City, County & Local Affairs Committee- House
Video
Transcript
1 document
Bills discussed (20)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1627
Act 877
· 5 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…REAL PROPERTY UNDER ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 16, § 5. HB1627 Barnett TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF; AN…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF; AND TO REQUIRE COUNTIES TO PROVIDE NOTICE … | Barnett | Notification that HB1627 is now Act 877 |
|
HB1911
· 4 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…A MUNICIPAL OFFICE. REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1911 Lundstrum TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ASSESSMENT OF PRO…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPERTY TAX; … | Lundstrum | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
|
HB1976
Act 883
· 4 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…ING CERTAIN PROPERTY TAX RELIEF OFFERED UNDER ARKANSAS LAW. HB1976 Nazarenko CONCERNING VERTIPORTS; AND TO CREATE THE OPEN ACC…”
|
CONCERNING VERTIPORTS; AND TO CREATE THE OPEN ACCESS TO PUBLIC-USE VERTIPORTS ACT. | Nazarenko | Notification that HB1976 is now Act 883 |
|
HB1894
Act 842
· 3 mentions in transcript, chapter, agenda
Matched: “members of the committee, I have a House Bill 1894 that we heard last week through the committee's hard work.…”
|
TO ESTABLISH A METHOD OF VALUATION FOR REAL PROPERTY USED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING; AND TO … | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1894 is now Act 842 |
|
HB1912
· 3 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1912 Lundstrum TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "ASSESSED VALUE" FOR P…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "ASSESSED VALUE" FOR PURPOSES OF THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY; AND … | Lundstrum | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1555
Act 995
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…Painter CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1555 Painter TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM PROCEDURES FOR FILLING A VACAN…”
|
TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM PROCEDURES FOR FILLING A VACANCY IN A MUNICIPAL OFFICE. | Painter | Notification that HB1555 is now Act 995 |
|
HB1936
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…CT TO TAXATION BE LISTED OR REPORTED BY THE PROPERTY OWNER. HB1936 R. Burkes AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION TO CE…”
|
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION TO CERTAIN MUNICIPAL OFFICES. | R. Burkes | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1983
Act 1026
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ORCING BUILDINGS AND ZONING REGULATIONS ON COUNTY PROPERTY. HB1983 Eubanks TO AMEND ACTS 1973, NO. 167, § 4, CONCERNING THE SA…”
|
TO AMEND ACTS 1973, NO. 167, § 4, CONCERNING THE SALE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY TO … | Eubanks | Notification that HB1983 is now Act 1026 |
|
SB525
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB525 M. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING INCORPORATION AND OR…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING INCORPORATION AND ORGANIZATION OF MUNICIPALITIES; AND TO TRANSFER INCORPORATION DUTIES … | M. Johnson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB553
Act 671
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TO TRANSFER INCORPORATION DUTIES TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE. SB553 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTING LAW; T…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTING LAW; TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF A MUNICIPAL TREASURER; … | K. Hammer | Notification that SB553 is now Act 671 |
|
HB1130
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TION ORDINANCE IS NOT ADOPTED; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. HB1130 Pilkington TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PERMITTING FOR RESID…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PERMITTING FOR RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION; TO AMEND THE FAST-TRACK PERMITS ACT; … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1331
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…IPAL ACCOUNTING LAW. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1331 Barnes TO REQUIRE A COUNTY TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE UNDER THE…”
|
TO REQUIRE A COUNTY TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE UNDER THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE FOR THE … | Barnes | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1436
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OW A LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO CREATE A HOUSING IMPROVEMENT ZONE. HB1436 Steele TO PLACE LOCATION RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN FOOD PROCE…”
|
TO PLACE LOCATION RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS OPERATING A SLAUGHTERHOUSE ON THE SAME … | Steele | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1448
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…PROPERTY OWNER'S INFORMATION POSTED ON AN ONLINE DATABASE. HB1448 Puryear TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL PLANNING AREA…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL PLANNING AREAS; AND TO REQUIRE NOTICE AND COMPENSATION TO … | Puryear | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1565
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TERHOUSE ON THE SAME GROUNDS AS THE FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS. HB1565 R. Burkes TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DUTIES OF A COUNT…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DUTIES OF A COUNTY PROPERTY ASSESSOR; AND TO PERMIT … | R. Burkes | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1567
