. It represents threats in terms of the criminal element. Salvage vehicles are very often bought with the intention of VIN swapping. It's a very common practice. Some of you have probably seen the FBI has made a number of stings, there have been a
number of large car theft rings that have done it. This protects against that. This makes sure that those people that are bidding and buying these cars are properly licensed and properly regulated in their states. Finally, you've got an environmental question. It's a huge question. One of the problems that I think you're going to hear from Mr. Hopper is you get, and we're seeing this not only here in Arkansas, but you see it in Texas. You see it all along the Mexican border. There is a tremendous amount of drug cash that is coming across the border and being
used to buy salvage vehicles. It's that simple. It's an easy way to launder money. And my understanding is that here in Arkansas, that was a major problem. And I believe Mr. Harper is going to testify about that. And the reality is, it is illegal to take a used car from the United States into Mexico. So these folks are buying these salvage vehicles. They've got to disassemble them before they take them into Mexico. They are literally doing that on the side of the road. That means you are dumping gasoline, oil, possibly switches, mercury switches, batteries,
a number of different things that are environmentally hazardous. You don't want that. The program is designed to charge a fee to pay for itself. And if we need to fix the fee, we need to fix the fee. But that's a simple fix. It really is. It's a straightforward fix. I would like to address the idea that you've got some other states that have eliminated the bid card. That's true. But I can tell you the states that we're talking about, while they may have eliminated the bid card, they are seriously working on regulating the industry.
I have worked very closely with the state of Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission. We are currently working on a regulation. They did not have a bid card for the last four years. But they are seriously looking at the regulations. Utah is the same way. Illinois is the same way. You know, there's a trend to open up these salvage pool sales. And, ladies and gentlemen, these salvage vehicles, you know, for the most part, a modern-day vehicle that's been involved in a collision is badly damaged.
It's designed to be badly damaged. It's designed to collapse around you to keep you safe. But the vehicle itself doesn't necessarily remain safe. One of the biggest issues that we've seen on the sale of salvaged vehicles is on almost any accident, of any consequence, you're going to deploy the airbags. Those airbags get deployed, and it's very easy to stuff them back into the opening and put the cover on. There is no real way to know whether that airbag is functional or not.
Yes, you have a light that indicates that you've got an operating airbag. The reality is it's very simple to override that system and give you an indication that you've got a good operable airbag, even though you don't. This has happened. There have been people who have died who bought vehicles that were originally salvaged vehicles that they believed they had operable airbags in, and they didn't. And you do not want these vehicles ending up in the hands of those folks that aren't licensed. All this industry is doing is asking that you maintain the same requirements from an out-of-state licensee as you require of them.
It's a fairness issue, and it's a safety issue. And, ladies and gentlemen, I'd ask that we be given some more time to work with you to work on this bill. We did try very hard to work with Representative Williams, and he was very gracious, but we cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion at this point. I would ask that at the very least you hold the bill in order for all of us to fully meet with you, discuss the issues, and come up with a solution that works for not only those folks that want to reduce the amounts.
Maybe the insurance companies feel that they should do that. I don't think the insurance company's bottom line is as important as the people's safety in this state. That's for sure. So if we can do that, we'd be happy to do it. Otherwise, I'd ask that you vote no on this bill. Keep the bid card in place. and maintain the safety that it provides to not only Arkansas's consumers but consumers in other states as well. And I'm happy to answer any questions if anybody has it. Any questions? Okay. Thank you for your
testimony. Next we have Mr. Hopper who's going to come and speak against the bill.
Speaker 128
32:04
My name is R.D. Hopper. Thank you. My wife and I own Sonny's Auto Salvage in Jacksonville, Arkansas. I'm a native of Arkansas. I graduated high school in Mountain View, Arkansas. I've got a high school education. My wife and I sold our house and our cars and bought Sonny's Auto Salvage 15 years ago. Last year we run.
