Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs - Senate

Individual give their entirety undivided time and attention to the work of the department. If an individual sought to have work say after office hours they were prohibited from doing it this will allow that but it make sure that the department's work is front and center so that's basically all it does. Three questions from the committee. Senator English. So. It's always been that they can basically have a second job. Yes is that what it is yep. It says I will give my entire in undivided time and attention to the work of the department the department is asked that we won this bill that so that it can relieve that the point making sure that the work of the department is steel front and center. It cannot interfere with carrying out the responsibilities of the position so as long as what they're doing besides this does not interfere with that work in their fun but if it interferes with that work it's an honor is this is this everybody or is it just for. That include all the executives or. I can imagine some of them would have a second job. Memory is that works there may be a lot of folks who don't need a second job right. But with their policies pretty much been that they would be you you can only work for the highway department nothing else as it. Are intact and undivided yeah but this will give some flexibility there and so we would appreciate a good vote. Your any other questions from the committee. C. nine I don't have anybody signed up to speak for or against the bill. The the motion from senator Chesterfield second from Senator Hill All in favor say aye All opposed like sign. Thank you senator Chesterfield parish bill. Next we have. House Bill. Eleven fifteen Senator Stubblefield your present. Go ahead Senator thank you Mr chairman thank you Committee Senate bill or house bill eleven fifteen's really very simple bill it just raises the white threshold of a commercial vehicle from ten thousand to twenty six thousand pounds. Of the only exception would be. Some some vehicle that was carrying hazardous waste or of passengers up to fifteen including the driver that's basically all it does. Is there any questions from the committee. Go ahead senator each. Pushed to the right. The. In. I was just going to ask if what what this is moving from west threshold currently that they're moving from to the to the twenty six. Like what the what the weight is currently that's moving up to twenty six thousand ten thousand eight thousand ten thousand to twenty six thousand this center is brought about as a result we have a lot of people that were mowing lawns with long more pulling a trailer this is also just twenty six thousand could be either a truck. Or it could be a combination of a truck in a trailer so this is just for small operators okay maybe pulling long or okay thank you Sabhal of problems. Your any other questions. Seeing none I have nobody signed it does speak for against the bill. Is there anybody in the audience I mean that would like to speak. C. nine The motion by Senator Hill second by Senator Garner all in favor say aye. All opposed Like sign thank Senator Stubblefield pastor bill in. Now the vin amendments and engrossed or any. If the Senator Pitsch for you want to go ahead and I'll go down. Yeah. We'll take a Senate bill three three five senator Johnson when you're ready. If you're recognized senator Johnson to present your bill it would be okay I would like to give the members justification on efficiency on that fifty dollar fee that would be fine. Judy. Pass this out for me please remember. Trying to work with this many of the parties and address an issue that many of us have have you know our constituents are brought to us about the hybrid fee and. These numbers are based on our state sales tax which is twenty four and a half percent or twenty four and a half cents and those efficiencies are cars with the same internal combustion engine one is a hybrid and one just uses the internal combustion engine. The all those members came off of U. S. department of energy's fuel economy dock of. And I tried to get different different. Brands of cars in in the in the sufficiency studies That's the that's the the what this bill does is it sets the regular hybrid at fifty dollars. There's a in the research that idea there's this thing called a plug in hybrid and it functions like an electric vehicle in the inner city setting but it if you go over long range it has internal combustion engine efficiencies can't be measured so that that needs to stay in a hundred dollars to us to make up those you know taxes that we're losing on the on those vehicles and it and it keeps the two hundred dollar electric fees so that's what the bill does it becomes effective on one January the first twenty two and twenty two that way they'll give the Department time to be able to define and find these plug in hybrids in their system I think they're six states that are doing this something similar to the US. And if there's any questions I'd appreciate a good vote. Committee question senator garner you're recognized. Thank you I think I understand the answer this but it's probably distinguishing whether sports not so currently as we change law in two thousand nineteen. Two hundred dollars if you have a hybrid you have to pay the hundred what are we charging or what is if you have a plugin is currently under law distinguish as electric vehicle or hybrid visit. Is it Mr did not have to pay a fee at all Senator that was done in two thousand nineteen and that was probably done on vehicles that were in play in two thousand seventeen or eighteen and I don't think that there was a such thing as a plug in hybrid it was just however in. So this is something that has been created between the time. We don't with the with the numbers that was previous that we did and now okay so my question is so we don't pass this and I go with my plug in hybrid electric vehicle to the DMV what fee would have to pay now one current law hundred dollars you have to pay a hundred dollars yes so they would consider it a hybrid vehicle okay all hybrid vehicles so we're not adding a new class they would have to pay this fee that the plug in hybrid would have to pay a hundred dollars the regular hybrid the would have to pay a hundred dollars just with the regular hybrid the is that is fifty dollars okay because we have the we have the ability to to compare those and see where our state taxes Okay thank you efficiency efficiency to the hybrid model. Yes. Three. Through the it is electric vehicle just electric motor no internal combustion just a plug in electric vehicle will be two hundred and dislike it is now. The plug in hybrid which functions like an electric vehicle if your local like run around Little Rock but if you're going from here to Corning it would uses and internal combustion motor