City, County & Local Affairs Committee- House

That I've talked to a chair and what we're what we thank you for your prayers for the night and and represent the flap on on going to the little things that we've dealt with and looking forward to getting him back so so so just discover Center prayers are we are we we have we have to bills to run today and the first bill is house bill eleven eighty three a Representative under would you read your run your bill. Is sold to the table. There. And present your bill. Your. Thank you thank the soft you can hear me. Thank you Mr chan thank you Committee Since I'm a freshman as my first bill running so it's an honor to run the first bill with all of you this the and also have a couple of guests here in case you have any questions for them to kind of give you a brief explanation and welcome to come up and speak to answer questions you might have a basically what this bill does there's there's three sections part of sections this bill it basically allows for recorder's offices to accept electronic payments on a credit card or debit card doesn't require them to do so but they are they may do it I my understanding is that many of the counties are already doing this but there's just not anything expressly in the law that that permits me to do it so we're clarifying that and then we I will point out that they are permitted to charge a transaction fee that they're charge but there they must keep it to the chart the charge that they're being charged that make sense so we make sure to make sure that was clear in the in the bill and also section to allowed give them discretion on accepting personal checks my understanding that there's been some issues with that so we want to give them some discussion on that And then section three it's just clean up language regarding leans it just doesn't change any fees or anything it's cross references some leans that's already in the Tartikoff I'd so that have any questions for me happy to answer those. If the. We're still gonna require the the District Court to accept personal checks. Yes this bill doesn't address that for the. Was there a reason behind. Circuit. Given that and given the autonomy then district not. I can let them answer that question in life but I would say no but I'm happy to. Help you with a bill if we need to do that so. I Sir thank you for property the circuit court reporter. He recognized that for the record. Hi. Okay can you start over. What you're going. And District Court follows different guidelines in the circuit court and that's why that was left that way because they kind of just want to leave their part there and they were not brought into this part of it were only correct in the circuit court side. And so this is not something that's required that they have to do. No it's our choir mates. Question for the records office. Are there anyone from the audience. Mr chairman I close my bill and move to do pass. You make a motion. I did Sir. I'm sorry I'm going back to our and I can't thank you for your signs up. J. representar. Okay we'll get this straightened out I bet Representative under way made is it is a motion of. Eight eight. Lows read I have a do pass on this bill all in favor of the do pass. Okay represented under what would you have a. read okay. What we. The. Okay all right you got me all right we need a a motion on Senate bill. Seventy. and I save. In the room for this this bill. This is different four in a row. Go back to. All in favor of the motion. Hi I oppose. The motion passed. Now. Retrospection you're ready to present your bill. From all the trade. And I'm hung up here. Hey that's what your rates are good for. All well. I am representing Nelda speaks and I have Senate bill seventy with me today it's it's the county treasurer's bill in a lot most of it is just to clean up. This this amendment to the to the law concerning the county financial records and financial operation of accounting this section one it amends the Arkansas Code thirteen dash four dash three oh four concerning the retention of the county financial records it also eliminates listings of several types of account ledgers for the or the permanent record such as the city accounts school accounts and so forth it strikes out cancel Lawrence schools do not use warrants anymore nor does the county treasurer. It combines the monthly treasurer's report the quorum court report and the prosecuting the prosecuting attorney's report they are the sign. It changes the wording for the municipal court to District Court as you know Amendment eighty did change All municipal courts to being nine District Court. All school documents in the part of the code is stricken since we no longer the county treasurer's no longer have served the school district as third thank no longer skirt serves the school as third district treasures section to it the legislators legislation gives authority to third party vendors on their payroll and also jury checks what they're trying wanting to do as permission to go and have a third party hire someone to come in thank some of they have one county that really thinks I can save money doing this and this will give them permission to to hire outside but they also have to follow all the rules of the other it with the books it repeals section three repealed the Arkansas Code fourteen dash fifteen dash eight oh three that required treasures in the county that had two different quorum a two DS different courthouses of the schools had required them to keep money that was that for they were located and that to the bank and so now this they've done away with that that was all done away in nineteen ninety five and all we're doing here is taking it off the books because it had since ninety five it has not even been law and it just gets better so it's if we're just doing what they should have done twenty five years ago. Amendment fourteen dash twenty four dash one twenty it reduces the amount of the board it checks it used to be for one year but banks today only take it for up to six months and so they're just lining that up to what the banks require. Amendment fourteen dash twenty four dash one twenty one to specify specifically allowed disbursement of county funds for payment of to be made like tronic to the federal government the federal government any no more everything has to be done by electronic the chief the cities and towns already have that or for authority and so all we're asking today is that we bring them up to where they can do that Amendment fourteen dashed twenty five dash one twenty one it amends the code of pre numbered checks you know the Clerk of the treasurer's office has to have remembered checks but you can't do that with this so this will give them the permission of the what they can do to not have to have the pre numbered Arkansas title twenty one chapter six. But subchapter three is amended amendment to add two additional section twenty one dash six dash three eleven that would allow county government offices and departments to accept payment for credit and debit with credit and debit cards and charge a fee to cover their cost this is just simply modera modernizing their offices. And I would appreciate a good vote and I'll take questions. Question. but in the Committee of question represented top. Representar el all. A resident. Okay. thank you Mr chair my question is dealing with the payroll on the jury duty allow an outside service to do it who currently does it for the county the county treasurer. Okay are we going to save money if we already paying a salary for a treasurer to do it and we're going to hire somebody from outside to do it will. There are a county that does believe they can do that it's I would imagine they do not have to pay for anyway any retirement or any of that kind of stuff and I'm sure that's one they think and it will just strictly be payroll. Vaught