Public Transportation- House
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Bills discussed (13)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1745
Act 604
· 11 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…Steimel CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1745 Hawk TO REQUIRE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE HOLDERS T…”
|
TO REQUIRE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE HOLDERS TO POSSESS A UNITED STATES WORK AUTHORIZATION; TO … | Hawk | Notification that HB1745 is now Act 604 |
|
SB540
Act 702
· 10 mentions in transcript, agenda, chapter
Matched: “runs SB 540, if you would introduce yourself and. who's with you to tes…”
|
TO LIMIT THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IMPOSITION OF RESTRICTIONS ON … | M. Johnson | Notification that SB540 is now Act 702 |
|
HB1988
Act 930
· 4 mentions in transcript, agenda, chapter
Matched: “…sentatives. We're gonna recognize Representative Tash here, House Bill 1988.”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DISTRIBUTION OF AUTO AUCTION FEES FOR SALVAGE-TITLED OR PARTS-ONLY … | Tosh | Notification that HB1988 is now Act 930 |
|
SB492
Act 699
· 4 mentions in transcript, agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ntative Lanford, you're here, Langstrom, you're here to run Senate bill 492. Would you please introduce yourself, and you may proceedst…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE RELOCATION OF UTILITY FACILITIES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW … | J. Bryant | Notification that SB492 is now Act 699 |
|
SB496
Act 700
· 4 mentions in transcript, agenda, chapter
Matched: “Holliwell, District 37. Uh, I have a bill here, Senate Bill 496, it just changes one word, it changes the word dealer”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PERMITS FOR SPECIAL CARGOES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING … | Caldwell | Notification that SB496 is now Act 700 |
|
HB1284
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…rs and Staff Only'. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1284 Unger TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCAT…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A PERSON'S DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR … | Unger | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1371
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…D TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING A RESTRICTED DRIVER'S PERMIT. HB1371 Wardlaw TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COMPLETION OF A H…”
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TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COMPLETION OF A HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COURSE FOR THE … | Wardlaw | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1623
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ION COURSE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE. HB1623 J. Moore TO EXEMPT H-2A VISA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE…”
|
TO EXEMPT H-2A VISA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE A VALID INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERMIT … | J. Moore | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1989
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ERNING THE ACCESS OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES TO UNPAVED ROADS. HB1989 Cavenaugh TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING USED MOTOR VEHICLES B…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING USED MOTOR VEHICLES BUYERS PROTECTION; AND TO AMEND THE LAW … | Cavenaugh | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB261
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ROM THE SKILLS PORTION OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE EXAMINATION. SB261 A. Clark TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OPERATION OF AN AL…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OPERATION OF AN ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE ON CERTAIN ROADS; AND … | A. Clark | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB397
Act 931
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TE RELATED OFFENSES. REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle SB397 D. Wallace TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION OF…”
|
TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION OF RAIL EMPLOYEES IN REPORTS INVOLVING RAILROAD FATALITIES. | D. Wallace | Notification that SB397 is now Act 931 |
|
SB562
Act 704
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB562 Hill TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUD…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT; AND TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT … | Hill | Notification that SB562 is now Act 704 |
|
SB5
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “OK, members, we're gonna hear a Senate Bill 5. 562 Uh, by Senator Hill and, uh, Representative Holcomb, y…”
|
TO ADD THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG HARM OR HOMICIDE. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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started Cha sees decorum. Uh, we're gonna kind of deviate from the agenda just somewhat today, uh, Representative Lanford, you're here, Langstrom, you're here to run Senate bill 492. Would you please introduce yourself, and you may proceedstrom, District 18,
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
0:28
and I also have the senator here as well. Sent to Bryant.
