House Rules

Good morning committee and thank you. This is a rather simple bill. In the law that is currently on the books in Arkansas Code three dash six dash one oh four eight. It concerns native Randy and there is a word that has been misplaced since this bill was put into effect in the nineteen fifties when this act one in the law it put solely in two places then it should be on the bottom line of section Hey. And it says other distillates or component parts there of manufactured from agricultural or horticultural products produced solely within the state of Arkansas so we're moving solely from its. Previous place in line twenty five down to where it should be in line twenty six which brings it into alignment with the law it makes a clarification in should be the thing that we have to do to make it work right it's a very simple thing it requires no change in the law does not change the scope of the law nor does it alter anything except putting the words solely at one time instead of twice all right thank you members any questions. Maxing number of no one I believe signed up to speak for against this this particular bill what is the wishes of the committee. I have a motion to pass all those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed graduates are able to pass thank you committee and have a great day. All right members are going to Senate bill three thirty six. Represent a greater present that bill okay. Correction that bills Senate bill three thirty eight not three thirty six three thirty eight. Thank you Mr chair. So this bill has initially what it does is it allows purchasers are retail tobacco locations to keep the eggs to operate underneath the existing permit for up to thirty days currently they cannot so they have to apply for a permit to nurse business interruption there while they're waiting for the new permit that's literally all this bill does. It has to be agreed to by the seller and also by the tobacco the by the commission Arkansas tobacco control. Members any questions. Lapsing none no one signed up to speak for against this bill. Okay you can close rebuild representative I'm closing I we have a motion do pass all those in favor signify by saying aye. Posed congratulations you will fast thank you and you stand out there for the next two yes. Senate bill three eighty three. You're recognized thank you Senate bill three eighty three is to amend campaign contribution amounts so currently the statute it says that the maximum campaign contribution is two thousand seven hundred dollars in so instead of changing that every time the amount changes what we're doing is striking the two thousand seven hundred dollars and saying the Max maximum campaign contribution level established by rule of the Arkansas ethics commission so essentially we're allowing the ethics commission to set the rule that the amount represented Wardlaw has a question reckon you're recognized. Thank you Mister Mister with your indulgence I'd like to have an Mr Sloan to the table for sexually Mr song you come up in. Entertainers for moment. Grams long director of the arts sciences Commission thank you Mr. Graham when you look at this and you go back to the year I think it's twenty fifteen in the bill for two thousand dollars and it comes up through the years and you guys have a formula of how you figure that how do we make sure that amount isn't even amount every cycle and not some. Dollars and sense in that so there's not hard on our candidates trying to figure out what the maximum is. In. twenty fifteen the. General Assembly pass legislation that set forth the formula and then at the beginning of every odd numbered year task to the ethics commission with applying that formula is system federal numbers in it I don't know it's consumer price index but the the federal government puts out certain numbers and then and we're locked into that formula and what it says is that we will Applied the. You know with adjusted for inflation and then rounded to the nearest hundreds if it was if it was you know that came out to. Twenty seven hundred forty dollars it stays twenty seven under it rounded up eleven twenty seven sixty goes to twenty eight hundred and then representative tuckered started out that the twenty seven hundred which is kind of a straight provisions still in the law he was one updated to the current twenty eight hundred and I talked to him and said Hey it's alright we're already in the process but it's going up to twenty nine hundred so in and if you're going to change it. I'm twenty seven hundred two Liesel go and go to twenty nine and and and he said well we'll do this state every have an update the statute every time it goes up we'll just refer to that rule shall promulgate and but we're locked into that formula so it's not a discretionary matter. Perfect you you hit the nail on the head thank you Mr our thank you members any other questions of Mr Sloan. I don't want to stay there for the next one just in case we don't care our members any other questions for the representative our president we got to close for that bill close for the bill or the wishes of the committee The motion to pass all those in favor say aye. Opposed congradulations the Bill passed and we went on to Senate bill three four. Thank you Mr chair said this bill. It is my understanding course we've got Mr Sloan here who can kind of help with this but it's my understanding that a candidate running for office has a maximum contribution right now that they can receive a twenty eight hundred dollars if they were to change mid cycle inside that there would run for a different office they can did raise another twenty eight hundred dollars for that second office from the same donor so what this bill does starting in twenty twenty three so in the next election cycle is it says that essentially no matter what office you run for or if you change offices mid cycle you can still only Max out at what the Max contribution amount that we just are going to allow them to set so you can only the essentially only raise it one time no matter no matter how many offices you read for. All right members and questions. Great day so this is per election not yearly you get it you know it's primary and general you could do the same yeah I would read that. Hey. I read that way that you you know currently you can take twenty eight hundred for the primary in twenty eight hundred for the general if you're in a run off twenty eight hundred for the run off in the end of this it's per Alexion within the cycle so you can take twenty eight hundred for primary but if you if you with three let's say and and we decide to run in another primary race you're limited to that twenty eight hundred and if you You know. If you. It spent some of the money on the first race and then you refunded the rest of it back to the contributor you can you can take that refund that amount for the next race but you know you've just be twenty eight hundred for the primary regardless of how many different offices you saw that in the debate on this on this I think the is in twenty twenty three. Yes January first twenty twenty three okay all right members any other questions representative gene you're recognized. Thank you Mr chairman hello hi. In our current environment how many how many folks do we have. Jumping from race to race how often does this happen in a little election cycle. I wouldn't say it's a frequent occurrence but it does happen it has happened in the past and But I couldn't I can't give a specific number but it's that it happens but it's I don't think it's a frequent occurrence VOL will. Is this just dealing with state races. What what if somebody is a state senator state representative and drop down to be a run in the mayor's race or candy judges raise how's that govern. It's. Why laws under our jurisdiction or worried your candidate for public office and in public office is defined as any election rainy office still by voters at election except federal office and so I think you've campaign contribution limit applies to state district county municipal school board