Mr. Okay but if the treasure is already paid to do it. And we're gonna tell them it's OK to hire a third party so you're hired an additional person that you would not have to hire so how are you saving money. That's my question you will not answer how will this let him answer that because I'm sure that works with that count and information for the record. Mr. It's on the right the left hand side. Okay. Authority of crystalline uxaxa director of the association of Arkansas counties and that is a good question what we have we have cases of people in it it's different county to county but you might have cases of people retiring and instead of bringing someone new into fill that role within the office if you can and and under section two it says at if the quorum court finds the assignment of duties provides quantifiable economic savings or increased efficiency then it can be done so we do have a mechanism mechanism in there to make sure that it's justifiable that we would go outside to do this I suspect only the largest of counties would be the first to jump on this because you would have that turn over within the offices I don't think you're gonna see smaller counties go right into that however I it's an opportunity to always look for cost saving save the taxpayers money by outsourcing some of it in this is in line with that thank the municipal league pass something similar similar to this last set. Representative right yes Sir Representative now to just question for you a house in county government for a long time and you know it was seven years at one time on auditing and then I think you want to five years now on page two it mentions official records of the treasures that are necessary for audit purposes are not required under this section may be destroyed three years or more after an audit is completed and approved by Arkansas Legislative audit the missed out a is that a change of all from five years to three years. I just don't know that's are just asking a question miss now because I thought you probably know. I'm sure it AS. Okay if follow place of missionary thank now it's three years instead of five. Let me look and see what it says here because. In what page did you say that we are members page to starting at line twenty three through twenty city. Representative speaks of on may I'm I'm being told from the gallery that that's not a change represented private already three years racers that it that it is okay okay thank you what is the right to edit a lot of money and question. Thank you thank you represents space is there any opposition you've heard for their any county groups or subgroups or and even individuals that you've heard anything negative about this from not at all of this this was and sent the Senate yesterday and he told me no questions was he sent. But it's good that you ask questions I mean. Reverend Kevin what. John. Thank you I want to go back thank you Mister chairman I want to go back to the question Representative Ryan was asking you're saying and it's not a change. But it is a change because you have it it's underlined in the bill it's an actual change. I'm sorry. There we go. So the the way the bill is working it is combining those things that we have to maintain for three years and one section and there there are receipts and paperwork that already fall through some of those cracks with this section of the bill is saying everything else has to meet has to be maintained for three years after audit so you're correct in that is it is a change in the bill but it's basically trying to catch everything whereas before I think we had things that would slip through the cracks that were not covered by this law. One of the things when I was county treasurer that is really there's nothing been actually down and riding that in one place that you can find on all of this and what they've been trying to do is come as he says combined all of this get it down to where these treasures and know exactly how long they have to keep these records and what and that and so they've been trying to do this for some time on several things because it's very hard when you really have is like chasing a rabbit trying to find out the retention of records for Mister chair. Okay we'll be the court. I understand retention of records made businesses it's a it's a nightmare we just say ten years and we're good to. But my question is this is three years after the audits complete how many years do they have the audit G.. Up most of the schools I mean most of the day up places not an lesser really small cities and and that but like with your schools and that I think ever year if I'm not mistaken. So we're just gonna keep records for four years. That's what I'm trying to figure out how long we're keeping records if I may we already or that that's what we're following as a standard right now but within this standard we things fall through the cracks this paragraph is designed to be a catch all so that we know now once and for all everything that's not address still has to be maintained in the office for three years we have had legislative audit look at this and that it and they gave a seal of approval on the bill okay thank you you that any of Richmond quit. It mentions miss Miller would this just cover the records for the treasure would display for every county office in the state in the courthouse. This is just this is just a treasurer Bills so it'll just be pertaining to the treasures. I have a question meeting. Top. This have just said I guess the question when things like this pass how is this communicated to the counties to ensure that I mean everyone is aware and and that you know they know to follow this. That's a an excellent question so this bills actually been put together by the treasures this is every two years the treasurer's will have what we call a clean up bill and we try and put it all together so that we can go through one time the treasures of been heavily involved in working on this bill and they sit down with us we help them drafted we talk with with nice folks like Representative speaks then following the session the association of counties will have such several events where we bring all of our county people in this time because they're used to doing advise and will have even better participation will be broadcasting it out at those events we walk through all of the legislation that passes that affects county government and Furthermore when the treasurer's association meets we actually handle the continuing education program for them we'll go around the state to to those meetings and discuss the legislation and any impact and so I I'm sorry I should have said this earlier this is really a normal thing that you'll see from from some associations the treasures are are impacted more by change by societal change that a lot of other groups because they're so much banking debit and credit cards so many things change over time that directly influence the operations of those offices of very good question thank. There anyone in the audience wants to speak for against this bill. I'll close but I want to say as a group and as being as county treasurer the association account or so thorough with this and with that I'll have a book and they have everything and so if you're going to five follow the guidelines they're there to help you with anything and so thank they have been I mean they are a good source thank you so much and I appreciate a good vote. The motion to pass the. Thank you very much thank you for taking are like. You have a you have a. Just a minute you have you have something on your desk and where the location of can I have can I have. The location of your. Can I change the location of where your pictures will be taken on Monday as change to the front steps of the capitol. Maschinen first edition will be there anything anybody else have anything if not we.