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AND TO REQUIRE NOTICE AND COMPENSATION TO PROPERTY OWNERS. HB1567 McClure TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "MOTOR VEHICLE RACING FA…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "MOTOR VEHICLE RACING FACILITY" RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE RACING FACILITY … | McClure | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1660
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…MOTOR VEHICLE RACING FACILITY PERMITS IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS. HB1660 S. Meeks TO AMEND THE HORIZONTAL PROPERTY ACT; TO REGULATE…”
|
TO AMEND THE HORIZONTAL PROPERTY ACT; TO REGULATE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS; AND TO REQUIRE AN … | S. Meeks | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1711
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 4/7/25 @ 10:52 AM) Removed HB1711 House Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs Monday,…”
|
TO ALLOW A MUNICIPAL PORT AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH A POLICE FORCE; AND TO ESTABLISH THE … | Unger | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
|
SB263
Act 330
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…rkansas Constitution Amendment 79. Most recently, we passed Senate Bill 263, which is now Act 330, which increases the homestead tax cr…”
|
TO INCREASE THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT. | Crowell | Notification that SB263 is now Act 330 |
|
SB571
Act 1002
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “SB571 J. Petty TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL BUILDING AND…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL BUILDING AND ZONING REGULATIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT A MUNICIPALITY … | J. Petty | Notification that SB571 is now Act 1002 |
Machine transcript
May contain errors. Verify important quotations against the official video.
About transcript accuracy
- Source
- Whisper
- Model
- ggml-large-v3-turbo.bin RTX5060
- Processing date
- October 6, 2026
Speaker 1
0:00
that that monies would be used specifically for the 250 acres and maintaining that property in
Chair
Unverified
0:06
the in the bill it specifies that that remaining property if it's not if it's not used for scouting it will revert back to this back to the state right but you're wanting
Speaker 1
0:19
us to change that now so how do we from a state perspective how do we have guarantees that any monies that are received associated with the 2,500 acres that you plan to sell actually will go to supporting
the 250 acres and the scouting property that's there in
Chair
Unverified
0:41
of the Scout Council has passed a resolution and provided it saying that we will use that money to improve scouting properties in arkansas so not just this property any other properties that
Chair
Unverified
1:02
council from west ark area council
that merged in recently has another camp that's up on the buffalo river and it also needs some repair and maintenance. Thank you. Representative Holcomb, you're recognized. Just briefly, do you have a, are you going
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
1:21
to put this property, you're going to sell it up for public auction? If you've got a buyer already, you're going
Chair
Unverified
1:29
to advertise it? How are you going to do that? I do not have a buyer. Wasn't reasonable to go forward with it with the
terms that are on the property now, so it will be, you know, we'll look for it. We're not plan on auction that we need to get the full value of the property okay
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
1:48
thank you represent a brown you're recognized for
Speaker 15
1:53
questions thank you mr. chair um is there
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
1:59
any kind of accountability for how the money's spent if it'll be spent wisely and not you know it not not squandered on other things the council
Chair
Unverified
2:13
has has passed a resolution that says the funds will be used on scout properties in arkansas um so
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
2:22
um are the scout properties in need of repair at this time yes
Chair
Unverified
2:29
that that property uh that we're talking about has been being used for 50 years and some of the facilities on that and poor repair and need work. And the property up on the Buffalo River
Speaker 21
2:46
is also approximately 50 years old
and needs a lot of work. So one
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
2:52
more question. So do you feel like the value of the property that you're going to sell, that you would like to sell, is going to be sufficient to rehab these two facilities? oh it's it's gonna go
Chair
Unverified
3:07
a long way still to making that property really good you know we have grand plan so we'll probably end up needing to raise some money for some of it
Speaker 23
3:16
but it will definitely take care of the of the
Speaker 24
3:20
maintenance issues that are there now thank you that's all my questions all right seeing no more questions from committee members I don't believe we have anybody signed up to speak for
Representative Jon S. Eubanks
Unverified
3:36
or against representative Eubanks would you like to close for your bill uh yes i would uh i've been involved in scouts while
my boys were at home my three boys are eagle scouts they've been to the camp on the buffalo they've been uh to the roger scout camp they they've worked uh you know this is where they work on their merit
badges and uh do the things that i think helps prepare them for adulthood so uh with that i'm close and I'd appreciate a good vote.