Senator Bryant, uh, District 32. Y'all may proceed. Thank you so much. This bill is kind of a just a quick backstory. This pill had at least 30 people from the highway department, all the utilities and construction folks got together thanks to Senator Bryant's hard work. They've been meeting for quite a while to make the highway process of building a highway in Arkansas, much a cleaner process. It's a agreed upon bill that relocates utilities needed for highway construction to address the concerns from the Arkansas
Transportation Department and contracting. community and the utility community and behind me, you can see a lot of these people have put their heart and soul into trying to make this process cleaner. And with that, I'll let Senator Bryan ask any, answer any questions. Thank you. Uh,
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
1:20
yeah, it started for me in 2023 with Representative Fight. He was here
and he had an idea to help address some of the needs on how utilities are being relocated in the wake of a, of an ROC project. There's several issues in his district as well as mine where contractors were losing money, commuters were
losing, uh, valuable, uh, commute times. because of the issues and really what it came down to was that uh what I thought maybe an imbalance, but what it was was just maybe relationships that were strained because it is hard for utilities to get relocated on, on large projects. So, The goal was to basically reshape and restructuring what we found out was, uh, communication was key, and having a bill that restructures communication and outlines specific tasks, specific, um,
scheduling requirements with penalties that both parties agree on, that are advantageous to the general public is where we came up with this, uh, in this bill. So, uh, unique part of this is as we were going back and forth negotiations, the, uh, municipal utility. had a different take on it where they wanted our dot to have the flexibility to move their utilities because it's basically government to government, whereas private utilities did not want RA to exercise any authority to relocate their utilities. So it was a, a fair compromise. I believe it'll be,
uh, generous, uh, to the public and to the commute times and to the taxpayer to
save money. OK, any questions from committee? Representative
Speaker 13
2:53
Whittaker. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a real quick question. This sounds like a grand idea because in, in the past, in my district, we've had some real issues with this problem. Uh, I'm just curious what it, uh, would it apply to water authorities. Thank you.
Any other questions for the committee? I, I spoke with John Bethel from Energy. He said y'all
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
3:16
had made some amendments and addressed their concerns. John, do you still need to speak or do you, are you happy with it? OK, uh, I've got one more and I cannot read the name. I think it's Hill. Last name Hill. You're good,
OK. Anyone here to anyone else speak for or against the bill. OK. Thank Up Sa Barry
Representative Stan Berry
Unverified
3:42
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, What areas does this apply to? The statewide statewide. Any any R
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
3:51
dot project statewide on, on their infrastructure. OK. Thank you. Any other questions from
Speaker 15
4:04
committee? Hearing none, would you like to close? Colleagues, I'd like to say
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
4:12
again how, how much I appreciate Senator Bryant, but also our dot utilities, the construction folks, everybody got together and they parked their egos outside and they put the adults in the room and we reworked something that needed to be done since 1970. And this will help get our construction projects moving along a little bit quicker. And with that, I would appreciate a good boat. OK,
thank you. What's with the committee, Representative McIlroy, you recognize? Have a motion do pass
any discussion. Seeing no discussion, all in
favor say aye. Any polls seem like I hear none. Congratulations Bill passes. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you for your time. Representatives. We're gonna recognize Representative Tash here, House Bill 1988.
Jones Shipley
Unverified
5:14
Maybe present introduce yourself and proceed. The chair also uh like to ask that have a table with me, uh, the, uh, attorney for the Arkansas State Police. Just introduce
yourself, please, ma'am. You punched the button there, right. Good morning. My name is
Speaker 45
5:31
Joan Shipley. I'm chief of staff for the Department of Public Safety. Thank you, ma'am. All
Jones Shipley
Unverified
5:35
right, you may proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee members, this bill was brought to me by the Arkansas State Police several years ago,
there was legislation that was passed here by the General Assembly that, uh, authorized the uh state police or put state police to be responsible for these auto auctions around the state. When they did that, they, that, uh, legislation also assessed a, uh, an administrative fee that was in according to the legislation had to be used strictly for the administration of that program, the auto auction program. However, over
the years, uh, that program has accumulated about $900,000 currently, and the problem is the state police, they are unable to use that money because of the language in the legislation that was there when it was passed that what they're doing is just simply requesting that at least half of that money be transferred over to the state police general operations funds so they can use that money elsewhere where a good example they gave me was currently
troopers are in need to update their tasers and uh that's just one example. So, but it will give them the flexibility to be able to use that money where it, uh, If needed instead of having to come back to this General Assembly and, and ask for more money. So with that, I would uh take any questions. Do you have anything to add to that
Speaker 46
7:07
just arrived. Colonel, would you introduce yourself
to the comedian. Yes, sir. I apologize.
Speaker 50
7:13
I'm late. I'm, uh, Mike Hager, secretary
of Department of Public Safety and director of State Police.
Jones Shipley
Unverified
7:20
Thank you for being here. Carl. I just presented the bill was to the point to ask any questions. So, I guess with any questions, with the cardinal, and, uh, And Shee Bay, uh, hopefully we can answer them. Representative
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
7:33
Richmond, you recognize. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, Representative Tosh did, uh, Senator Payton give his OK on this auto auction bill Oh, we
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
7:41
hadn't heard from Senator Peyton, so I'm not sure.
