Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs - Senate

For me conduct business in the meantime I thought would take this opportunity to recognize director Laurie tutor R. dot letter introducer staff and and and give us a quick update and also answer any questions that to any members might have director to do you're recognized. Thank you senator so I'm Laurie to the Director of the Arkansas to. Has this to get a better okay. And I got reprimanded in a meeting and I didn't speak up loud enough so thank you. Okay so R. naught is the state's lead agency for transportation with more than thirty seven hundred employees across the state we have sixteen thousand four hundred miles this state highways to maintain seventy three hundred bridges we have the twelfth largest highway system in the nation so for a small rule state with the small tax base we have to be very careful with the money that we do have to take care of that big system. This system allows interstate and intrastate commerce and carries nearly thirty five billion vehicle miles of travel annually to support a hundred and twenty billion dollar Arkansas economy so very important to our economy as our infrastructure. Our mission is to provide a safe and efficient transportation system to meet the needs of the citizens of this state and to protect their investment in our infrastructure it's very important to us that we do things wisely and we protect the investment that's already there I have several of our executive team here with me today and I'd like to introduce them we have our deputy director and chief engineer rex lines. We have our assistant chief of administration Kevin Thorton. We have our assistant chief engineer of planning Jared Wiley and he's a he's a good one to know because is senator hill can attest when you need something a project he's the one that can look and see where we're at and and doing that improvements he's has all that information right there in that little iPad it's amazing. Are we also have our assistant chief engineer of design here my if you get. I brought to the table with me Jeff Holmes he's the chief of Arkansas highway police which is a very important part of our dot net like for him to say a few words to get so you get to know him thank you Director. Chief chief you're recognized thank you Sir Try not to anyway my name is Jeff Holmes I'm a thirty year veteran of the highway police I primary mission a mission is to protect our work zones and for size and weight laws and regulations on commercial vehicles and to perform safety inspections on trucks we have approximately a hundred forty officers statewide operate a way stations and Boxley seventy trolling that's I look forward to working with each you. Thank you and I might say director of. The efficiency blew me away I feel quick story my wife and I were headed to East Arkansas for an event the director two was also attending and a truck about two three lengths in front of us a big heavy pallet blew off of it went flying through the air and came very close to it could very well gone through someone's windshield. Terrible thing will my wife wrote down the truck's license number and in the. Senator my phone and she takes due to director tutor by the time we got to our destination she says highway police have already caught the guy. So that was kind of a Johnny on the spot thing but again I can always do that but thank you for all you do and we're grateful for all that and I have I have to go back to recognizing I was wondering senator rice's your salt in a separate would cut you off the ledge okay okay. DO Rodgers he's a very important introduction delete. Their skill he's our governmental relations officer in his job is to provide quick access to any information you might need he's kind of a clearinghouse of it you know that you know one person to call and then he calls us or whoever he needs to call that way hopefully we take care of your needs efficiently and in a timely manner his business card should be there in front of the so get that get that number in your phone and then be sure you have him in your phone so you can contact him whenever you have any questions you can contact me anytime Chief calms any of us but he kinda lurks around the capital C. might be other pulling to the side and say whatever you need to and finally I just like to say we were very very pleased to see that this committee was was that set up the members of the committee and the chair the co chair because we feel like all of the here are are a great support and encouragement to the Department we love work we've worked well with you in the past and we look forward to working with you in the future and being productive and doing what we need for the citizens of the state correct. Searches feel you're recognized thank you Mr quick Mister Mister chair late in the afternoon up missed two thank you for always taking my call but I'm wondering if you would be so kind as to provide us with a list of those individuals and their number so that we would know because you've set them rather quickly. I really need. His. Okay. Thank you so much we will we will we will. Okay. We have a we have a little and laminated card that we've prepared For the new legislators but will provide those for you guys as well so you can have all the latest information. Yes. Thank you so much stricter tutored chief we're and all the staff and and Gil specially we we lean on you and we appreciate you and he's he's always available when we need him at I I we don't have any absolute truth legislative freshman on this committee are our new members are former house members and I'm sure know a lot about how hard are operates but we thank you for all you do and we'll keep that communication two way thank you so much. And now we have a I don't think we're gonna have but one bill day lists Sir while shows up but to vice chairman board to. You're recognized to present Senate bill forty seven. Thank you. Mister chair committee members Senate bill four seven is very simple it repeals Twenty seven dash fifty one dash thirteen oh six so I ask so a constituent brought this issue to my attention and so I started researching and this statute was written in the nineteen thirties and last modified in nineteen fifty seven so then I started asking some questions you know vehicles of modernize we have emergency brakes things things are just different today than they were you know when it was last updated in certainly than they were in nineteen thirties and so this bill was filed I think the first day of session or pretty close to it it's been out there no one has contacted me with any concerns the people I've talked to have been supportive or are not offered me any concerns so that's really my someone has questions all I have to say about it yes researchers feel you're recognized for a question. Thank you Mr chair and and and thank you for clarifying some of your thoughts on this process the thing that troubles me is so many people leave cars running the children in the. And that scares the bejesus. And I'm afraid that if we say you you can just leave the car running that gives them an excuse for not being more diligent about making sure that those children okay is there something I tried reading bill ID and I didn't see anything in there that says except when a child is left in a car. Senator I think that's a great question but I think that's addressed other places in the code about leaving children unattended in general I just don't think that this code was intended to address the issue of unattended children so I appreciate the concern I just think that that's elsewhere in the code not in an unattended vehicle I don't think this doesn't say anything about kids it does I guess what was considered what was concerning me right because we look at senator Matt rate of like to see it because I don't know folks leaving cars unattended going here and for to and fro. And then all of us and we have a kid in the car and we said it's okay to leave my car running so states it was okay I don't know why you're complaining about it so I just like to know that we have taken we have we are sure that that's address somewhere else in the code and that one is made out of my concern about what you have thank you. Senator I've. As I read this first I like the fact that he just strikes the whole section because the section at least in my opinion is very obsolete and you mentioned nineteen thirties my car doesn't have an engine has an electric motor it doesn't have ignition doesn't have a key. So technically I can't comply with this because of the fact that it's just different technology and I when I walked away from my car it automatically locks so I mean we perhaps we may need a modernized consideration of this and I certainly concur with center Chesterfield concerned about endangering children but but that's probably not something that is We deal with in this particular transportation part of the code and might need to be looked at another way and and I will ask the committee staff to to see where that is elsewhere sooner we're back to the yeah. But I think this is an example of one of those things it's in the code that dealt with the time when. Ranger steam locomotives and some of the car still had occurring in front of them to start so that we need to bring this modernization bill on it it is a very good bill in my opinion in a quick questions of committee members Centerville. Per president void I like your bill like what it's doing because I'll use yesterday for example I hit the auto start of my truck. Interested in my seat it was warm and so I appreciate that very much. Thank you. Any other questions. The I you mentioned Senator Hill brings up a good point sometimes it's a safety concern that you have the remote start the remote I'm glad that my wife can opener and locker door from her her key rather than having to get up to the car or sometimes you can just unlock the driver side not the passenger side for safety so you know there's technology tends to service to we don't. If we revisit this will do it with modern technology in mind and not so. Any other questions FOR centreboard. Sir you're welcome to close for your bill. So if anybody in the audience like to speak for against bill would only by Sunday as. Okay. We have a motion do pass a second all in favor say aye hi posed Senator U. pastor bill. I don't believe that. I don't believe we're going to hear house bill ten eighty six days can be deferred and house bill eleven oh one. I don't think Senate senator Wallace was the US Senate co sponsor I don't think we're going to get to that one today there so we will we will to for both of those any other business to come before the committee. I see no reason not to to accept your motion searches feel weird turn. You're welcome. Terry I'm I'm glad the slips close.