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
4:03
All right representative Eubanks is closed for his bill. We have a motion do pass. Any discussion on that motion? Seeing none. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Ayes
Speaker 33
4:19
have it. Congratulations you passed your bill. Next up representative Nazarenko House Bill 1976.
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
4:30
you'll introduce yourself for the record you
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
4:35
may begin thank you mr chairman uh representative nazarenko district four marion counties and baxter county so today very excited to bring the house bill 1976 as you can tell if you're reading through it it's it's a futuristic bill talking about a vertiport so what i want to do is kind of give a little bit of definitions and explanation first and then we'll kind of go into what it actually would do for us as arkansas so as you can see in the bill it does start off with definitions and vertiports is probably the most
important one to talk about so if you think of an airport like we have currently or heliport vertiport is similar but it's dealing with an ev tall so an electronic vertical takeoff and landing aircraft so having to do with like an unmanned or a manned uav is another word that some folks call them. So a vertiport would just be an area where they would all operate. They can be of varying sizes because it could be for just a single VTOL or multiple VTOLs and so it would
just depend on how many you had as it got bigger. That would be probably pretty good for definitions. If you look here we're talking about advanced air mobility and there's a lot of there has been a lot of talk on different channels about advanced air mobility this bill initiative came from alec this was an initiative that came up because they could see the transitioning of uav unmanned and manned aircraft helping out communities we know that drones are being used for different organizations
to deliver products and so then there's a an op there's a opportunity for us to move into a realm where we move people and cargo and so they just needed to make sure that there's something in place as we move forward. Advanced air mobility is poised to revolutionize urban and regional transportation by 2035. This is something that they're working on by 2027, and it was a recent article that did come out. They also is projected to reach a valuation of several hundred billion dollars over time, and we know here in Arkansas we've got a big push on aviation with the
Desaunt factory that's here, and we've got a lot of folks that are poised to enter that space. Hyundai being one of them, they're over $20 billion. They've guaranteed that they're going to be investing into the community as well. So as you can see by the bill, what is setting it up is we're setting up an opportunity here for us to be competitive in the nation. And we want to have Arkansas in the forefront of that and have different companies that are looking at investing to be able to have a good investor-friendly area. So if we set this in motion, it's ensuring that we're poised and ready, making sure that there's open access for those vertiports within the state and making sure that there's no single companies that any deals are struck with weeding out any others.
We know that if we open it up, we make sure that we have competition and equity of access, that that can also reduce costs for us as Arkansans, and then if it ever does come to that. Now, obviously, the elephant in the room is, you know, we don't have this currently. You may say to yourself, well, we don't have a UAV that I can jump in and I can, you know, cruise to a different area. That is correct. It's not out there right now. It's not in any other area. But years ago, we probably thought that there would never be such a thing as a helicopter. And as a helicopter pilot myself, I know that it didn't take very long for them to figure that out.
When I left the Army, we were working on what was called the Future Vertical Lift, FVL. And it was similar to this. It was a vertical takeoff, but very accelerated. With this, with a VertiPort and with these eVTOLs, to give you an example of what it could look like, again, it's futuristic, but what it could look like is a VertiPort stationed over in like Fayetteville where you could jump on just like a taxi and then cruise over to Bentonville or some other metropolitan area. That's what it could look like. Yes, it is futuristic, and the bill, the only action in the bill is just ensuring that there's no deal struck, as I said,
that are going to limit competition and make it harder for anybody to enter. I know there's probably a lot of questions on it. It is a futuristic bill, so open to questions at this time. All right. I do
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
8:44
see several questions. Representative Mechlin, and you are up first. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Representative
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
8:49
Nazarenko, for bringing this. I just want to comment that I agree with you. I think this is a direction that we're headed, and we're headed there very quickly. I think we will see this very much in the short term. What I really appreciate your bill, and I just want to reiterate, and I'm sure you will agree with me,
that one of the great parts about this bill is that it is a fair market bill. It is open competition. You are not siding with any specific manufacturer, and you're kind of ahead of the game in order to get that in place before anyone comes. And so would you not agree with that
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
9:19
statement? Yes, Representative McClendon, I would definitely agree. And that's what we all want, fair market. We want open access so that we don't limit out, and we help the customer, which is going to be the Arkansan. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Representative Kavanaugh, you were recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
9:33
Just for clarification, what are these going to haul?