Any other questions from committee? Anyone here to speak for or against the
Jones Shipley
Unverified
7:55
bill, seeing no questions, would you like to close, Mr. Chairman, committee, appreciate your time and I'm closed with the bill and appreciate a
good vote. OK, thank you. Representative Richmond, you recognize? I have a motion to pass any discussion. Seeing none all in favor say aye. Any opposes same like sign, hearing none. Congratulations, your bill passes. Thank you for
being here. Uh, Representative Holliwell. Uh, here to run Senate Bill
Speaker 59
8:34
496. You introduce yourself, you may proceed, uh, state representative Steve
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
8:37
Holliwell, District 37. Uh, I have a bill here, Senate Bill 496, it just changes one word, it changes the word dealer
to holler. This is like a farm equipment dealer. Sometimes they hire another person to ho their equipment, so this just transfer lets the hauler get the permit instead of the dealer. The dealer can also be the hauler, but he can also hire an outside hauler to haul his equipment also. That's all it does. Is one word.
OK. Any questions from the committee? You recognize? Thank you, Mr.
Speaker 25
9:18
Chairman. Just, uh, motion to pass at the appropriate time. OK.
Any other questions for committee? Anyone here to speak for against the bill, seeing
none car you recognize, I make a motion do pass. I guess you're closed. You're closed. I have recommendation of DuP pass and discussion from committee, saying none, all in favor say aye. Any opposed Sam like sign. Hearing none. Congratulations your bill passes. Thank you. OK.
Representative Hawk. Uh, you're here to concur and send an amendment, uh, House bill. 1745, you may proceed, introduce yourself. Thank you, Mr. Chair of the Committee. This is House
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
10:10
Bill 1745 that we passed not only in this committee, but on the House floor and when we got to the Senate end, we made a couple of corrections. So if you remember
correctly, uh, what this amendment does, uh, this was pertaining to work authorization forms, um, we, as we went through the process a little bit more, we realized that was a little broad. The, the term work authorization, so we took it down to, uh, a work visa. We added that into the, into the bill. Also in the we added um to the drivers need to have English proficiency, uh, into the bill. So, uh, that was something that people were asking for and, and we talked with the Attorney General a
little bit more about this and, and he determined that we could, in fact, uh, get that done here in Arkansas. And so that's all we added to the bill, uh, and it passed, uh, without any opposition in, into the Senate. Thank
you. Any questions from committee? Seeing none, we have one purse to speak against the bill, uh, Shannon Everett, Mr. Everett, if you will, approach the bench, identify yourself, and you may proceed.
Speaker 73
11:23
Just punch, punch the button and it'll turn green. There you go. Introduce yourself.
Speaker 75
11:29
Yeah, Shannon Everett, American Truckers United, uh, chairman and distinguished members of the House Transportation Committee. I just want to thank you for the opportunity to address you today regarding HB 1745. This bill was recently amended to include provisions for a valid work visa, and English proficiency for foreign commercial drivers on Arkansas roadways. I come before you to express serious concerns about the legislation, concerns rooted in safety, accountability, and the well-being of our state and nation.
Let's begin with the amendment requiring a valid work visa. On its surface, this might sound like a reasonable safeguard, but let's dig into the reality. The Arkansas Trucking Association has already testified before the judiciary Committee that foreign commercial driver's licenses are often counterfeit. Fake documents that undermine any sense of security on the highway. The original intent of this bill, we were told was to require more regulated, harder to forge, employment authorization documents or EAD cards. Yet this amendment. falls far short of that promise
by simply adding a valid work visa, it opens the door to unvetted B1 tourists and business visitor visas. Drivers who won't possess EAD cards, but will make up over 90% of the foreign commercial driver's licenses on our roads. What does this mean for you as legislators? Your vote on this bill would mark a historic shift up until now, foreign commercial drivers have operated on our highways, not because of state law, but because of federal agency actions and trade negotiations, loopholes beyond your control.