We have 15 employees. last year we run right at $2.2 million in sales last year with our Arkansas education and we process about 10 of these cars a week that they're talking about so we're talking about a car that creates a lot of money in the state of Arkansas these cars I was one of the original people that helped put this bill together Mr. Bob Yagas from Jacksonville JB's Auto Salvage
and two other recyclers in Arkansas got together and said, you know, we have people bidding against us at the auction that are taking the titles and putting these titles on hot cars and using the title from these wrecked cars on these stolen cars. And then they're coming to us wanting to sell us the parts off of the cars that they're buying at the auctions. And there's something wrong with that. We need to do something about it. So four of us met three or four times, and we got House Representative Prater from Jacksonville because her husband's in the automotive industry
and we knew she would understand it. So Representative Prater got with us and she said, this has been needing to be done for a long time. I'm with you 100%. So with four small business state of Arkansas and one representative, we took off from there with our bill, took off from there. Whenever we presented it to the House, we got it out of committee. went for a house, it was carried by like a 95% vote. That was people voting for the small business of the state of Arkansas.
What this business did, it gave the state of Arkansas a tracking procedure to know where these cars are going after they're sold at the pool, the Arkansas State Police, which also was with us on the bill. As far as also the Arkansas ADEQ was with us and helped us represent the bill. So this gave a tracking of where these wrecked cars are going to the state of Arkansas and who was getting them and what they were doing with them. So the state police has been doing that since the bill has been passed.
The state police has been doing that. Sonny's Auto Salvage, as far as he mentioned, as far as EPA-wise, Sonny's Auto Salvage, we do water runoff tests. We collect mercury switches, remove oil. We remove antifreeze. We remove Freon. The ADEQ has done training seminars for the automobile recyclers at Sunny's Auto Salvage. We volunteer our facility for that. And we work hand-in-hand with ADEQ with any issues in the state of Arkansas.
Being from Mountain View, Arkansas, hunting and fishing and the natural resources in the state of Arkansas is important to us. And we're proud to be a part of keeping the mercury out of our fish and keeping the oil antifreeze out of our streams. while still providing no cost to the government of the state of Arkansas. We have 200 recyclers in the state of Arkansas, and each recycler has approximately, I don't know, my small yard has 12 to 15 employees.
So if you take 200 automobile recyclers, average out 10 employees per one, and my small yard does 2 million sales a year with my 10 to 15 employees, and we're doing that. We're providing a service for the community. We're providing parts. This is the insurance commission here. Our main source of selling our parts is the body shops who are working on insurance cars. These body shops have to meet a quota every year of how much recycled parts that they use on their cars
in order to stay certified with the insurance companies that they work for. In order them to meet their quotas of recycled parts, For these insurance companies, they come to us recyclers. We're taking these parts and salvage them and cleaning them up and making sure that they're safe and presenting them to these industries in order to save money to the insurance companies, for the insurance companies. And as far, so we're providing a service. We're providing jobs in the small business of Arkansas.
and also we're also providing safety for our auto theft. The auto theft commission has been to my business three times in the past two months with names of people that they were suspecting of using titles that have been of salvaged cars on stolen vehicles. We took the people's names and run them through our computer system, printed off every part these people had bought from us in the last five years
and provided them with all the VIN numbers of every part purchased from us. Through that research, they found that one of the cars sitting on my yard had been retitled and the VIN numbers had been put on another car through the research and the information that we were able to provide to them. So we're helping with the EPA. We're providing jobs. and we are making sure that your cars are safer
and not being stolen in the state of Arkansas. And the big card was never intended to make things unfair for the state of Arkansas. We're spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to recoup all these fluids that we're talking about. And the people in other states, they can get online and buy a car with no license at all and they cannot spend one dime to collect a mercury switch or oil or antifreeze and they can bid against me at the auction. They do have no employees, they have no license, they have no anything
and those people without this card can bid against me at the auction. We don't want an unlevel playing field. We want a level playing field to compete with businesses that are doing proper business procedures the way we are and that's what this bill was designed to do. Senator Glover represented it to the Senate And he stood up and said, all you have to decide today, if you're for this bill or not, if you're for the businesses in the state of Arkansas or not. Stick with the bill now. Okay, stick with the bill. Okay, so the original bill, this bill today at 1496 is designed to kill our bill that we did.