Are they going to haul people? Are they going to
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
9:40
haul freight? What are they going to haul? Good question, Representative Kavanaugh. So they could haul either. Right now, as I said, this is more of a concept than anything. There are some developments that are happening and ongoing. There are certain companies that are out there developing stuff right now. In the future, it could be more cargo or personnel. So in a larger community, say Fayetteville to Bentonville, possibly even Little Rock, instead of having to, you know, travel through traffic, you could jump on this, you know, taxi, aerial taxi, which is unmanned or man, which would be electronic, and then would just be going up.
Obviously, all in conjunction with FAA certifications, nothing would ever be done without FAA. So it could be both. Could be cargo, could be people. Uh, it is, it's again, just a setting up, setting it up in motion so that there's no, uh, deal struck ahead of time where it would be a single source. Okay. And we're
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
10:30
talking about prohibiting some zoning rights that the cities have. So can you kind of explain to me why we're needing to prohibit some of the zoning rights that this, the cities might have? You bet. Great question again.
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
10:42
So if a municipality were to strike a deal and just say, okay, hey, we're not going to – or we're going to make a deal with this one company, and they're the only ones that would be able to do that, you could end up having one company come in and purchase multiple areas of land, and then that way they would have a monopoly. And so this would keep that from happening as well. So you couldn't have one company come into a city and say, hey, I want all of these pieces of land because they plan on putting vertiports. so it would eliminate that as well but would the cities not
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
11:14
own the airport so as you can see that
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
11:18
and that is a good question too like the ownership of if the city owned it because it is a public use as you notice it's a public use just like an airport uh the the city could own it but you would have other forms it could be federal grants state grants it could be private money that helps put you know put that vertiport together and so if you didn't have all of those you know working in unison then you could have a monopoly and you could have one company that just purchased the land all by itself so okay so
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
11:46
but are we are we thinking that a veraport is going to be very
similar to an airport and that they could have owned by a group whether it's the cities or counties or whatever it is and there could be multiple operators just like we have multiple aircraft that come in and operate on that
Speaker 34
12:04
veraport is that kind of what we're correct
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
12:06
really the same thing like prior to what i what we could imagine happening is before a vertiport would ever be brought in this could start happening at airports right now so you could bring in these vitals evtals and they could be operating within airspace at an airport and then moving to a
vertiport once those vertiports are built set up and then then manned at that point and
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
12:29
would they be controlled by a tower well
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
12:34
so good question again because that's where we get back into fa requirements and everything there is there's a lot of movement also towards uh not only just having someone in a tower or someone on a radar but you could end up seeing at some point again this is futuristic but again you could have something where uh man and unmanned aircraft
they're not being you know maneuvered by somebody wiggling sticks or uh or running it it could be all computerized going from place to place on specific guidelines so uh because i know understand like kind of the concept is what about a mid-air collision now if these things are just all willy nilly but they would be on tracks flying you know specific uh guidance that would still be monitored by air traffic yes ma'am 100 they they would never be anything it would actually be even
step further than what we have right now okay thank you representative Holcomb you're recognized
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
13:30
thank you mr. chair I'm sorry I didn't get to you talk to you about this before here but you know we got so many bills going we can't keep up no problem uh and I'm I'm I'm looking on page two line two and three encouraging local zoning and other land to authorities to ensure public use. Who's going to decide where these can be? Is the quorum court going to have to pass a resolution or an ordinance? Are we going to have some local control as to where they can put this
so it won't interfere with, you know, that's my only, you know, I'm a local control guy.