A vote for HB 1745 changes that. You would become some of the first state legislators in the nation to go on record supporting unvetted foreign commercial drivers on our highways. This isn't just an Arkansas issue, it's a national precedent. And with that precedent comes responsibility not just for the policy, but for the accidents, the fraud, and the glaring gaps in national security that will follow. This isn't closing a loophole, it's codifying one end of state law. Now, let's turn to the 2nd Amendment, English proficiency. Again, it sounds reasonable. Who wouldn't want drivers to understand road signs, safety signs. We put that in a bill
that was, that hasn't been brought before committee yet. But these regulations are already in existence in federal law and aren't being enforced. So what good is a rule if there's no mechanism to ensure compliance. Worse, without proper vetting tied to EAD cards. Many of these drivers will be operating on these visitor visas that I described. If they violate this proficiency standard, how do you hold them accountable? You can't collect a fine from someone who doesn't live here and who is already gone and can't be extradited in for a court appearance. You're not putting your truck out of service or impounding
their vehicle in this law. This provision is toothless and empty gesture that does nothing to address the real dangers on our highways. In summary, we oppose HP 1745 because it fails to address the imminent hazards already plaguing Arkansas highways. It takes federal loopholes, problems we've long criticized and enshrines them into state law, putting Arkansas at the forefront of a policy that jeopardizes safety and accountability. This bill would still leave the deaths of Mark Bryant and Scott Miller, tragedies that are tied to these issues unaddressed and unpunished. It would still allow
American jobs to be replaced by foreign drivers with no reciprocal opportunities for our own truckers abroad, and it would still leave our roads vulnerable to fraud and danger. Members of this committee, your vote on HB 1745 is not just a procedural step. It's a statement. It's a decision about whether Arkansas will lead the way in protecting its citizens or become the first to legitimize a broken system. I urge you to reject this bill and send a clear message, we will not trade safety for shortcuts, nor accountability for expediency. Let's keep Arkansas roads safe, secure, and fair for all those who call the state
home. Thank you, Mr. E. Any question from Mr. Everett from committee members. Thank
you for your testimony. Anyone else speak for against the. The bill Saying none Uh No
questions from committee. Uh, you can close representing Hall. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and, uh,
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
15:23
you know, once again, I, I would say that, uh, everything that he just said, uh, when it comes
talking about the EAD, that's for residents. And, and what we're saying is that we are trying to crack down on fraudulent CDLs from Mexico. That's the big thing what we're trying to do. They can already drive in the United States because of federal law, right? And, and so what all we're saying is before you enter into the United States, you got to contact the federal government and, and get this documentation. In addition to what they already have so that We know that they don't have a fraudulent CDL and now we've also added the English proficiency to this, and so, um, look, it's a good bill. I, I
think, and by the way, the state of Texas did this two session or last session, uh, and so we aren't the only state that, that is doing something like this to
counteract this. Uh, with that being said, I would appreciate a good vote and I make a motion to pass. All right.
Thank you for any, uh, OK, can I, do I have a motion from from anyone on the committee. Oh, Representative Hawke has new pay and discussion on the motion. Being none, all in favor say
aye. Any opposes same like sign here none. Congratulations, your amendment passes. Thank you. Anyone else?
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
17:24
OK, members, we're gonna hear a Senate Bill 5. 562 Uh, by Senator Hill and, uh, Representative Holcomb, you recognized the Begin your presentation. Thank you,
Mr. Chair, committee, Mike Ho from District 93. This is a really simple bill. It just does away with a, a duplicate reports actually all it does, uh, uh, the same art out standards applied by the Office of the Inspector General are used by our dot. And so we're actually
just doing away with one report because it's already being done by someone else. It just, uh, eliminates additional audit requirements and, and reports, so. That's basically it, and I'll be glad to answer any questions. OK, thank you. Any questions from members? See
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
18:07
any. Uh, is anybody in the audience here to speak for against this bill? I don't see any, I guess you recognized clothes for your bill. I'm closed and I recommend to do pass. All right, we have a motion on the table. All those in favor say aye.
All opposed same sign. Congratulations, you've passed your bill.
Representative in it. Which one? I ain't you recognize
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
19:08
runs SB 540, if you would introduce yourself and. who's with you to testify, and you may proceed. Good
Olivia Cox
Unverified
19:14
morning. Transportation Committee, I am state Representative Denise Inne, District 80 parts of downtown Little Rock and Pulaski County, and today I have Miss Cox here to help me present Senate bill.
5:40 Ms. Cox, would you turn your mic on there and
Speaker 97
19:33
introduce yourself, please. Who you're with Olivia Cox. I'm a nurse practitioner. I specialize in adult neurology. So I'm here, uh, representing neurology
providers here across the state. Thank you,
Olivia Cox
Unverified
19:45
ma'am. Representative Bennet, you may proceed. Yes, Arkansas currently does not have any um anything um any laws about um driving after you've had a seizure, um, this bill simply put, put in. that it's 6 months.
Caesar, Caesar, Caesar, I'm sorry, I've been running. I'm running 3 deals. I'm sorry we're all in the same place you are. Um, so this would put into statue that um 6 months after you've had a seizure, um, currently in the rules DFNA have rules, there's 12 months, so this is going to bring it up to bring it down to 6 months and I have Miss Cox here to answer questions if the committee has any questions. Miss Cox, are you gonna testify you won't take questions first.
Speaker 97
20:33
You got, if you got comment, go ahead. I've got a brief statement I'd like to make really quick that I hope will answer most of them. Uh, again, my name is Olivia Cox. I've been working as a nurse practitioner specializing in adult neurology for the last 8 years. Um, the goal with this bill, SB 540, is to align Arkansas state law with evidence-based practice, uh, regarding driving restrictions in persons who have suffered from a seizure. Uh, current policy And again that is a rule through the DFA requires a 12 month
seizure-free interval, uh, SB 540 will reduce that to a maximum of 6 months, which is in line with the majority of other states, 38 other states, OK? Um, and so, you know, I talk about here how difficult conversations are a major part of our job, uh, in neurology, where most of the diseases we treat are chronic, progressive, and often have very few treatments. Um, that said, I can tell you with certainty that the most difficult and dreaded conversations that I have with
patients always pertain to, um, persons who have suffered a seizure and how it impacts their ability to drive. Um, unfortunately, these conversations occur just about every day. I had one this morning before I headed this way. Um, the ability to drive is a key factor in quality of life, and when that ability is restricted, it's, it's significantly um affects an individual's autonomy, their ability to work and to care for their families. Uh, these are the trends that we see in the literature, um, states with mandatory reporting and prolonged seizure-free interval requirements such as ours, um,
do not reduce the risk of seizure-related motor vehicle fatalities compared to shorter, seizure-free intervals. Um, in fact, larger A larger, longer seizure-free interval requirements and mandatory clinician reporting, increase the likelihood of unlicensed driving and patients withholding information about their condition from practitioners. SB 540 will bring Arkansas closer to the American Academy of Neurology, American Epilepsy Society, and Epilepsy Foundation of America, 2025 position statement that was released in
March of this year and it balances public safety with the rights and quality of life for individuals with epilepsy. That said, I'd
Speaker 100
22:43
love to take any questions. Any questions from
Speaker 23
22:49
committee? Representative Womack, you, you should be on it's not just press it. Thank you. So, I don't have
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
22:56
any opposition to this in theory, but how, how would this play out in the real world? Like, I'm wondering, like the office of driver services. How would they know the last date of the Of the last seizure and, and
Speaker 100
23:09
those kind of things. How would typically it's gonna be in the in the in their medical,
Speaker 97
23:14
you know, um, reports, their medical charts, right? And so oftentimes what what ends up happening is that they end up being an issue of liability, right? So if I have a patient that, let's say, yes, you're right, we don't report them. And so in theory, you know, they could get pulled over and they could have their driver's license run and they're not gonna have anything come back, but if they were to have some type of accident that were to happen, seizure related or not, maybe they were to injure someone else and But they, this is shortening that interval there of not
driving. But again, all practitioners across the state are telling all of their patients, whether they're epileptic or not, maybe they just had a one-time seizure that if you have a seizure, you can't drive for 12 months. And so we're just trying to shorten
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
23:56
that interval. OK. So, go back to just like the practical application. How, how does this Uh, Office of driver Services, no. I mean, if they're the ones making the call like this is a six-month deal now. I mean, are they, are, are the people required to go
Speaker 97
24:11
self-report or um. Yes, uh, well, no, they're not required to self-report to the office of driver services, but they're just, it's operating under good faith and so we're just, we're trying to increase the compliance with operating under good faith
Speaker 100
24:27
and operating under the, the seizure-free interval, the shortening requirement here. We're trying to Does that
make sense? Ah Well, our confusion is the reporting, who knows when they had a seizure and. Who knows when they vast
Speaker 97
24:42
majority of states do not require any reporting to the office to the Office of drivers Services. And so it's a, it's an issue of, I think good faith and then also ability to get their license. So I, you know, I have patients that'll be 15 years old and are going to get their driver's license for the first time that if they've had a seizure within 12 months and they can't even apply for the license. I, I'm, I, I think
Speaker 31
25:07
we've, we're not, we're not trying to to kill your bill. We just got some concerns
about reporting, uh, if, if we're not reporting, it seems to me like there ought to be some way to keep a record of how,
how we're, how we're, how we're going about this. I mean, how, so DFNA can know to enter it uh so our police officers will know, so I see we got someone else
wanting to testify, so if you will representative, is that alright with you? Yes, I have here. Johnson, please introduce yourself who you're with and
Speaker 72
25:36
you may proceed. Allison Johnson, um, um, a, um, epilepsy advocate.
Speaker 110
25:45
Uh, currently, um, to answer your question, currently right now, uh, there's a rule in through, made through DFNA Department of driver Services that says that if a person has a seizure, that they cannot drive for 12 months. They have to be seizure free for 12 months. There is currently not a requirement for doctors to report to the Department of driver services if one of their patients has a seizure. And that's the way it is almost across the nation. One of the Major reasons for that is
because you can imagine a patient doctor relationship can be greatly damaged if like their doctor is telling on them to the to DFNA. So what is currently happening and it's been happening for many years, is, um, just like Olivia said when a doctor, uh, when a patient, um, goes in front of a doctor and says that they've had a seizure, that what they have to explain is, right now, Arkansas law says you can't drive for 12. months. And so that is expressed
from the doctor to the patient. There is no mechanism regarding, um, the reporting to DFNA. Now, if a doctor chooses, a doctor can, can right now by um, by option if they are in fear of a patient, um, and they're driving, you know, that their seizures are out of hand and, and whatnot, they can, they can report a patient that is voluntarily, voluntary, but. We do not want to, um, require
doctors to To tattle on their, their patients to, to DFNA. Well, Ms. Johnson, you see that,
you see our dilemma. We're, we're not saying 6 months is any different than 12 months our dilemma or what we're concerned with are, are is the safety of the people out there driving, if it's not reported some way and how we could, of course, I, I, I assume that if they wanted to drive they'd drive anyway, but that's what we're trying to figure out.
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
27:47
I say we have questions from committee. Representative Richmond, you recognize. Yeah, wait a minute, hold on. Yeah Uh, there you go. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I, I, I guess we're one of the few states or maybe there's many states that do not require the doctors or somebody to report to DFA that this individual. Has had a seizure or whatever so we don't keep up with that at this time, uh, but passing this
bill, will it, will it help address or mitigate Liability issues. For somebody that, uh, you know, instead of that if I, I suspect that if I had a seizure, I go out and I drive within that 12 month period right now, and I have an accident even though it wasn't because of a seizure or anything else that I would be at a higher level of liability on that and that moving it 6 months, then that reduces that.
higher level of liability. Is that what we're trying to accomplish here, maybe I think that's
Speaker 97
28:53
part of it, and then, I mean, I think, um, part of it too is that, I mean, how, how do they know now there's not a reporting requirement now for 12 months, and so we're just trying to, we, it's not being reported now. And so there's not a change in that aspect of it. We're just trying to shorten the interval of what we can tell our patients that they're able to drive. But yes, I do think it changes liability if it's a non-seizure related
Speaker 100
29:12
accident, um, and so we have a shorter interval for that. I will add that, um, there was a
Speaker 110
29:20
study done in Maryland that, uh, Uh, estimated the difference in time, um, between a certain intervals, and basically, they found that there is no difference in intervals related to seizure-related accidents. A seizure can happen anytime. It's based on medication and other circumstances so someone could go. a month and have a seizure, they could go 2 years and then have a seizure. What we don't want to do definitely is, um, restrict anything and damage any patient,
um, doctor relationship. Well, I, I would address this to Ms. Cox or Ms. Johnson, either one. I would, I would. Assume that probably there's lots of people that have seizures and do not report it because they know they're gonna
Speaker 97
30:05
lose their driving privileges for a year, so in that out in Maryland in Arizona, we saw that a shorter interval showed an increase in patients who were willing to report that they'd had a seizure and therefore seek treatment.
I get that. OK. Any, any other questions from committee? Uh, Representative Bro, you
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
30:22
recognize, you know, and I'm starting to understand this, but what is it going to change? I know from 12 months to 6 months, but who's gonna know? Is there any way you can show that? That's a great
Speaker 110
30:35
question. The, um, basically the doctors. Right now, doctors are telling their patients currently, as Olivia said she did today, telling their patients, if they come in, they report a seizure, they're getting treatment and they say, you have to go 12 months without driving. This would change it, so they would say it would be, they, it would
be 6 months and the rest can be made up and is, uh, would be made up in rules in DFNA regarding a lesser amount of time depending on the other type of seizure and stuff like that, but this just simply in the code, it simply says that driver services shall.
Speaker 124
31:10
not restrict a license for a person that has had
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
31:14
a seizure for more than 6 months. OK, OK, so would, would it be a good idea to have a documentation saying 6 months or so.
Uh, would it make sense to amend that to say in 6 months or 12. Somebody needs to be accountable to that's what I'm thinking. It's that, isn't that what the bill does? OK. I'm I'm sorry, we're not, we're
not, we're not trying to kill you here. We're just trying to get, we're, we're just being informed.
We, we were not aware of how this works and so we're just asking these questions to be enlightened about really what's going on and if there's anything else we
need, maybe do in the future to to help with this, so you understand that, so, OK. Any other questions from
committee? I, I see no one to speak for against the bill, uh, would
Olivia Cox
Unverified
32:12
you like to close, Representative? Um, thank you for this robust conversation about the bill, um, SB 540 will take a significant step towards updating our state's policy to reflect current medical understanding and ensure that individuals who
are who have experienced seizures are treated with fairness and empathy. This bill not only prioritized public safety, but also acknowledged the capabilities and rights of those affected, fostering a more inclusive and just society. And I would ask for a good vote.
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
32:43
Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. What's the
will of the committee, Representative, uh, McIlroy, you recognize? Have a motion do pass any
discussion from committee. Seeing none, all in favor, say I
and oppose same like sign. Congratulations, your bill passes. I'd just like to take a minute to recognize uh former highway commissioner, former chairman of this transportation committee who I was vice chair under. Miss Percy Hicks and Miss Percy, would you kind of give her a hand if you would, folks. Thank you for being here today. She served the state well and we appreciate you visiting us today. OK, hang on just a minute.
Representative Rye. You prepared to run Senate Bill 397. You may approach, introduce Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
33:56
be with you today. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir, um.
gentlemen and ladies, this bill that we're working on here is strictly for confidentiality for the people that are driving trains that are having wrecks. Happens every now and then. Um, I have Gerald Sale with me here from Smart Transportation, the director. And I'm gonna tell you just a little bit about this so that you'll understand what we're trying to, to do, uh, it's crucial in addressing, oh, I need to identify myself is that right, sir? We appreciate Mr.
State representative District 36. I'm sorry, sir, uh, this bill is crucial in addressing the challenges faced by train crews, particularly in the context of the emotional toll and uh. Potential harassments that they face during a fatality. Unfortunately, almost every conductor or engineer will be involved in the least one crossing, at least one crossing fatality during their career. Most will experience more than one. In the event of an
accident, the crew is responsible for assessing damage to infrastructure, equipment and human toll. Critical information must be relayed to first responders as quickly and accurately as possible while this is the duty of all, of all of us to accept the expose his crews to ghastly scenes due to the stress that crows experience. They are immediately relieved and provided time off and counseling if requested. The industry has done an
admirable job in accepting and trying to mediate mitigate the lingering effects of fatalities. The reports, which is very important situation. The reports involving railroad facilities, fatalities, excuse me, all reports involving railroads fatalities and all communications between police officers, train crew members involved in these occurrences shall be maintained by the police departments. And any persons in subsequent
possession thereof listed below in a manner that ensures a confidentiality of the train crew's private information. Any reports made public shall have trained crew members, private information redacted. However, upon written, Our electronic mail requests. Such reports shall be accessible at all reasonable, reasonable times and, and, and Gerald, you may want to give them a little recap of what. Except to you, Jer, if you will
introduce yourself, who you're with and if you got, if you wanna
Speaker 133
36:40
thank you, Mr. Chair, um, Gerald Samart Transportation, uh, division. I want to thank, uh, the chair and the committee for allowing me to be here today. Uh, pretty simple. I've been a conductor 21 years. I've been involved in fatalities, unfortunately, and what this really does is it just will allow for us to, uh, remain anonymous, uh, most of these fatalities are through no fault of our own. We're kind of trapped on there and uh see everything unfortunately, um. We went ahead and we worked with the Press association to make sure that they didn't have an issue with it. We made some
changes for them. We made some changes for FOIA and the railroads as well. So, uh. No one's opposed to this. We, we have, uh, no issue, uh, that we've run into yet and I just want to answer any questions if anyone had anything specific. The the reasoning for this more so now is, um, basically just due to the internet and social media. Uh, we're running into instances where once our names are published, then it's out on social media and then it's easy to track someone down now easier than it was in the past and potentially ask questions or harass them. That's uh all we're trying to avoid at this point.