It's not designed to modify the bill. It's not designed to make the fees level. It is designed to kill it flat out, kill it, make it inoperable. Now, we're here today saying we'll change our bill in any way that makes us unfair against any competitor. But if you kill this bill, that makes it unfair for the people who are not operating businesses properly. Okay. So, any questions, then you can tell I'm passionate about it.
I stayed up till midnight last night figuring bids for an auction that's going on right now in Conway, And I've got my father bidding on cars right now
Speaker 58
39:40
to support my business. So this is an issue that's very close to my livelihood. Thank you for your testimony. We accept questions.
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
39:52
to accept any questions. Yes, sir. Thank you for testifying today. Give me some insight. From what I understood, maybe I'm wrong, when a vehicle is totaled, is
Speaker 133
40:03
the title not flagged as a total vehicle?
Speaker 128
40:07
Yes, sir. Well, in the state of Arkansas, yes, it is flagged as previous damage is what it is flagged as previous damage, but it's still titleable. So if you get this title that says previous damage, you can still retitle that car to drive it. it may lower the resale value of the car it's being used on by 10% to 15%, but it still can be used in every way the same as a real title does. So all that flag does is lower the resale of the car by 10%.
And if you have a stolen car, you'd rather have it be worth 10% less than a car that's not stolen than not being able to title it at all. Okay. Thank you, sir.
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
40:58
Representative Barnett, you'll recognize. I think if I hear you correctly, you're not – competition doesn't bother you. You're not concerned about competition. Have you all studied the interstate commerce laws?
I mean, are you aware of the
Speaker 128
41:13
interstate commerce? Yes, sir. Senator Glover went over that with us in House Representative Prater. The only thing, and also we've talked to the Attorney General's office on this also. The only thing that anyone can see that might be unfair about this law is some people had an issue with an out-of-state fee being higher than the in-state fee. This is a license saying that I will operate business in a way that's in compliance with the laws of the state of Arkansas.
This is a license. So the only issue that anyone has ever had with the legality of this law is the difference between the out-of-state fees and in-state fees. And that goes from the Attorney General's Office to the Senators and every representative that we have ever talked to. Can you compete with the out-of-state companies? I do it every day. Yes, sir. We have the technology to compete with anybody worldwide, and we
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
42:14
do it every day. But you feel like this is anti-competitive?
if you feel like they're going
Speaker 128
42:20
to have an advantage on you? Sir, I'm competing every day right now with people that have a license that are conducting business in a proper procedure. Yesterday, 300 cars were sold at the Copart Salvage Auction, or I'd say about 200 cars at the Copart Salvage Auction Monday. And I had 20 cars I was trying to buy Monday at Copart's, and all those cars left the state of Arkansas. That day, Monday, I was not able to compete.
That doesn't bother me. If the people beat me, are operating business the way that I operate my business, and they beat me, it doesn't bother me a bit. But if I have to compete with people that do not operate in the procedures that I operate and follow the laws, both state and federal, that I operate with, then I have a problem because at the auction, some days I win and some days I lose. But the state of Arkansas has made sure the people that I'm competing against are people that are operating mercury switches and oil and antifreeze on the same level that I am.
But, yes, I can compete with anyone across the board. I'm willing to compete. We want to compete. And I'll say this real quick. That 300, my business ran $2.2 million last year. I'm just a small business in Jacksonville, Arkansas. These businesses from out of state, they're running $20 to $30 million a year in Dallas in all these places. That $350 doesn't mean anything to those people. The only reason it was hired to start with because it took more research and took more time to process their information
as it did for the people in the state of Arkansas. It wasn't to give us an unfair advantage. It was just more time-consuming for the state police. So these people, as far as the $350, the only people that are here today crying foul are the big auction houses from outside of the state of Arkansas that say they don't want to restrict people who are operating business illegally in the state of Arkansas. That's the only reason we're here today.
