House Convenes

And by the member staff press and guests in the gallery sit stand to be led in prayer by the house chaplain Dr Jonathan Kelly senior pastor First Baptist Church build radio and remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to be led by representative Lane Jean. Let us pray. Almighty god an everlasting father the creators have been enters on this day we lean into the promises of your words and the instruction that you give us your word says it is good to give thanks to the lord so on this afternoon we give thanks for the state of Arkansas the citizens of this great state. From each and every corner in cities and and rule counties guide or he's just a treasure to call them our fellow Arkansans and we give thanks for living in this country called the United States for the gifts of democracy life liberty and the pursuit of happiness guide. Not all Angeli these freedoms may we never take that for. And your word says god that three are even better for a triple braided cord is not easily broken. So I pray for the men and women in this room that on this day they would be reminded to work. They can't do it on their own they need their support of their colleagues in this room to seek the welfare of this state and so teach us how to compromise teaches how to listen teaches how to use our words wisely. And your word says guide to make the most of every every opportunity in these days. And guide these in the room today there are so many demands. Ians. As a representative demands because they have families back at home careers that they even step away from during this season. Or help them make the most of today help them balance and budget their time how to know what bills and legislation to pursue at this hour which meetings to take which phone calls to receive lord grant them that wisdom that they would be effective stewards of this privilege and responsibility of interest. In Christ's name we pray I'm in. Members please indicate your presence by pushing yellow present button prepared machine madam Clark. Cast up the ballot madam Clark. With ninety nine members present the chair sees a quorum are there any request for leave represent Lundstrum for what purpose. You're recognized requesting leave for representative Ladyman is leave granted represent late payment. So noted represent Jeffrey Wardlaw moves we dispense the reading of the previous day's Journal without objection so ordered are there Reports from select committees read reports medical or. Mr Speaker your committee on joint budget to whom was referred house bill ten fifty five house bill ten sixty three house bill ten seventy two house bill ten seventy three house bill ten thirty nine house bill ten eighty three house bill eleven thirty eight by joint budget basically report that he we have had in the same consideration with your time the same the recommendation that a do pass respectfully submitted Lane Jean share. Any reports from standing committees read reports madam Clerk. Mr Speaker your committee on education to whom was referred house bill ten ninety one beg leave to report that we have same and consideration here at the time the same with recommendation that a do pass respectfully submitted. Representative Brian Evans chair. Mr Speaker your committee on education to whom was referred house bill eleven twelve. Beg leave to report that same information here at the time of the same with recommendation that it do pass as amended number one respectfully submitted. Brian S. Evans chair. Mrs speaking your committee on Judiciary to whom was referred house bill number eleven twenty five I representive eleven beg leave to report that we have same expiration here's what time the recommendation that a do pass. Representative Dalby chair Mister Speaker your committee on Judiciary to whom was referred house bill eleven sixty five big return for the same committee consideration here retired same recommendation that a do pass as amended number one respectfully Stan Berry vice chair. Mr Speaker your committee on public health welfare and labor to whom was referred house bill ten fifteen house bill eleven thirty six house bill eleven seventy three and house bill eleven seventy eight beg leave to report the same generation with youth return the same recommendation that a do pass representative Lee Johnson chair. There any unfinished business. Are there any executive communications. Read the letter from the governor may. State of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders governor January sixteenth twenty twenty three to the Speaker of the house dear Mister Speaker This is to inform you that that that on January sixteenth twenty twenty three I reviewed and approved the following measures for the legislative session of the ninety first General Assembly house bill ten fifty one ACT one house concurrent resolution one thousand three house concurrent resolution one thousand four sincerely Sarah Sanders. Members we do have a few guest with us today in the north gallery. I believe we have the Perry County judge Larry Blackmon guests of represent Bentley. Also in the north gallery we have the Van Buren county judge Dale James a guest of representative Rick Beck. In the east gallery we have the mortgage bankers association and guests of represent Wilder. Morning hour is. Madam Clark please read house bill ten eighty two. House bill ten eighty three by representative Pilkington to establish the occupational therapy licensure compacts in Arkansas. We're gonna pass over house bill ten eighty two. Metacarpals rehouse bill eleven fifty. House bill eleven fifty by representative Cavenaugh to amend the law to extend the time period or the rest for the registration of motor vehicle into amend the law concerning temporary preprinted paper buyer's tag. President Cavenaugh you're recognized explain the bill. Thank you Mr Speaker I for having deja vu looking at this bill you're not having deja vu we were here last session we passed this bill out of the house it didn't make it out of the Senate so this bill actually just allows citizens to have an extra thirty days to license or vehicle there is no changing of the sales tax amount so we're not reducing anything that someone pays on their sales tax we're just shifting it for thirty days and with that I'd appreciate a good vote. President Kavanagh's explain the building would like to speak against the bill. Would anyone like to speak for the bill. Represent Cavenaugh as close for the bill. Questions for the houses the passage of house bill eleven fifty. Prepared machine madam Clark. As everyone voted as everyone voted. Casts up the ballot madam Clark. Ninety four yeas to nays and to present the bill is passed. And third please read house bill eleven twenty three. House bill eleven twenty three by representative vitamin loss concerning concealed carry permits and to authorize an individual who is sought voluntary mental health treatment to obtain a concealed carry permit after a certain time period cenvat you're recognized explain the bill. Thank you Mr Speaker. So I was brought to my attention by one of my constituents that if you we're in a down spiral and you wanted to voluntarily put yourself somewhere for some help you automatically always lose your concealed carry license. As she works nights and she wanted to be able to Kerry Her her gun on herself for her own protection and she said representive all right I can understand why I did something to help myself. So that I didn't hurt myself and I'm being punished for that so I went to look in and she was correct there is no way there's no Avenue in which she could actually get back her own personal gun rights. So what we did was this is already a was set for veterans if they voluntarily put themselves in somewhere then they could get theirs back after three years. From a certain court and so all this does is mimic that exact same thing but it's for your regular constituents or not veterans in the United States. And with that I would appreciate a good vote. President Vaught explained the bill would anyone like to speak against the bill. We would like to speak for the bill represent Vaught is close for the bill the question before the House passage of house bill eleven twenty three per the machine madam Clark. They're one voted. Is everyone voted. Asked about madam Clark with ninety eight zero nine zero present the bill is passed madam Clark please read house bill ten ninety eight. That's the ten ninety eight by representative maybe to clarify that a volunteer firefighter may operate a new one safety device under certain conditions under the safe haven Act represent Mayberry recognizes. Thank you Mr Speaker in twenty nineteen we pass legislation here to allow for fire departments and hospitals to have something called a safe haven baby box and if you'll give me the second to just explain what that is it is a safe way for a woman to remain anonymous who surrenders her baby at one of these baby boxes within thirty days of the birth of that child. There are eleven safe haven baby boxes around the state right now and we have had three babies safely surrendered in this state the first one being and Benton we've also had Conway and Maumelle. the other locations right now include as I said I didn't Rogers Springdale Jonesboro Conway Maumelle Fort Smith elder radio in Nashville when I went to my local fire departments and ask them about wanting to help them raise money to build this baby box at their fire department I quickly realized that they didn't qualify I didn't have a single fire department in my district that would qualify because they are all volunteers now I have volunteer fire departments that have almost every single shift covered except for just a tiny little bit on the weekends to ours here two hours there and they also had emergency medical services located right there at the fire department and I went we need to look to see what other states might I have been allowing and see if we can do that in Arkansas so in Indiana they do allow volunteer fire departments to have a safe haven baby box with certain requirements we certainly don't want a volunteer fire department in the middle of nowhere far away from medical services to have a baby placed in a box that could cause harm to that baby because maybe no one knows the babies there so there's protective things in here first of all there's an alert system that when the box is opened it alerts nine one one immediately that the device has been opened an emergency medical services or sent it also has a surveillance system that has Beaty surveillance inside the box twenty four hours a day and has two firefighters who are responsible for monitoring it for twenty four hours the fire department must also prove that they can respond to the infant within at least four minutes and they must be located within one mile of emergency medical services as I mentioned Indiana has been doing this and they have saves two babies at these volunteer fire. Mince. there are seven baby boxes if volunteer fire departments in this state of Indiana and they have had zero issues reported the other thing that's in this bill that I wanna make sure everyone knows to is that if a woman has a baby in the hospital. When she goes to deliver the baby the way it currently reads is that if the mom knows right then and there she does not want this baby. She's not allowed to surrender that baby anonymously in the hospital but she can take the baby and walk out the door of the hospital and immediately walked back in and surrender the baby. So this bill changes that and allows the mom at the time of delivery to surrender the baby to the medical professionals right away we want to put the baby's needs first and that's what this bill does I'm open to any questions. Seeing not appreciate a good vote thank you. President Mayberry has explained the bill would anyone like to speak against the bill. Would anyone like to speak. Mayberry is closed for the bill the question before the House is the passage of house bill ten ninety eight prepare the machine madam Clark. Everyone voted. Is everyone voted. Asked about Manafort. The voter ninety eight zero nine zero present the bill is passed. Members few more announcements we have with us our doctor the day Dr Naveen Patil as in effect inspections disease a doctor here in Little Rock. In our nurse the Davis sherry Bernard is here as well. We also we also have with us our troopers today or corporal Kevin grounds of the highway patrol administration and corporal John how intent of regulatory services both with the Arkansas State. Represent Meeks for what purpose motion place let's hear your motion after the announcmenet for any of the bills transferring the bill's place in the counters on the desk members amending their own bills own amendments members withdraw your own bills finalized resolution for any communications and any remaining committee report I move we adjourn until one thirty tomorrow afternoon that's a proper motion is not debatable all in favor say aye. Any oppose the motion passes members as we move to announcements I would just remind you. I guess there's the potential for some winter weather although it looks like maybe the forecast is moved a little bit away from Central Arkansas but in the event of inclement weather or just pay attention to your emails and the ark like website if there's any need to move meetings or make cancellation so just wanna remind folks before we adjourned today any other announcements. Represent Fortner for what purpose announcmenet you're recognized the a committee that was scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled right represent Lanny Fite for purpose announcmenet you're recognized city county local affairs will be to ten AM might be tomorrow of we will be taking pictures at nine fifty so look your best. Represent baby for what purpose. Recognized at tomorrow we Arkansas forestry day at the capitol we'll have exhibitors in the rotunda tomorrow morning followed by lunch if a issue building. Represent Barker what purpose announcmenet you're recognized thank you aging children youth will meet at ten AM tomorrow we also will be taken our committee picture so be there's promptly as you can room one thirty percent warrant for what purpose announcmenet you're recognized remember to file your retirement Bills by this Friday and you are all invited to the greater hot springs chamber of commerce reception to be held at war memorial press box today from four thirty to six thirty jumbo shrimp will be served you probably won't need to enter. President Wayne for what purpose announcmenet recognized we have House Management Committee meeting upon adjournment today so just in a few minutes in room one thirty eight downstairs we also want to remind everybody that while we are in session which I mean not like this particular meeting but during our legislative session for this in the next couple of months that we do not have gas coming into the house chamber because we have a lot of colleagues there doing work we also have things in our desks the like that so we have a policy that we don't have gas on the floor so we can kind of protected this area during our legislative session thank you president Tosh for purpose. You're recognized state agencies at ten AM tomorrow run one five one. Vaught for what purpose but recognized at per caucus will be in the morning at seven AM you're all invited. Represent million for purpose you're recognized thank you didn't LA say the ninety six thirty room one forty nine. Representive brown for purpose. Announcmenet you're recognized Insurance and Commerce will meet tomorrow morning at ten AM in room one forty nine. Any other announcements. If not the desk or made. Completion The Addams named in the turn resolution the house will be adjourned until one thirty PM tomorrow.