Speaker 136
37:38
OK. Thank you. Questions from committee. Representative Brown. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a quick question, do you know of other entities that have, um, this protection of anonymous of their information not being disclosed. Is this Other This is common in other areas. It's tough for me to, to answer that just because
Speaker 138
38:05
I only work in this specific area. I'm, I'm not
Speaker 134
38:09
aware of any, um, this is just something that's, uh, just due to the nature of our positions. It's, it's a little bit different. I know the, the general public doesn't always understand we get questions about, you know, why didn't you avoid the accident, they think we have a steering wheel or accelerator or a brake, and that's not really the way we work, you know, often it takes 1 mile, 1.5 to stop, so you're kind of trapped up there seeing everything, then having to react to it. So, uh, the, the nature. Uh, to us is, is a little bit different than, than most professions where We're in a situation where it's,
uh, honestly unavoidable, probably 99% of the time.
Sure. Thank you. Any other questions from committee? He won here to speak for against the bill.
Speaker 44
38:52
Seeing nones represented, why would you like to close? Yes, sir, I'm close.
His bride's closed. What's the will of the committee? Representative Whittaker, you recognize? I have a motion do pass any discussion on the motion. Seeing none, all in favor, say aye. Any opposed same like I hearing none. Congratulations, your bill passes. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
OK. Any other business to come before the committee today. I'm gonna gavel out, but stay
Agenda
CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1745 Hawk TO REQUIRE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE HOLDERS TO POSSESS A UNITED STATES WORK AUTHORIZATION; TO REQUIRE THE OPERATOR OF A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE TO HAVE ENGLISH PROFICIENCY; AND TO CREATE RELATED OFFENSES.
Hawk
REGULAR AGENDA
Number Sponsor Subtitle
SB397 D. Wallace TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION OF RAIL EMPLOYEES IN REPORTS INVOLVING RAILROAD FATALITIES.
Rye
HB1988 Tosh TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DISTRIBUTION OF AUTO AUCTION FEES FOR SALVAGE-TITLED OR PARTS-ONLY TITLED VEHICLES; AND TO AMEND THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH AUTO AUCTION FEES MAY BE USED.
Tosh
SB492 J. Bryant TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE RELOCATION OF UTILITY FACILITIES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ACQUISITION, CONDEMNATION, AND DISPOSITION OF REAL PROPERTY BY THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION.
Bryant
SB496 Caldwell TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PERMITS FOR SPECIAL CARGOES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT FOR SPECIAL CARGO TRANSPORTED BY A FARM MACHINERY EQUIPMENT HAULER.
Hollowell
SB540 M. Johnson TO LIMIT THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IMPOSITION OF RESTRICTIONS ON A DRIVER'S LICENSE OF A PERSON WHO HAS SUFFERED A SEIZURE.
Ennett
SB562 Hill TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT; AND TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN ANNUAL PROJECT REVIEW AND EFFICIENCY STUDY OF THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
Holcomb
DEFERRED BILLS
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1284 Unger TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A PERSON'S DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PAY A COURT-ORDERED FINE; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING A RESTRICTED DRIVER'S PERMIT.
HB1371 Wardlaw TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COMPLETION OF A HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COURSE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE.
HB1623 J. Moore TO EXEMPT H-2A VISA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE A VALID INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERMIT FROM THE SKILLS PORTION OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE EXAMINATION.
SB261 A. Clark TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OPERATION OF AN ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE ON CERTAIN ROADS; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ACCESS OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES TO UNPAVED ROADS.
HB1989 Cavenaugh TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING USED MOTOR VEHICLES BUYERS PROTECTION; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE USED MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER'S LICENSE APPLICATION PROCESS.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION- HOUSE, Apr 8, 2025 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Representative Mike Holcomb Chair
Unverified
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
Speaker 13
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
Representative Stan Berry
Unverified
Speaker 15
Jones Shipley
Unverified
Speaker 45
Speaker 46
Speaker 50
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
Speaker 59
Representative Steve Hollowell
Unverified
Speaker 25
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
Speaker 73
Speaker 75
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
Olivia Cox
Unverified
Speaker 97
Speaker 100
Speaker 23
Speaker 31
Speaker 72
Speaker 110
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
Speaker 124
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
Speaker 133
Speaker 136
Speaker 138
Speaker 134
Speaker 44