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
44:32
Then how do you address the question that Representative Williams brings up that it violates our Constitution. How do you respond to that?
Speaker 128
44:42
The only thing that would violate our competition that would give Arkansas an unfair advantage is we charge Arkansas buyers $35 and we charge out-of-state buyers $350 because it takes longer to process their information because they're not in the state of Arkansas. And we're ready to level that playing field right now.
There's restrictions on every kind of industry in the state of Arkansas to make sure that they're operated in a way that's in accordance with the ADEQ and the federal government. This law doesn't restrict anyone from doing business in the state of Arkansas. It's just making sure that they're operating in a
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
45:25
procedure that complies with the state law. But if you were paying $35 for this application process, and they're paying $350 for the application process.
I mean, if you do the math and you take $350 less $35, I mean, that's the only advantage that you have over them, right? It's just
Speaker 81
45:47
a couple hundred dollars? That's the only advantage that I have. How is a couple hundred dollars an advantage? I'm trying to figure that out. You can ask him that question. Okay. You can
Speaker 128
45:59
ask him that question. to a business that runs over $2 million a year, $315, not much of an advantage.
But where the people are going to have the advantage over me is if they don't have to buy a license in the state of Arkansas, and they can do business any way they want to, while I have to do the mercury switches, water runoff tests, a consultant that comes in once a month to make sure I'm operating procedures or compliance with state and federal law, then if I have to spend those hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what's right and they don't and I have to buy against them in the auction,
there's where you've got your advantage. Right now it's $315. Without the law, it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars to my disadvantage. Thank you. Any
Chair
Unverified
46:51
further questions? Representative Westerlin, do you recognize the question? Thank you,
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
46:58
Mr. Chairman. Mr. Harper, I appreciate your concern for the environment and the safety of Arkansans. And I'm just trying to understand this better. Are you saying that someone would be able to start or operate an unregulated salvage
business in Arkansas if this bill passes?
Speaker 128
47:17
Yes, sir. They do it every day. They do it every day. It's going on right now. Now, we could go for a car ride, and I could take you to enough unlicensed Savage Yard people operating every day. But I'm saying without this bill, it would make it easier for them to get their cars and provide no tracking to these cars to the Arkansas State Police right now. So, yes, people are already doing it right now, but it would make it much easier for them to acquire what they need to acquire without being licensed, without this law.
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
47:50
So you're testifying that we already have salvage businesses that are operating not following the regulations? Well, they're not really salvage
Speaker 128
47:58
businesses. These people are car thieves. These people are car rebuilders that take cars and put them together and do it in a way that's not safe and try to put them back on the roads. So, yes, there are crooks in the state of Arkansas fixing cars in an improper way. There's people that are buying cars that do not have recycling facilities that are getting the parts they want off of them and disposing of them in an improper way.
But without this bill, it would make it easier for them to buy their product because right now they're going to have to go through someone to buy them illegally. And that way, they could just show up at the auction and buy them and make it much easier on the people that
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
48:43
are doing it illegally. So you're saying we
Speaker 128
48:46
need a law that the crooks will follow? Well, no. Sir, we just need a law that the honest people will follow. There will always be crooks. It will get around any law you pass.
But this law is designed to help the honest people. It's not designed to help the crooks. If we don't have it, it will help the people that are being dishonest in their business practices. And I guarantee you one thing, the people are doing it. Do not pay taxes in the state of Arkansas. Last year, out of that $2.2 million we ran last year, we probably paid a couple of hundred thousand dollars in taxes, and the people that are operating illegally, I would suggest they probably didn't pay a dime. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
49:30
Thank you, sir. Is there any more questions from the audience for or
against the bill? Reverend Hyatt, you recognize. I'm sorry.