Speaker 60
14:07
So could you give us a little insight on that, please? Sure. I would have to imagine
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
14:12
that as well, because some cities, municipalities may not want it directly, you know, right next to a school or right next to whatever so that's where those cities municipalities may put in you know hey here's where you know a stipulation of where it can be right now we know that an airport has to have a certain amount of space because of that footprint that it's got to sit in it's got to have a long runway it's got to have places for fuel and things like that a vertiport you can
shrink that if you if you look at you know the actual footprint of a heliport it's much more much smaller now we can even reduce that even smaller to the point where we just have a eVTOL operating it doesn't have to have fuel because it's electric so that space could be determined by that municipality or or a
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
14:53
quorum court quorum court yeah whoever the so they'll
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
14:56
still have some input if they decide to that's okay thank you sir appreciate
Speaker 65
15:02
it all right representative Richardson you're recognized thank you mr. chairman just real quick so I understand
Speaker 1
15:07
basically these devices are essentially an upgrade to a helicopter helicopter have very small footprints that they can land in they land on top of buildings they have a variety of different places that they can land because it's a vertical takeoff doesn't require a significant amount of space so essentially these devices are this exact same thing we'll put them in the same kind of category and allowing for the same kind of circumstances if a city chooses to have a port a vertiport they're in their location then they can make those requirements and stipulate
according to FFA requirements but other than that it's just essentially the same thing as an upgrade to a helicopter correct that's correct thank you very much yes sir all right seeing no
Speaker 33
15:53
more questions from committee members we have nobody signed up to speak for against anyone in the audience want to speak for or against seeing no one represent Nazarenko
Speaker 28
16:01
would you like to close for your bill yes
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
16:05
sir so I thank you everybody again I know it's a futuristic bill i think it's a good uh bill where we
can kind of set set up the stage for us to be ready
for growth uh will it ever happen who knows uh who knows right now it's all still in concept but there are as i mentioned earlier there's there's companies that are actively working towards it and i'd love to see arkansas be on the forefront of uh of this uh this industry if it does come about so thank you with that and i'm closed i'm mr chairman all right
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
16:34
what's well on committee we have a motion do pass any discussion on that motion seeing none all in favor say aye all opposed no eyes have it congratulations you've passed your bill thank you mr chairman
Speaker 33
16:45
thank you committee committee a little housekeeping real quick before we get into our next one we will not be hearing house bill 1911 lundstrom's we will not hear 1936 from burks we will not hear 1912 from Lundstrom so if anyone in the audience
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
17:03
is here for those we will not hear those this afternoon Representative Beatty I think this one has an amendment that needs to be passed out
okay if you'll give staff just a
Speaker 24
17:19
minute to get that passed out yes sir She
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
17:30
so we will, to clarify House Bill 1911 and
Speaker 33
17:33
House Bill 1912, we'll be moving to deferred. Okay, thank you for that. I should have
Speaker 24
17:43
clarified that on the front end. Yes, 1911 and 1912 will be moved to the deferred list.
All right, I think the amendment's passed out. If you want to start presenting that,
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
18:08
you were recognized. Representative Howard Beatty, District 95. Mr. Chair,
members of the committee, I have a House Bill 1894 that we heard last week through the committee's hard work. It brought folks to the table to an agreed-upon amendment that I present today.
Basically, the amendment is an acknowledgment by the Assessment Coordination Division that rules do need to be promulgated dealing with this property. That's what the amendment addresses, and then that those rules will be presented to ALC. So with that, that's the amendment, and I'm closed, and I'd appreciate a good motion and vote on the amendment. All right. We
Speaker 24
18:44
have a presentation of the amendment. We'll have a motion to adopt. Have
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
18:49
a motion to adopt any discussion on that motion. all in favor say aye all opposed congratulations your amendment has been adopted you may present
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
18:58
your bill as amended members again i want to thank you um uh the the efforts of the committee and the time we spend hearing this bill brought folks to the table to agreed upon language uh to address the concern that that we expressed in in that presentation about the assessment of affordable housing properties in the state uh the assessment coordination division has stepped up They understand they're going to promulgate some rules, get those to ALC. With that being said, there's no opposition to the bill.
They're supportive of the bill. And with that, I'm closed. I'd appreciate a motion to do pass and
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
19:36
a good vote. All right. Do we have any questions from committee members? Seeing none, we have no one signed up to speak for or against. Anyone
Speaker 33
19:42
in the audience speak for or against? Seeing none, would you like to close for your bill? I'm closed. All right.
