Revenue & Tax - Senate

Right. Would you let them go demand table which you. For. Senator hammer you do realize that we're going to hear your bill but we're not gonna take longer is that correct yes Sir I understand the fiscal impact is not made it back this we know we've got a few. We got fiscal impact for you okay a chance I can see it Thank. In my area Kim him or state senator district thirty three could not get to go ahead and do it yourself we Mr interrelationship reckless. Thank you Mister chairman I'm Karen Walter superintendent Bryant schools. Welcome Senator thank you this is regarding bill two forty four and the intent of that is that superintendent Walter here contact me and brought to my attention that over the period of time that the way the law currently is written it allows for schools not to have to pay taxes on the textbooks however we all know we're not living in a generation where textbooks are commonly purchased by schools for the majority and we've gone to tablets and other electronic devices that are essential specially with them I days and what we've experienced this past week and so the problem is is that those are not classified as textbook materials and so the request is to give those the same classifications as we do textbooks as in the past in this chair with the chairs permission unlike a superintend Walters be able to maybe just explain from her position as superintendent Bryan school district the impact that it has ensure few comments if we could if you would please and I think you're pretty well speaking for all superintendents of all school districts. Well I would say yes I think if they are for this bill yes thank you Mr I had a Senator hammer about a sponsoring this bill few months ago as he stated we we very rarely buy a textbook anymore everything that we have is electronic and we know that without the student device whether it's a tablet or Chromebook when I've had whatever school chooses to use we're not able to buy those resources without that student advice and it hit us we are looking at replacing devices for our secondary students and the tax for that is going to be about two hundred and sixty thousand dollars just for us to replace our secondary devices and if we replace our devices for elementary students who would be about the same so it just seems that the intent and the of the law that was written in it several years old was that school districts shouldn't have to pay for instructional materials and I believe the way the law is written it does not include devices for staff members it says student devices and I think that that goes along with the intent of the way the law was written several years ago. Be happy to answer any questions that you have thank you are there questions from members. Senator Johnson. Thank you Mr chairman a as well thank you for coming in in this issue is. To me it seems to be an evolution of where we are I'm so old I go back to when it nine through twelve yet by your own textbooks and believe me I parents **** about it and they were expensive and you had to get there and then they throw in a new one and it was more expensive than the used ones we used to get of I guess what I'm trying to get to is. Can you compare and contrast the cost of when the district ball physical textbooks compared to going to the electronics obviously the update part is a whole lot easier and probably a lot cheaper but from a upfront capital expenditure by the district in the. Replacement of of damage whatever can you kind of compare do we come out ahead as the as the school district near the state's going to have to deal with the tax situation a little differently and and you probably know we we have started addressing online downloads and things like that in our tax code can you talk about the the dollar difference is it is it a net plus I know it's a easier logistically thing probably but is it isn't it is it a net plus to your district I don't know if I can be definitive I can give you an estimate that's all for and let's take for example science if we were going to replace science textbooks and we were going to order hardback books as we would call them science textbooks now or over a hundred dollars a piece and so I'm looking at buying devices for about fifty four hundred kids so you can see that just that science textbook would be about five hundred and forty thousand dollars and you know we have to do textbooks for language arts we have to do math textbooks so we're the devices that we're looking at for these the same students is I believe three point two million dollars thanks excuse me two point three million dollars that month numbers backwards so you can see if we were to purchase all those hard back books for all of our subjects and that doesn't count electives career technical and things like that I believe it would be a wash yes Sir you sure can you to give give me an estimate of what your median price of your tablets are they may be different at different grade levels just a median price what we are looking at iPads we've had Chromebooks at our district the Chromebook is cheaper. Now that we're having to send them home with students for quarantine and the students are virtual they're not quite as robust and so we're making to the I. pad and so with our the apple care and everything I believe it's four hundred and twenty eight dollars what we're paying for not pass so it's only like. Three times the cost of this one science book yes Sir okay all right thank you very much as well thank you Mr Mr. Your of your. If you would statement for the record please. Paul hearing Arkansas department of finance administration. The lesser test will. Thank you Mr chair. Did they did issue a fiscal impact statement earlier today for Senate bill two forty four and we apologize for the delay I know that the committee had been asking for the fiscal impact statement before the winter storm we were waiting up on days statistical data from the department of education to get an understanding of the expenditures for technological equipment a we did get that data over the weekend it was follow up to me and yesterday afternoon by excise tax we have and calculated that the revenue impact and would be approximately four point four million dollars in fiscal year two thousand and twenty two. And then due to inflation the revenue impact would be approximately four point five million in the fiscal year two thousand twenty three so our purpose is signing up to speak against the bill our only because of the the revenue impact this is not accounted for the governor's balance budget I'd be happy to answer any questions about the revenue impact or any of defaced comments on the bill. Okay currently we we don't charge sales and use tax on. Schoolbooks is that correct that's correct a shared textbooks instructional materials as defined in the statute are exempt from sales and use tax okay in in now since. We're allowing into a digital air. With education and everything to me this seems likely that would be. We need to change our laws to because I know that practically every kid in the in the all of our schools is a home right now studying virtually and so I thank you some were along the lines were in we're going to have to catch up with. With the rest of the world in hand with technology so hence Miramar statement I understand senator and and we certainly have no it mistreated issues with the bill the purposes of speaking to a purely just for the revenue impact. Members of the questions from Mr. Seeing none thank you thank you Mr. Senator hammer the one close for your bill. Just point of clarification this is for informational purposes because the impact statement just came out this one I'll have another opportunity to come back before the committee is that correct. Okay well I mean I'll take a do pass and get out to me I'll be fine with that but read the tea leaves here. We're not given to passes yeah I don't think so I guess I just wanna make this observation just so members can be thinking about it and I will want to get with DFA to ask this question but of the law currently states that taxes would not be paid on the the text books and because textbooks have not been being sold and we have basically forced an unfunded mandate on the schools because we are requiring all sorts of electronic classes it can't be done with the textbook and have to be done with the tablets and other electronic devices the accounting of the revenue for the lost revenue or the zero revenue based on the text books that are not being sold as it's against the the textbooks that are or the employment center having to be purchased in the tax paid for by the school district that's part of what I wanna have a conversation with them to see how that shakes out in their in their report okay. Senator I would like to ask a question of your your witness. How long have you been using electronic of textbooks. I would say at least the last five years I want to tell you that we can't get a hardback book many of the companies are not making them anymore just because. Districts aren't using them and you relating into my next question when's the last time that you bought last textbooks. For everyone. We have been buying textbooks a classroom set so it's not for every student they don't take them home they might used in you know in class so that if we have issues with with technology at least we have a backup plan but I don't. This is my seventh year at Bronson internal I can't. I don't think in the seven years I've been it brought that we bought a textbook for every student. That answers my question it goes back to the question answer Johnson and ask. Three other questions. Seeing none thank you Center hammer we will be in touch. Senator Beckham. Members us will send her back was getting is silly Senate bill two fifty three does seven impacts that but we do not have that impact statement current time and so center back would like to go ahead and present his bill even though we didn't we don't have a impact statement for such. We will you do yes there's. Give me. Charles Beckham nice day centre District twelve. Of Mister chair thank you for the give me opportunity here of. I'd like to keep this bill on the calendar while worked with DFA. To try to find tune that impact statement we we had no idea that it would be that. Big of a number okay when the original drafting the bill so you would like to pull it down right now and keep it on the cal yes Sir okay yes we have objection. Other. You're dismissed and and we adjourned.