that would be a hundred dollars there's there's and then and then a regular hammer and is is fifty dollars under this bill. Was it was a hundred. Thank you Mr cheer why the differentiation I don't I know nothing about any of this I just drive a car. Go to work that's gas and come home yes and tell me why you're differentiation between the cost was one fifty one one hundred last. Well I mean I had a number of constituencies that the hybrid did not the efficiency what nine hundred dollars that and they are already paying a fuel tax. So that's why calculated those that maybe these have the same engine and the and the same you know function the same at the efficiency is where you gain your you know you're losing your your state taxes okay so that's you know the efficiencies is is is not as great as a hundred dollars on the on the. Regular happened so so that's why safety yes okay. He gets greater we charge more the if it is efficiency gets greater yes that that's how are that's how it is now then this this creates Farrer model I I feel like. And is also it's reflective of the technology we have now. Because that hundred dollars in the in a plug in hybrid you can't. You you you have to go to an individual level to find those efficiencies the depends on how you would use that vehicle the as to the physician's see so you know that could be different with different people and how they how they use it so. Thank you Mr chair members of the committee Paul gearing Arkansas department of finance administration. D. if they did provide a revenue impact for this proposed legislation. I'm currently a when Senate bill two twenty five was introduced Did reduce the hybrid registration fee from a one hundred dollars to fifty dollars we provided a fiscal impact statement of one point one million dollars for that simple reduction. When the bill was amended to provide that the hybrid vehicles that have the plug in capability would continue to pay at the one hundred dollar the we were unable to come up with a firm number of how much that would bring down the fiscal impact statement and the reason for that is is that currently based upon the information that's an embedded in the vehicle identification number read our best information right now is that the plug in hybrid capability is not indicated in the van that we're looking for secondary sources to be able to identify that information but right now what we would plan to do if this were to become the law is to add that as one question that we would ask in the registration process for hybrid vehicle for the customer to identify whether or not the vehicle was a traditional hybrid or had the plug in capability that would be subject to the one hundred dollar fee also with the effective date being identified as January one two thousand twenty two. We I just the fiscal impact statement for the first year affected because there would only be six months of collections that would be changed to the revenue impact would be up to five hundred fifty thousand dollars depending upon the number of vehicles that continue to pay the full one hundred on the plug in hybrids and then for full revenue impact in FY twenty three up to one point one million would be the reduced funds that would be distributed to the State Highway and Transportation Department I'd be happy to answer any questions about the fiscal impact statement for the committee. Thank you Mr of. These vehicles. Our. Or different in that they don't have the emissions that cause. They're better for the environment is that right. They have greater fuel economy lower emissions that's correct that's what I'm trying to get them out of the carcass also they have lower emissions which means that they will be better overall for our environment to some if you want to deal with that with that one but how do you determine whether or not a person is telling you the truth about whether they have the regular hybrid the plug in hybrid or whatever the other activities. Thank you center we've also reached out to our partners at the other mother motor vehicle departments in the United States to try to get a greater understanding of how we can verify of course we want to there are times that we have to rely upon the customer. Either way they're going to pay a fifty dollar fee your hundred dollar fee for hybrid under the bill but certainly we want to make sure that there's a way to identify more than just what the customers I identifying in their application for registration but we're certainly looking at those other. Areas that we could get greater information to to know if a vehicle is a is a plugin or not because I would hate to rely on the kindness of strangers in a. Dealing with this issue a center we we we believe that the far far majority of our customers are are honest people yes but I do understand that that human behavior might also and how much something costs might also that is there to check in here that's interesting verify the there is no follow up question to that there is no the van vehicle number identified fire in the vin number is that a correct statement to identify the vehicle as in highland hybrid right that's right that's our understanding. Okay there there in the vin number we will now with the vehicles a hybrid but not a plug in hybrid. The. Other questions of the. The Speaker. Seeing none thank you for your testimony thank is there anyone else who would like to speak for against this bill in the audience. Seeing none committee do you have any questions for the sponsor. Seeing no questions would you like to close for your bill senator Johnson. Absolutely chairman I've tried to create a. The unfairness for our constituents and then limit the impact on these funds for the highways doing this bill so I believe we can get to where they can identify those those hybrid cars in that time frame between now and January the first and the fiscal impact is is pretty much the same as what will what they given in testimony because they they have and they can't identify. How how how to do that plug in hybrid compared to the regular House. But other states are are doing that and I think it's what we're gonna I mean there there's going to be a differentiation in these vehicles and there's always that back up motor with plug in hybrid and and appreciate a good vote. With motion center Chesterfield. You're recognized for your motion. You have a do pass motion I have a second from senator garner. All in favor of accepting of a guy get through a number Senate bill two twenty five do pass police say aye. Same sign opposed. Your bill has passed Senator Johnson thank you. Thank Senator Pitsch thanks to German thank members. Members I appreciate you coming and. We will try to meet again Thursday but I think some of us have a joint energy committee meeting right after this and I need to go to that and the city Senate transportation is adjourned.