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
19:49
What's the will of the committee? have a motion do pass as amended any discussion on that motion all in favor say aye all opposed no congratulations you passed your bill as amended thank you mr. chair thank you committee
representative barnett are you here to present house bill 1627 if you will introduce yourself for the record
Representative Lincoln Barnett
Unverified
20:25
you may begin hello everyone
I'm Lincoln Barnett representing district 63 and I am here before you to present house bill 1627 the intent of this bill is to ensure that all taxpaying Arkansas citizens
are made aware of the existing tax relief that is available to them in particular the tax relief that is available to Arkansas taxpayers who have a disability or are 65 years of age or older, otherwise known as Arkansas Constitution Amendment 79. Most recently, we passed Senate Bill 263, which is now Act 330, which increases the homestead tax credit from $500 to $600. This legislation was passed with overwhelming support,
in large part because we want to help and provide it increased tax relief for the most vulnerable of Arkansas taxpayers, those who are differently abled, having a disability, and our state's elderly and senior citizens. House Bill 1627 ensures that all taxpayers are given notice of that benefit when they receive their annual tax statement from their county tax collectors. In the process of developing this bill, I worked with members of the Arkansas County
Tax Collectors Association to develop a bill that could be easily implemented, ensuring that each tax collector can give annual notice to their respective taxpayers of the tax relief available to them. You will see on page 1, lines 32 through 34, the bill provides options on how the tax collector can give notice. It can either be printed in bold on the statement or it can be printed and highlighted on the statement or included as an insert with the statement. These options were
agreeable with the County Tax Collectors Association based upon the capabilities within the varying billing templates used by the tax collectors across the state. The option of including the insert was actually suggested by the Tax Collectors Association, House Bill 1627 would require for the notice to be given and clearly state the requirements for a taxpayer to be eligible for the property tax relief. The intent of this bill is simple and it ensures that all tax collectors are providing notice of the benefit to all Arkansas taxpayers with the hopes
that more of our eligible constituents will take advantage of the tax relief that is available to them i thank you for your consideration and i would appreciate a good vote of support and i'm willing to take any questions that you all might have all right we do have
Speaker 24
23:06
a couple of questions representative kavanaugh you're up first you're recognized for questions thank you mr chair
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
23:11
is this not already being done so when i uh
Representative Lincoln Barnett
Unverified
23:14
talk with arkansas tax collectors some counties are doing it and some are not so there is a lack of consistency across the board because i know i think it shows
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
23:25
on mine that's why I was asking so actually in the county that I live in St. Francis County they provide that statement on there but then Pulaski County was an example of a county that does not have it on their tax statement and so it's just a matter of bringing consistency to that practice but yes a lot of tax collectors are including that notice with that included language of what are the eligibility requirements on there but some are not and so this bill would allow for that
to be consistent across the board and when talking with the tax collectors association they made me aware that they don't all use the same billing template and so that there might be some challenges there so that's why you have those three options of either having it printed in bold or highlight it or they can simply include it insert okay now my understanding
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
24:22
is from the social counties most do it but okay this is just for consistency yes ma'am okay thank you
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
24:29
representative womack you recognize for questions thank you uh this is actually directed at the chair and i think i know the answer but i want to ask that nobody from dfna is here to talk about the fiscal impact oh i
Speaker 88
24:40
did request the fiscal impact um i just had a question
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
24:45
for them if they here I do not see anyone all right thank you we can get them in the
Speaker 33
24:51
room if you need to all right okay seeing no further questions we have no one signed up to speak for against anyone in the audience want to speak for against seeing none
Speaker 28
25:00
would you like to close for your bill yes again this bill I'm sorry we do have okay all right
Representative Lincoln Barnett
Unverified
25:10
I'm I interrupted you for no reason I'm sorry okay again the intent of this bill is simple to ensure that our tax collectors across the
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
25:17
board are all sending out that notice so that all of our Arkansas taxpayers are made aware of the available tax relief that
Representative Lincoln Barnett
Unverified
25:25
is available to them and after that I would really would like a good vote representative Shepherd you recognize
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
25:32
for a motion we have a motion to pass on table any discussion on that motion Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. All
Speaker 33
25:40
opposed, no. Congratulations, you've passed your bill. Thank you all. All right, I think Senator Hammer is in the room to run Senate Bill 553. Is that correct? Thank you. If you will take a seat at the table and introduce yourself,
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
26:02
you may begin your testimony. or present your bill i guess thank you mr chairman kim hammer
state senator district 16 i am i'm sorry mr chairman i ran over here without grabbing my file would you give me the bill number again please 553 thank you representative Milligan is the house
sponsor on this and I'm here to present a bill that I worked
out with the municipal municipal league and they have given the full support to this and the basis for the bill and reason for the bill is having sat on legislative audit I think all 14 going on 16 years that I've been down here it is a reoccurring theme that you have city treasurers come before us on audit findings a lot of them are repeat findings and the one consistent theme that has crossed the board is the phrase i did not know or i did not realize and so what this