Speaker 145
49:42
Mr. Chairman, I would move immediate consideration. Okay. None debatable.
Thank you. All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? No. Congratulations, Representative Williams, you passed the bill.
Speaker 60
50:01
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay, I'm sorry. Okay. Motion for due pass.
Speaker 151
50:30
a question? Go ahead. Representative Williams, through all the discussion, Mr. Harper, does this bill do away with the requirement to have a license to buy?
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
50:42
No, sir, Mr. Lovell, and I'm glad you asked the question because I've got a ton of notes here. I'd like to explain some things what this bill does, and I'll be brief. Are you closing for your bill? I'm answering Mr. Lovell's question. Okay, and
closing that thing. Okay, I'll do that as well. This bill really just removes the unconstitutional fee. If you are a salvage dealer, whether you're in state or out of state, If this bill passes, you must be licensed as a used motor vehicle dealer.
23-112-607 is the dealer's license requirement. 23-112-611 is the dealer's requirement to maintain certain records.
And if you do not have a license to operate or salvage, if you don't have a used motor vehicle dealer license after this bill passes, you are violating Arkansas state law. So you're actually making out-of-state folks come to Arkansas and pay for a used motor vehicle dealer's license if they want to operate a salvage vehicle. And keep in mind, we're not removing the $5 fee that's currently on here, which half goes to ADQ, half goes to state police.
State police still has to regulate to salvage yards. ADQ still has to handle all mercury switches and do all that oversight and
regulation. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Williams. I'm sorry you will not
be allowed to close on the bill because we asked for immediate consideration. No problem. Okay. Okay. We have a motion on the floor. All in favor of passage of this bill, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? No. Well, congratulations, Representative Williams, you passed the bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
52:54
Senate Bill 309, and
I have an amendment as well. Okay. You want to
Hold on one
Speaker 91
53:26
second. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members,
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
54:05
this is an amendment that has been negotiated and agreed to by the the largest title insurance group here, the Bar Association, Realtors Association, Land
Title Association, Insurance Department, and the Real Estate Commission. I would appreciate you allowing me to add this amendment to the
Speaker 40
54:33
bill. Okay. Representative Wilkerson, I move adoption
Speaker 60
54:35
of the amendment, Mr. Chairman. Okay. All in favor of adoption
of the amendment, let it be known by saying aye. Okay, amended, adopted. You recognize Mr. Reeves to present your bill as amended.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
54:48
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senate Bill 309, which I refer to as Closing Protection Letters Bill, currently title insurers issue closing protection letters at real estate closings, and right now they can only do so to a certain group of folks, which do not include closing agents. Many closings are done by lawyers and others. Right now, a closing protection letter which provides protection to the consumers, let's say if the proceeds that are deposited in escrow are stolen.
Right now, if you close at a lawyer's office who's a closing attorney, you are not able to have that protection because a closing protection letter can't be issued to an attorney. All this bill does is make it clear that a closing protection letter can be issued to attorneys and others who close providing protection for Arkansas consumers. As long as the closing agent and the title company have privy to a contract with each other, then they'll be provided that protection. This is a consumer protection bill, provides protection to Arkansas consumers when they close real estate transactions.
And I would be happy to answer any
Speaker 166
55:56
questions. Any questions for Representative Burnett? Do you recognize the question? Does anybody oppose this that you're aware
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
56:04
of? We have everybody in agreement, to my knowledge. I'm not sure
anybody opposes it. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Further questions from committee members? Anybody in the audience want to speak for or against the bill? Representative Williams, you are asked to close on your bill. I'm closed, Mr. Chairman.
Chair
Unverified
56:23
Okay. Representative Carney? Recommend a due pass. Okay. As amended. As amended. As amended. As amended. All in favor,
let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Congratulations, Representative Williams. You passed your bill. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman and members. Okay. Are
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
56:52
you going to present another bill? If the committee would indulge me, Mr. Chairman, I would like to present Senate Bill 302.
Speaker 71
56:56
You recognize Senate Bill 302. I will be brief
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
57:01
so as not to wear out my welcome. Senate Bill 302 is an Arkansas Bar
Association bill. This is a model or uniform laws bill. Back in 1997, the Arkansas General Assembly passed the Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act, which is really the first time we kind of engage in an integrated manner to regulate this area or to provide laws in this area. You may ask, what's an unincorporated nonprofit association?
You guys probably know these organizations as your local crime watch, your parent-teacher association, various church organizations. These are typically small, often small, non-profit corporations that do not incorporate, and typically they probably don't seek out the advice and time and money of a lawyer. So what this bill does really is updates what we did or actually appeals what happened. we did in 1997, and completely updates and modernize the model Uniform Nonprofit Association Act.
The original act we passed in 1997 was very brief. This revised act provides significant more detail
to really upgrade this area of the law. It provides for kind of default provisions.
Oftentimes when these organizations, they may not have a lawyer, they may not enter into agreements. This current legislation that's before you will provide a default provision if they don't enter into those agreements. It tells you what happens if they don't do certain things.
So this is really just a way to provide greater protection to unincorporated nonprofit associations. And if you'd like a much more detailed explanation of the bill, I'd be happy to do that. I also have someone here who can explain it even in more detail if I can't answer your questions. But with that, I will yield to questions if it's the committee's pleasure. Well, what
Speaker 105
58:57
we want to do is find out who – Representative
Speaker 28
58:59
Bibiano, you reckon I ask the question? Representative Williams, is this the last bill you will present today that benefits lawyers?
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
59:05
Well, I would say this is the last bill that I would present today. I'm not sure that any of the bills that I presented today actually benefits lawyers. This bill – these are lawyers trying to take care of folks
who may not seek out the counsel and advice of a lawyer. That's what this bill is for. any further questions
anyone want to speak forward gets to be a represent Williams you recognize to close are you close sounds like I'm closed according
to mr. Villano what's in cabinet you recognize I have a motion to proper time okay you recognize the emotion motion to pass okay any discussion okay All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? No. Congratulations, Representative Williams. You passed your bill. Mr. Chairman and Committee, I
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
1:00:02
appreciate your indulgence. I will promise not to try to come back with so many bills next time. Thank you so much. You're more than welcome.
We have one more bill, and I'm waiting
Speaker 173
1:00:21
on Representative Tyler to get here if you just indulge me for just a few minutes. We don't have a call?
we don't have
Speaker 93
1:00:48
we'll be okay I think she has a long controversy Just a few minutes, then
Chair
Unverified
1:01:28
to come and run a bill.
That's okay. It's non-controversial. I promise you it is.
Unknown speaker
1:03:05
No further business. We stay in adjourn.
Agenda
Call to Order
HB1525
HB1425
HB1496
SB309
SB302
Adjournment
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Speaker 3
Representative Fred Allen Chair
Unverified
Justin Allen
Unverified
Speaker 20
Speaker 22
Representative Bobby J. Pierce
Unverified
Representative Mark Biviano
Unverified
Speaker 43
Speaker 48
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 52
Speaker 55
Representative Allen Kerr
Unverified
Speaker 67
Speaker 71
Speaker 16
Representative Mary P. "Prissy" Hickerson
Unverified
Speaker 78
Representative Jonathan Barnett
Unverified
Representative Les "Skip" Carnine
Unverified
Speaker 89
Speaker 91
Speaker 58
Speaker 95
Speaker 97
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
Frank Heilman
Unverified
Speaker 127
Speaker 128
Speaker 131
Speaker 133
Speaker 81
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
Speaker 145
Speaker 60
Speaker 40
Speaker 151
Speaker 24
Speaker 5
Speaker 166
Speaker 105
Speaker 28
Speaker 173
Speaker 69
Speaker 93
Speaker 180
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Speaker 185