offices and and meum my understanding I'm in you know my reading of this is it would it would apply it would just be limited to you know somebody running for State raced state racing you is disqualified and the local I. rights if you withdrew from state race and wanted to run for a county municipal school board race or vice versa it would it would apply You know this. Wouldn't matter what the two offices were okay thank you thank you chairman. So it was was this not already the deal currently in ethics or I mean is this bill needed I got a little bit confused on if we need to do this or not based on something you said I think last week. In the ethics commission didn't. The proposed this rule you know it you know and then the but I think there is a little bit of confusion when somebody withdraws in the the way the law. I think the interwebs written is if you withdraw you have to file final report within thirty days and then when you file that final report you've got indicate how you got ready or surplus funds and there's five methods and one of those method the given to the. State treasurer for benefits generating phone political party five oh one C. threes city the first or second class and then refunded contributors and so I think if you. The way that laws are if you were running for office aid you withdrew and decide to run for office be you'd have to get rid of the money that you raise for office say in one of those five methods and in the end if you and and then I think you could. Start over for office B. and and and and in potentially at that point take another twenty eight hundred so if you to originally taken twenty eight hundred spent half of it gave half of it back. The end union name just sat around for different office I think it should be back to taken twenty eight hundred and this would say you know no you'd be limited to just twenty eight hundred dollars team or mount okay all right thank you members any other questions. Not saying nine thank you Graham representative agreed to close for your bill I'm close for the bill thank you all right you bet we're the wish of the committee. We have a motion to pass I all those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed. The ayes have it you bet congratulations on passing a bill all right the next bill. Representative Gonzalez. Good afternoon. May I just ask for motion to pass we can move on. At least read the toss. next find common ground in Arkansas promote communication across the aisle by prohibiting barriers to communication to prohibit the installation bears in the chamber of the house of representatives and the Senate to declare an emergency in for the purposes of this bill is simply require that the plexiglass and house and Senate be removed as my understanding the Senate some of the senators have already started taking some of theirs down So I don't really know if this is going to pull out of the. Anyway that's all it does thankfully we have a good working relationship across I'll anyway in the state but this would make it easier to talk to each other across the desk and I think you have a question or two here representative Wardlaw you're recognized thank you Mr president as well as have you of consulted with the House Management Committee on their decisions on the practical us in on the house floor. No I have not and then I will I will add that I appreciate with the House Management has done to and the efforts they made to protect us from the coronavirus on commended for that I think they've done a done a great job I just don't see that this portion of its necessary anymore you look at. People interacting on the on the house floor or all lean back talking to each other monthly to glass anyways. I do appreciate the efforts of the that have been made. Back in Tosh push. Thank you Mr. Representative ghazals what will what about those that either in the house chamber that had had their shots that are still uncomfortable that you know we in the. We've got some older members in there maybe hopefully they've had three shots but just one of their own comparable and and and and we you know they feel like they're health could be at jeopardy has that been taken into consideration or how you gonna approach that. Yes I respect that too and I think you know we were leaving it in the rules of different options for those members if they're at their high risk or don't feel safe committee and the others are options to compare to participate remotely so. Today they would be. did that I understand you say that again you say they would be a have to do it remotely Sir I so there's options if the material date but if they want to stay in the house chamber and dissipate. But they don't want or plexiglass removed because of. You're just uncomfortable having it done. What's what's what's measures going to be what's the steps going to pay for them. Well I guess the majority will get to decide if if we get this out of. I'm here. Okay thanks. Representante there is any other questions. Maxing number send you like clothes for your bill. I'm close just ask for motion to pass all right members you've heard the the bill one of the wishes of the committee. All right seeing no motion represent your bills failed thank you for letting. All right members are gonna move along to. House bill thirteen fifty four representative Cavenaugh. You're recognized to present the bill. Thank you Mr chair and committee this is a bill that you all have heard in the past and when we discussed at the last time there was some. desires from the Committee to actually include more people in it there have been some that wanted to include every state employee in it but this bill is not really designed for every state employee is designed for those that might make a policy that would have control over policy of the state so what we did is on page two line seventeen we expanded it to actually cover a director or agency head so those would be the people that would be added to this that is amendment that we had asked for y'all y'all had asked for me to do that and that's what I've done there is been some concern that's been brought up that this would keep someone like the secretary of commerce for being able to get their money that they're paid for their bonus from a foundation this bill in no way affects this the only way that this bill could affect this is if that foundation was a registered lobbyist. And if there's a secondary getting bonuses from a registered lobbyist that in itself is another problem but this bill has nothing to do with that in fact we already under the prohibition that estate employees we can't take more than a hundred dollars. So he would already be excluded from being able to get that if this was what this would do this does not do this just puts these people at the same level of transparency and not accepting gifts from lobbyists S. as in the legislative branch that's all this bill does. Then I take any questions. Our members any questions. Representative Cavenaugh the to get them to the same position we are in if if an elected representative or senator was to take to get from a lobbyist would that be considered a Class B. misdemeanor as well yes this is a sign language whatever the any as is the same language we just took what language we were under and placed it under this one so whatever would be this problem for us to take that is the same problem for these people to. Our I mean he per the bill are there any questions. Translated your question. Which is like. Did you have a question okay R. I. members a single questions there is no one signed up to speak for against the bill the bill which I close rebuilt I'm close to the bill I would like to ask for a good vote this is just a simple bill to put the people making policy all under the same guidelines when accepting gifts from lobbyists thank you. Borders which the committee. All right hearing no motion representative Cavenaugh sorry bills failed thank you thank you members that is all we have on the agenda for today will be meeting next Wednesday at noon vice chair slave you have anything that.