bill is going to do is require that the treasurers have to go through mandatory training once they are elected to office and it will be training that will be handled by the municipal league funded by the municipal league and it will also include a component to where they can do online because I realize that a lot of our smaller towns that have treasurers it's difficult for them to leave a full-time job but it'll be a combination availability of both methods and the intent is that this will get treasurers newly elected ones especially up to speed as far as what leg audit
expects and the requirements of leg audit because one thing we want to do is help them stay out in front of leg audit and especially if they're coming back for repeat findings so as I mentioned I worked with the Municipal League very hard on this and there is I do want full disclosure and I should have asked this on the front end there's not an amendment sitting up there for me is there okay there there is one thing full disclosure and I did not have it in here is leg audit had asked that there would be a requirement that the treasurers be notified given the lateness
of the session Mr. Chairman what I'd like to do is go ahead and let this bill go through and then we can come back next session and take care of that because I'm afraid timing is going to catch us and this is really an important feature for those of you that have sat on leg audit before and so I will be glad to take any questions
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
28:35
Mr. Chairman. All right Representative Kavanaugh you recognize for questions.
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
28:39
Thank you Mr. Chair. Is this going to be at any cost to the counties and if so what it might be? And
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
28:45
I'm not sure if anybody's from municipal leagues here with me or
But but they have stated that they are going to develop the programming and they will absorb the cost of providing the program So it should be no
Chair
Unverified
29:00
cost. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you Representative Shepard you recognize the question With with every annual training I'm sorry like a follow-up Yes say for instance the individual is hired. I really think this is a great thing senator So to be part of
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
29:15
their new hire process be part of the new hire process and i'm looking through here i know it's minimum for new hire and then i think i'm sorry i ran off
left my hard copy file over there uh i am without scanning through there and seeing i'm not sure that it's required annually but uh i won't be here next time i think that'd be a great thing to keep an eye on and and somebody can come back and put it in there i'm pretty sure it is but without my hard copy in front of me i
Chair
Unverified
29:44
can't answer that and the only reason i asked that question was you know how things change down here yes ma'am and then some organizations i don't know if it's the case for the municipal league or county government but some organizations every year you have to go
through recertification so i didn't know if this would be included in it so that they can be current
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
30:12
page one bind 31 and this is specifically directed toward new treasurers newly elected or appointed municipal treasurer shall complete the training required under the substitution within 100 days of taking office
I do not think I do not think it has anything mandatory once you take the initial training and that would be something that I would go to page 3 line
20 this might be the catch net for now upon notification by the legislative joint auditing committee of non-compliance by municipal treasurer the governing body the municipality shall require the treasurer to attend the training is described under um if it does not and and i think that would probably be up to interpretation as to whether it requires it um for those that you know we would say grandfathered in or currently elected uh i think that'd be a good thing to come back and and tag on the next time
around uh for those of you that are going to be here
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
31:42
next time around thank you senator thank you senator hamber wouldn't you agree that this is a good chance for the treasurers to get introduced the municipal league and if they have questions in the future that they will have
Speaker 108
31:52
a better contact with them feel more comfortable
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
31:55
reaching out for help if they need it yeah and i'll tell you one reason why this bill is before you uh because right now what's happening is newly elected treasurers that are uncertain um and you would think and i would say and you know we've
all probably if you've been on legislative you know audit before i've asked the question what have you called the municipal league that question gets asked all the time some do some don't some know to some don't this is at least going to put the requirement in that's going to force the conversation for the newly elected ones to have excuse me to have to have that established contact and what's happening right now is you've got treasurers that are experienced and the inexperienced ones are calling the experienced ones and asking them for help and they're they're
generous to help they want to help they're glad to help their neighbors but also at the same time they got a job to do too and you really need one pipeline of information and and it needs to come from one source um and so that that is the intent is to get this moving in the right direction for the newly elected ones
to make sure that they are in front of the municipal league and develop those relationships so they know who to call
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
33:03
when to call all right representative rye you recognize the question yes thank you mr chairman you know senator kim this is probably the really
the right thing to do because i know the assessors have continuing education i think the collectors do i don't know just how many hours and i know that the sheriffs do but you know every time this legislature meets which is every other year for this type of situation you know we always put in four or five new pieces of law in there and and that's not a bad idea at all to to have them to come together to go to those classes to learn what has been upgraded
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
33:38
i would agree yes sir thank you
sir and does this bill go as far given the sensitivity of the time that we're in during the session i sure would like to get this one out because i'd hate to start the amendment process and then it it not get through the rest
Speaker 33
33:52
of the way all right seeing no further questions we have no one signed up to speak for or against anyone in the audience
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
33:57
like to speak for or against seeing none would you like to close for your bill i would like to close i mean i may
need some help from somebody picking this up to run it on the House floor because of, you know, of the situation on the House side.
So whoever wants to grab it first, I'm not going to pick winners and losers. It's up to you all, but need some help getting it off the House floor if some of you all
Speaker 33
34:18
could, please. All right. What's the will of the committee? Whoever makes a motion gets to run the bill. All right. Have a motion. Do pass. All right. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. All opposed? ayes have it congratulations you've passed your bill thank you mr. wise chairman thank you is there anyone else in the committee that is here to run a bill seeing no one we have no further business in front of us we are adjourned
Agenda
CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1555 Painter TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM PROCEDURES FOR FILLING A VACANCY IN A MUNICIPAL OFFICE.
REGULAR AGENDA
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1911 Lundstrum TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPERTY TAX; AND TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT THAT PERSONAL PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION BE LISTED OR REPORTED BY THE PROPERTY OWNER.
HB1936 R. Burkes AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION TO CERTAIN MUNICIPAL OFFICES.
HB1912 Lundstrum TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "ASSESSED VALUE" FOR PURPOSES OF THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY; AND TO ESTABLISH A METHOD OR PROCEDURE FOR THE VALUATION OF PROPERTY FOR TAXATION PURPOSES UNDER ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 16, § 5.
HB1894 Beaty Jr. TO ESTABLISH A METHOD OF VALUATION FOR REAL PROPERTY USED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING; AND TO ESTABLISH A METHOD OF VALUATION FOR CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY UNDER ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 16, § 5.
HB1627 Barnett TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF; AND TO REQUIRE COUNTIES TO PROVIDE NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS CONCERNING CERTAIN PROPERTY TAX RELIEF OFFERED UNDER ARKANSAS LAW.
HB1976 Nazarenko CONCERNING VERTIPORTS; AND TO CREATE THE OPEN ACCESS TO PUBLIC- USE VERTIPORTS ACT.
SB571 J. Petty TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL BUILDING AND ZONING REGULATIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT A MUNICIPALITY FROM ENFORCING BUILDINGS AND ZONING REGULATIONS ON COUNTY PROPERTY.
HB1983 Eubanks TO AMEND ACTS 1973, NO. 167, § 4, CONCERNING THE SALE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY TO THE WESTARK AREA COUNCIL, INC., BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA.
SB525 M. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING INCORPORATION AND ORGANIZATION OF MUNICIPALITIES; AND TO TRANSFER INCORPORATION DUTIES TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
SB553 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTING LAW; TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF A MUNICIPAL TREASURER; AND TO REQUIRE TRAINING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL CHARGED WITH DUTIES UNDER THE ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTING LAW.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — CITY, COUNTY & LOCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE- HOUSE, Apr 7, 2025 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Speaker 1
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 5
Representative Mike Holcomb
Unverified
Representative Richard Womack
Unverified
Speaker 15
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
Speaker 21
Speaker 23
Speaker 24
Representative Jon S. Eubanks
Unverified
Speaker 33
Representative Jason Nazarenko
Unverified
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
Speaker 34
Speaker 60
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
Speaker 65
Speaker 28
Speaker 70
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
Representative Lincoln Barnett
Unverified
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
Speaker 88
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
Speaker 103
Speaker 108
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified