City, County & Local Affairs Committee - Senate
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Bills discussed (14)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
SB406
Act 752
· 4 mentions in chapter, transcript, agenda
Matched: “SB406 A. Clark TO REQUIRE A COUNTY RECORDER TO VERIFY CERTAIN INF…”
|
TO REQUIRE A COUNTY RECORDER TO VERIFY CERTAIN INFORMATION BEFORE RECORDING A DEED TO REAL … | A. Clark | Notification that SB406 is now Act 752 |
|
SB69
· 4 mentions in transcript, agenda
Matched: “…here this morning, brought me the original bill, which was SB 69. There always has to be a driving force, somebody will be a…”
|
CONCERNING THE RECORDATION AND FILING OF A DEED OR OTHER INSTRUMENT THAT CONVEYS REAL PROPERTY … | A. Clark | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB580
Act 767
· 3 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…CIPAL BOUNDARY FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES IN CERTAIN INSTANCES. SB580 K. Hammer TO EXTEND FINANCING FOR PURCHASES OF VEHICLES AND…”
|
TO EXTEND FINANCING FOR PURCHASES OF VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT FOR A RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. | K. Hammer | Notification that SB580 is now Act 767 |
|
HB1476
Act 675
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 4/2/25 @ 7:00PM) Added HB1476 and Removed SB520 Senate Committee on City, County, and Loc…”
|
TO AMEND THE DIRECT SHIPMENT OF VINOUS LIQUOR ACT; AND TO ESTABLISH A WINE DIRECT … | B. McKenzie | Notification that HB1476 is now Act 675 |
|
HB1701
Act 925
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1701 Gonzales TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING SEWER COLLECTION AND S…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING SEWER COLLECTION AND SEWER TREATMENT PROVIDERS AND RELATED SERVICES. | Gonzales | Notification that HB1701 is now Act 925 |
|
HB1808
Act 686
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…LECTION AND SEWER TREATMENT PROVIDERS AND RELATED SERVICES. HB1808 A. Collins TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPAR…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS; AND TO CREATE THE BILL OF RIGHTS … | A. Collins | Notification that HB1808 is now Act 686 |
|
SB399
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…DEED TO REAL ESTATE. REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle SB399 G. TO CREATE THE ANTI-ATF COMMANDEERING ACT; AND TO PROHIBI…”
|
TO CREATE THE ANTI-ATF COMMANDEERING ACT; AND TO PROHIBIT THE PROVISION OF MATERIAL AID AND … | G. Stubblefield | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB518
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…L AID AND SUPPORT FOR ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL FIREARMS LAWS. SB518 Hester TO PROHIBIT A LOCAL GOVERNMENT FROM ENACTING REGULAT…”
|
TO PROHIBIT A LOCAL GOVERNMENT FROM ENACTING REGULATIONS IN A FLOOD-PRONE AREA THAT ARE MORE … | Hester | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB531
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB531 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL PLANNING; A…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL PLANNING; AND TO ALLOW A MUNICIPALITY TO CONTRACT WITH … | K. Hammer | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB588
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…EHICLES AND EQUIPMENT FOR A RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. SB588 C. Penzo TO ESTABLISH A WINERY PRIVATE CLUB PERMIT. HB1701…”
|
TO ESTABLISH A WINERY PRIVATE CLUB PERMIT. | C. Penzo | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1686
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…CTRIC GRID BY BLOCKCHAIN NETWORKS AND DIGITAL ASSET MINING. HB1686 Childress TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LICENSES TO CARRY CON…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LICENSES TO CARRY CONCEALED HANDGUNS. | Childress | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB10
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…RADIUS OF A MILITARY FACILITY; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. SB10 B. King TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS DATA CENTERS ACT OF 2023; AND…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS DATA CENTERS ACT OF 2023; AND TO REGULATE THE IMPACT ON … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB520
Act 747
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 4/2/25 @ 7:00PM) Added HB1476 and Removed SB520 Senate Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs Thursda…”
|
TO PROHIBIT DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICES, OFFICERS, POLICIES, OR PRACTICES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT. | D. Sullivan | Notification that SB520 is now Act 747 |
|
SB60
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…s designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. PROPERTY. SB60 Hill TO PROHIBIT A DIGITAL ASSET MINING BUSINESS FROM BEING…”
|
TO PROHIBIT A DIGITAL ASSET MINING BUSINESS FROM BEING LOCATED WITHIN A THIRTY-MILE RADIUS OF … | Hill | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
Machine transcript
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- October 7, 2026
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
0:00
-First item on the agenda is Senator Clark. Senator
Speaker 2
0:04
Clark, if you will tell us what bill you're running, you're recognized to present it. -SB 406. -SB 17406. -No, Senate Bill 406. -Senate Bill 406. Can we have an amendment? -Yes. I'm going to
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
0:19
-- I've got a whole host of people, actually, to help me present, but we have one chair
here, So I'm going to ask Micah Bono, Saline County Circuit Clerk, to come up if it's okay with you, Chair.
Yeah, that'd be fine. I've got two circuit clerks and two title people if we can
Speaker 9
0:42
pull up, Chair. Ms. Bono, if you want to identify yourself just for the record and tell us who you're with,
Speaker 10
0:51
you'll be recognized. I'm actually Micah Bono Sample, and I'm the Saline County Circuit Clerk's Office. and I'm
Speaker 14
0:56
also here representing the Circuit Clerk Association. Okay. That's all right. Did you still know?
Speaker 18
1:04
Anyone else down there? Billy Roanbeck, I chair the legislative committee for the Arkansas Land
Speaker 19
1:12
Title Association. Okay. Wes Lesane, I'm a member of the Arkansas Land Title Association
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:19
and its legislative committee. All right, Senator Clark, you're recognized to present. I'm going to ask Michael to explain the amendment. Or all of
them to explain the amendment. So after this bill came through this committee last
Speaker 19
1:38
time and was presented on the Senate floor,
there were some questions with respect to what would happen if the grantor, for instance, was a trust or an LLC and whose identification would be presented with respect to that. And frankly, that was something that we had not contemplated initially when we were drafting the bill. And so one of the provisions of the amendment would indicate that it would be the person who is listed as the grantor or person signing on behalf of the grantor.
And that would encompass trustees of a trust, a member of an LLC, a president of a corporation, or an attorney, in fact, pursuant to a power of attorney. So that's one of the amendments that you see here. One of the other issues that was a matter of concern to some senators was recording the driver's license of the grant order. And after discussions with the clerk, what the amendment would do is take out recording the driver's license and redaction of portions of that driver's license.
Now the driver's license would be maintained by the circuit clerk under seal. And so it would not be part of the deed recording, if you will. So you won't see a photo, you won't see a name or anything like that of a driver's license of the grantor when that instrument is recorded. What was the other? Oh, and the other amendments were to add the commissioner of state lands. As far as the exempted parties who have to show an identification, the commissioner of state lands, an individual representing the state or a political subdivision of the state, the various state agencies that may deal in real property from time to time.
And then finally, the state or municipality within the state, a county within the state, or a political subdivision of the state. And that was meant to encompass cities and counties. As you know, your quorum courts deal with real property issues. Municipalities deal with real property issues as well. So that would exempt those from those persons representing them from having to present their identification when recorded.
Senator Jane English
Unverified
4:15
Is this whole thing in response to people going off and stealing somebody else's mortgage and all that? Yes,
Speaker 29
4:24
industry is what we call seller impersonation fraud, but it's where somebody poses as the owner of the
Speaker 19
4:31
property and forges a deed in an effort to get payment for transferring that property. And if I may follow up. Yes, go ahead.
Speaker 14
4:46
Okay. This is actually a beginning to actually help our citizens from the property fraud. This is just, we know it's not perfect right now, but it is to deter, we really want to deter the bad actors that are trying to come in and fraudulently record deeds that belong to other, our citizens. All right. Any
Speaker 33
5:15
other questions from the committee on the amendment?
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
5:23
All right. We have a motion to adopt the amendment and a second. Any
Paul Hayes
Unverified
5:33
discussion? All those in favor, say aye.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
5:38
All those in favor. This is just for the amendment. Yeah. All those in favor, say aye.
Speaker 2
5:44
All opposed. All right, the amendment's been adopted. Senator Clark, you go
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
5:50
ahead and explain the bill. Well, as Senator English and MACA brought out, this is about title security and helping prevent titles from being stolen.
It is a problem. Normally, when you have TV commercials on something, there is actually something going on where people, for a fee, will try to protect you. But it's been related to me that people have spent as much as $30,000 getting their titles back and $30,000 they didn't have to spare. And Paul Hayes, who is here this morning, brought me the original bill, which was SB 69. There always has to be a driving force, somebody, whether it be a legislator or it be a constituent,
uh, that sees the need. Uh, and when we presented, I didn't present it in committee, but when SB69 became public, it was actually the first bill I filed. The, uh, the circuit clerks didn't like it. The title people didn't like it. The realtors didn't like it. And they didn't just not like it just a little bit. But, uh, but they said that this is something we've all thought of that needed to be done. And so we're glad you presented it. And they have worked and worked and worked
on trying to get this right. In fact, we've had it to the, amended it a number of times, had it to the floor, and Senator Hickey and Senator Dismane and Senator Tucker had some problems. And so they've worked and worked and worked on this amendment to get it right. And what I hate about it is that Mr. Hayes will be testifying against it because he doesn't like this version and I understand that he hasn't been through this process of doing
what you can. And behind this, the circuit clerks also, and correct me if I'm wrong, have some, I don't want to say experimental, I forget what we used to call it, we used to call it beta, but have some circuit clerks trying out software that will help something that may be rolled out across the state later. This will be a continual war because there's too much value here for people not to try to steal.
And so this will probably be a session after session thing because the people who are doing it will keep trying to find a new way to do it and we'll have to keep coming back to combat it because this especially happens to the elderly. And this is just too, not sad, tragic, that somebody would live their whole life and then get their house stolen. And especially have it done electronically, which is a good, you know, we all need to use these tools.
But we also have to have the security there that we need. So, you've passed it out before. It's better now. And I'll be happy to take any other questions.
Paul Hayes
Unverified
8:54
All right. Senator Clark, does the AG's office have a division that works specifically
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
9:01
on this type of, I call them cyber crimes, but do they have anybody that
Speaker 14
9:08
works on this? No, sir, they don't. I actually have been working with a couple of senators and representatives in the past because I'm as passionate about this property fraud as Mr. Hayes.
And I've had conference calls with a representative. It was actually Representative Mayberry and the Attorney General's office, along with some of these fellows. And, you know, was hoping that they did have someone. Because, like Senator Clark mentioned, when this happens, it cleans out people's savings accounts to try to get their property back. And right now, across the state, there are several circuit clerks that actually has a property fraud alert on their system that our citizens can sign up for.
We understand it's just an alert. It doesn't stop it. But with this bill, maybe we can stop some of those and we can deter the bad actors that are trying to do this. And also, like Senator Clark mentioned, the circuit clerks are working on getting programs set up to alert us at the very beginning if something is being fraudulently recorded. We're working even to notice if there's a fraudulent notary, you know, we're seeing across other states where people are using false notary stamps.
So, we're working on that also, and hopefully in next legislation, I can get a senator to help present a bill to help the citizens afterwards, if this does happen, to help a citizen where it doesn't cost them their savings accounts to get their property back. So, it is going to be an ongoing issue, but this is the beginning to help our citizens. All right. Thank you
Speaker 43
11:04
for that. Any other committee members have questions?
Speaker 44
11:09
Just a second, Ms. Trace. And Senator Isha,
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
11:15
do you have a question? I want to hear what he's got to
Speaker 19
11:21
say. Sure. As I testified the first time that 406 came through, and just to remind everyone, you all have probably heard of the Uniform Law Commission. You've passed uniform laws before, the Uniform Commercial Code, Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, et cetera, et cetera. The Uniform Law Commission has formed a deed fraud study group that I'm participating in
that is looking at this nationwide, and hopefully the results of that study group and recommendations that it can make to its drafting committee will yield to a uniform law that Arkansas and other states may be able to adopt. So this isn't just
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
12:07
an issue here in Arkansas. It's an issue across the country.
Speaker 56
12:33
Now, Sylvia, signed up to speak against, or for the bill. And Mr. Sylvia, if you'll go ahead and state your name and who you're with for the record. Sure, Chair.
Speaker 57
13:07
Right again. Thank you. Good morning. I'm Kyle Sylvester. I'm the Washington County Circuit Clerk. I'm also the Legislative Chair for the Arkansas Circuit Clerk Association. And really, there's not a whole lot more to say about this particular bill that hasn't been said already. You know, this, again, is just the first step of many that's going to be coming over the next few years in trying to deter property fraud. Nine times out of ten, the horse is already out of the barn
when things like this happen and we're trying to play catch-up. This particular bill will give us a head start on trying to identify those bad actors with requiring the identification that we'll keep on file of the person that filed this particular deed if it is fraudulent in itself. So it gives us a starting place on, you know, where to start looking of uh you know who's who's at who's at fault here so again like there's there's
not a whole lot more i could say that that hasn't been said already but definitely um as a representative of the circuit clerks association we're we're for this this legislation thank you all right seeing no one else has signed up
Speaker 61
14:22
uh we have another one He's all right. Mr. Hayes
Paul Hayes
Unverified
14:27
has already spoken. Is there another Hayes? Mr. Hayes, if you want to come to the end of the table. You're here to speak for?
Speaker 65
14:47
your full name and who you're with and you're
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
14:59
Hayes. I'm one of those citizens that you all sit up
Speaker 69
15:06
here and talk about doing everything for.
I'm not with any organization. Last fall, I had an idea that I
Speaker 71
15:19
thought would not only affect property theft, it would completely prevent it. And my idea was this, that a
Speaker 69
15:30
structure be created where someone like myself, when my house is paid for, could go into the clerk's office, pay a fee, and sign a paper that says I will only sign a transfer for my piece of
property in your presence in your office. If someone brings in something with my address on it, go in the back room and call the sheriff. My idea was that you could pay a fee of $100 for that. If you're disabled or over 65, make that 50. If it's for a piece of property that you don't reside in make it $250. That way, when someone brings in, the prevention is this. If the
people creating property theft fraudulent documents know there's a chance they may take a document into a clerk's office, and they don't know who's froze their property and hasn't, and they hand in something that's for a property that's been frozen, they know there's a good likelihood that someone's going to be calling the sheriff while they're standing there at the counter. And that prevents it. That makes those people go to other states. Frankly, I thought this is one of those things that our governor could stand up at a press
conference and say, once again, Arkansas is leading the nation with title theft. With all due respect, anybody who can forge title documents can forge driver's licenses. And Making a copy of a driver's license and stick it in the file may give you a warm, fuzzy feeling, but it doesn't prevent diddly squat. And in terms of the interests of the other people, this is something that residents do long after they're through dealing with realtors and lenders and title companies.
It takes people a long time to pay off their house. Most of them are elderly. There's going to be elderly widows and widowers who have their house stolen that are going to create expenses for the state because they're probably going to need some assistance when they get thrown out of their house. There are widows and widowers that are counting on at some point being able to sell their house when, God forbid, they have to go into nursing care.
And as a taxpayer, I feel like the state is much better served if they can sell their house and maybe pay for the first eight months of their nursing home before we have to pick up the cost under Medicaid. This is something that's good for everyone. The general woman from Saline County explained that the state has a requirement that title transfers have to be processed immediately. I wasn't aware of that. This
might need an adjustment to that, that if someone has a freeze form on file, that there's a longer time period. But, you know, nothing in the current form of this does anything for the person who owns a house that's worried about someone stealing it. And when you pay $30 a month to the title lock people that advertise on TV, they don't prevent anything. They just say if your house is stolen, they'll
help you get it back. Well, when you're in your late 70s or early 80s and at the speed the legal system moves, there's going to be a whole lot of people who lose their house that end up with the clock running out on them assuming room temperature before they get their house back. And, you know, this is a chance to do what's right. And yes, everyone said, well, we can do this and we could do it incrementally. But what you need to tell
yourself is if that's what you're going to pass, you're just kicking the can down the road. Because nothing in the current form of this bill does anything to inhibit or prevent title theft. The original bill did. And granted, I mean, the lenders have their interests, the title companies have their interests, the clerks have their interests. No one ever comes up here and sits and talks about what the interests are of the people that we're all
hopefully trying to do good things for. So I'm that aberrant person that happened to come up here and talk about that. But I mean, please do the right thing. Think about if it was your mother or your parents. You've all reached esteemed positions in life and you probably did that because you were raised with good values, good ethics, and a good sense of right and wrong. And I ask you to ask yourself, if your mom and dad saw the
original bill and they saw what this last revision is, and they saw that you were going to pass this and everything that had been emasculated from the original one, would they be proud of you? I don't need to answer to that, but you need to answer that for yourself. Please go back to the original bill, add a clause about having to transfer immediately if there's a form on file, and pass something that'll actually do the work. That's the long
Speaker 43
21:23
and short of it. Thank you, Mr. Hughes. Any questions
Speaker 44
21:30
from committee. Senator English. Senator Ross, you have a question?
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
21:36
I just want to answer the gentleman, because I know you're sincere, and I don't doubt what you're saying, but I can tell you that most of us do come down here to serve the people that elected us. We're not just here to serve an entity.
So I could be making a lot more money staying at home in my business than I am here. But I hope we can get to where you're going to go, but this is one of those deals, and I haven't been integral in this, but I know Senator Clark has worked extensively on things. And it's either you're going to get a bill that you say doesn't do anything, I think it does move the bar some, or you don't get anything. And when you make that first step, maybe next time we can get the big bite.
We're at a time and session that I hate. There's too many bills running. We don't have time to see them all. You don't have time to start a minute and get it. So, again, you did very well in your presentation. I know you're absolutely sincere. I just don't see it happening other
Speaker 69
22:51
than the way it is. Well, and if it can't happen, then fine, pass what you've got. But don't tell yourself you're doing anything to help
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
22:59
prevent title theft by doing that.
You have elevated our thoughts on title. You've elevated my thoughts on title theft. I appreciate that. Thank you. All right. Committee,
Speaker 78
23:09
any other questions for Mr. Hayes? Just a century unless you
Senator Jane English
Unverified
23:17
recognize. Well, so I guess I could be the example here of exactly what you're talking about of this whole thing because I think I worry all the time that somebody might do that. We've paid off our house and that somebody might steal our house and everything that we work for.
And I have wondered many times, what is the solution? I don't know if this is it or if it's a partial solution, but anything is better because there are a lot of people out there who are losing their homes and all their life savings and don't have anything to fall back
Speaker 69
23:53
on. I agree. This became an issue for me when my wife and I moved to Arkansas when we retired here a year and a half ago. We moved from a place where housing was far more expensive and were blessed with the opportunity to buy a smaller house and pay cash.
And prior to that, I never worried about this because the mortgage company was going to watch out for it. When there's no mortgage, you've got to watch out for it yourself. And, you know, I see this being something that if Arkansas were to pass something more akin to what the original legislation was, frankly, it could help draw more retirees to Arkansas,
which would be good for our economy. It could be something, the state puts out a very fine book about relocate to Arkansas for your retirement. I know because I read it before we decided to select Arkansas. And if something like this were in place and they could emphasize to people all over the country, hey, if you come here, your house is going to be safe. We're the first state in the country to do this.
Maybe someone will copy us, but go ahead and come now so you can be protected. There's a lot of good things like saving the Medicaid costs if someone can't sell their house, like helping draw more people here for our economy. It's good for the state. It's not just good for the homeowner. But thank you so much for your time. And I know I probably sound a little insistent, and I do appreciate the concern of the people who spoke before me.
But this isn't something that happens as part of your closing. This is something the homeowner has to take the initiative and the responsibility to do for themselves and to create that fear in the title thieves that I may walk in with a fraudulent document for a house that's frozen and someone's going to go in the back room and call the sheriff. Let them go to Kentucky. Let them go to Tennessee. Let them go to Louisiana. But this is a way to drive them out of Arkansas.
Speaker 78
26:13
All right. Any other questions from committee members? Mr. Hayes. Thank you for
Speaker 69
26:18
your time and your indulgence. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
26:22
Senator Clark, seeing no one else signed up to speak, you're recognized to close. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you,
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
26:32
committee. I appreciate your time. I appreciate Mr. Hayes. Without Mr. Hayes, we would not be having this conversation. And the first time I ran this bill in here, there were more than one who had a question,
is this really a problem? And I think now that you've heard from Mr. Hayes and you've heard from the title people and the clerks that we realize it's a problem and something that we're going to have to continue to work on, the SB 69 is on the deferred list. And if y'all wanted to take it off the deferred list, we could run it. And all the people who testified for this bill will be here to testify against it. Plus, somebody will text the realtors and they'll be down here, too. And I love the bill.
And you all know what it's like to start out with something. And what you end up with is something that seems to be completely different because of the process. But we've learned to move the ball forward and to do the best that we can do now and come back later. And I think what we have is a very good bill. It perhaps is not nearly as good as what Mr. Hayes would like, but it's a start, and I would appreciate a good vote. I'm closed.
Paul Hayes
Unverified
27:46
All right. Chair, entertain a motion. Motion to pass. We
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
27:51
have a motion to pass, and we have a second. Any discussion on the motion? As amended. As amended. As amended. Any discussion on the motion as amended? All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you,
Speaker 87
28:19
members of the committee. Do we have anybody at the table, any Senate bills?
Senator Petty, if you want to come, I've got a couple. Thank you.
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
29:00
Mr. Chair, you know the drill. Introduce yourself for the camera and you may proceed. Okay, Gary Stubblefield,
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
29:07
Senate District 26. Most of you heard the other day when Senator Hammer was telling us about a police officer that son had cancer and he passed away and he's there today doing that funeral. So he asked me if I would do this simple bill, really a simple, and I told him So all this bill does, it really extends the financing of just forestry vehicles.
It lets them go from three to five years, where they can finance that out, a used vehicle, from three to five years. I'm sorry, what bill was
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
29:42
this? This is Senate Bill 580. 580. All right, thank you. I'll
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
30:25
right, sorry, we were trying to confirm something here.
here. Are there any questions by the committee? If not, is there anyone in the audience who would like to speak for or against
the bill? All right. Senator, would you like to close for your
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
30:50
bill? Yes, I'm closed. All right. Motion to pass. We have a motion and a second.
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
30:58
Any discussion? All those in favor, let it be known by aye. Aye. Any
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
31:06
opposed? Congratulations. Your bill passes. Thank you, committee. The second bill I have deals with wastewater.
This bill, as far as I know, didn't have any
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
31:20
here if you want to identify yourself. Yes, sir. SB 17 or HB 1701? Correct. Okay. Thank you. Yes, sir.
Speaker 107
31:28
I'm Heath Ward, Executive Director of Springdale Water Utilities. I'm the legislative
chair for the Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association. And
Speaker 61
31:36
we do have an amendment, Don't catch her.
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
32:08
All right. Would you like to present your amendment? Yes. All the amendment
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
32:21
does is just clean up from the Department of Energy, clean up language from the Department of Energy. That's all
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
32:27
it does. Any questions of the committee? I have a motion to adopt. I hear a second. Second. All those in favor, any discussion?
All those in favor, let it be known by
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
32:49
aye. Any opposed? Amendment passes. House Bill 17-1, as amended, it creates the wastewater version of the water bill that this committee and the legislature overwhelmingly passed in 2021, and we amended it in 2023. I have Mr. Ward here if there's any questions you'd like to ask. This is really a pretty
simple bill. There was no opposition, none in the House. It requires, really it requires wastewater providers to just perform a rate analysis
every five years and to implement that rate at whatever it needs to be. Wastewater providers are supposed to be independent of
the state. They're not private. This does not deal with private. So these wastewater providers are supposed to be independent of the states, not state-funded. They're supposed to fund themselves, so it requires them to do a rate study and implement that to support their own wastewater
system so they're not running to the state whenever they have a
major breakdown and don't have enough money to fix it. And that's basically what this does. Requires a right study, right analysis
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
34:05
done. All right. Any questions by the committee?
Speaker 106
34:10
Would anyone like to speak before or against the bill in the audience? Just briefly, I want to thank Senator Stubblefield and Representative Gonzalez for
Speaker 107
34:18
running this bill. This is a sister bill of the Retail
Water Act, which is popularly known as Act 605, that was championed by Fred Love and Senator Alan Clark a few years ago, and it was amended recently by Representative Maddox. It simply is going to accomplish for wastewater providers what the water bill, and the industry really likes the water bill, because it does involve mandatory rate studies that we have to do
Speaker 106
34:47
every five years, putting back 5% of our revenue for failures in a special account,
and also requires some training for board members. Excuse me. The last thing I'll say is this has been a very good law for water providers in the state, and I hope it gets a good vote. Thank you. All
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
35:12
right. Thank you. Senator Rice? I was ready to vote. You mentioned something that maybe sometimes you just need to be quiet. Tell me, because I remember I served the district that Representative Maddox is in, and you said there was a change when he had that.
And I remember getting, I think, some negative feedback from somewhere in the district. What was the change then? Do you know? I
Speaker 31
35:47
do not recall, but I do know that one of the concerns was it had to do with
Speaker 106
35:56
some of the training requirements. That's what it was. And anyway, in that particular case, board members that had been or commission members that had been on for 10 years or more, most of those folks didn't have to do the required training.
But the feedback I got is the ones who did it thought it was very useful. That was it, and it was out of our shared... Yes, sir. That was... You're not hearing that out of anything to do with this. No, sir. I've heard positive feedback from it, and that's all I can say. I just wanted to be able to respond. Yes, sir. all right anyone else have a
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
36:32
question is there anyone else in the audience that would like to speak for or against the bill if not what's the will
of the committee but we do we have a motion
we have a motion we have a second all right any discussion if not all those
in favor let it be on by aye. Aye. Any opposed? Congratulations. Your bill passes. Thank you, committee. Thank you. Yes, Senator Tucker.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
37:23
Senator Tucker, do you have a bill? Yes, sir. House Bill 1808. You are recognized for House Bill 1808. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members, Clark Tucker, Senator of District 14. Two things. First, with your
permission, I'd like to ask Matthew Stollings for the firefighters to join me at the end of the table. Okay. Thank you. Second thing is I have an amendment only
to add Representative Wade Andrews as a co-sponsor. I appreciate a good vote on
the amendment. Any questions on the amendment committee? We have a motion to adopt the amendment. Have a second. All those in favor, any discussion? All those in favor, say aye.
I'll oppose the amendment that's been adopted. Thank you, members. I thought there was going to be some discussion on the amendment for a moment there, so I appreciate your indulgence.
What this bill does is it establishes a firefighter's bill of rights in a way that currently exists for police, and it's permissive on municipalities. And, you know, Mr. Stallings has been the one to work on this, and I'm going to invite him to give an overview of the bill. But it's a good thing for us to do for our firefighters. So with that, I'll defer to you, Mr. Stulings. Thank you. And thank
Speaker 130
38:55
you for having me. My name is Matthew Stulings. I'm with the Arkansas Professional Firefighters. And like Senator Tucker said, it is permissive, so cities can choose to adopt it or not.
But even if they don't adopt it, it's still there as a framework to provide sort of guidance on disciplinary proceedings and investigations. If you can imagine a larger department, they're probably going to observe most of these things. They have their own internal affairs bureau, but a small department may need a little bit more guidance. And basically what this does is it just gives guidance and discipline and investigations that are internal, not external, not things like, you know, arson or anything like that. It is investigations that take place within the municipal fire department.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
39:39
There's a couple other things in there. When you're not on your own time, you know, you retain your First Amendment rights, you know, those sorts of things. It just, again, it's entirely permissive on municipalities. It's a framework for basic fundamental rights as Americans, for firefighters and their employment. And there's no known opposition that I'm aware of. I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions? Anyone
Speaker 48
40:03
that wants to speak for against the bill?
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
40:16
Say none. Senator Tucker, you recognize closed. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members, I'm closed. I'd appreciate
a good vote. All right. We have a motion to pass. I have a second. Any discussion? All those in favor say
Speaker 132
40:32
aye. Aye. All opposed. Congratulations, Senator Tucker. You
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
40:36
can pass your bill. Thank you very much, members. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm related to this. The previous bill, 1701, I wanted to make sure for the record that what we voted on was your bill as amended correct okay just wanted to make sure that's clear
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
40:55
Senator Hester, do you have a bill? I do. That's the 1476.
Paul Hayes
Unverified
41:25
Senator Hester, you know, Senator Petty
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
41:29
says you know the drill. I know. State Senator Bart Hester, District 33. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members, this is a bill that's been something that routinely comes up from constituents in
my district. You know, we've dealt with a lot of different alcohol issues. This one, things that I support is when it's just complicated, try to make it a little bit less complicated or some people can do it and the others can't. That's what this does. You can
already get wine mailed to your home under a lot of different circumstances. One particularly individuals you're allowed to get, right now you're allowed to have wine mailed to your home if it's basically made in Arkansas or you drive to the facility, maybe Napa Valley, you go through an extensive process there, then it can be mailed to your home. All this does is it allows you to just be a member of a wine of the month club
or whatever it is, have it mailed to your house. These are usually very unique wines, and it goes through the normal process. If it's mailed to your house, it has to be signed off. They have to check an ID, that. And so all it is, it's making it consistent. Some can do it, others can't. This is allowing an individual to do that. Happy to answer any questions. After this
Speaker 141
43:02
It must have passed the House yesterday. Yesterday?
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
43:07
Yeah. Well, you know, my district, I represent a district that has a lot of small wineries, And they are totally against this bill. In fact, they have stated to me this will put some amount of business. And these are wineries that's been there over
Speaker 41
43:31
100 years. Is there any questions from the committee?
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
43:38
You know, it wouldn't be bad if it didn't repeal this ball. formal winery. The bill that we amended, you know, to no repeal that. But when it does, it's going to
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
43:56
kill the small winers. I mean, I understand that concern. And I guess the question is, this is a consumer bill. And when given an option, why does the consumer not want the other option? It's because the product is inferior to the consumer, right?
It may not be to some consumers, but I think to a vast majority of consumers, the local product is an inferior product that they just choose not to have. This is
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
44:22
a consumer-choice-driven bill. Well, the one problem I have, Senator Tester, is this bill was put on the agenda last night, and none of my people that have wineries in Franklin, Logan, they weren't notified. They didn't know this was coming, so they couldn't
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
44:38
even be here, especially with the weather, considering the weather.
I don't suppose you would hold this until they have
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
44:47
a chance. If that's what the chairman wants, look, I'll tell you, I can count. I've got four votes in here.
My fifth vote is presenting another committee. So I was just going to kind of see how it went. So I suspected I would end up, I suspected you would have that
concern. I suspected I would end up not voting today, depending if my fifth vote
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
45:06
shows up. Well, I would certainly like for the people that I represent to be here and give their side of the story.
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
45:13
I did verify they were able to do that in the House committee. I certainly know you'd probably want them to do it in your committee as well. But they
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
45:24
did come, testified against it in the House committee. Okay. Senator Davis? Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just looking at the bill history, and it shows that this bill was put on the agenda on 4-1. So that was two days ago. So I think people had noticed, especially if this bill was that important to them, to be here for it. And in regards to the bill itself, I was just going to say I'm disappointed that it does not include dry counties.
It's a fantastic bill, and I have people asking me about it all the time. So thank you for that. And would you agree?
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
45:55
It's a bummer it doesn't extend to dry counties. Well, I think we certainly support individual counties. That
was something that was amended in after lots of debate and weeks of adjustments with local liquor stores, adjustments with constituents and counties. I know that they made many amendments to this
Paul Hayes
Unverified
46:15
best possible. Are you through, Senator Davis?
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
46:20
What I was going to ask you is, did they work together to try to make sure this could coexist with the existing
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
46:31
wineries? Well, ultimately, the way to do that is to say there's no competition, right? I mean, because given a choice, the consumer does not pick the local wineries in Arkansas. They just don't, which is why we've had to continue to add protections for them because the consumer just doesn't want that option. Well, you
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
46:47
know, they've been through a lot in the last 14 years.
I've been here that long, and I know that every year there's something that comes up that tries to put these
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
46:57
small wineries out of business. It's something every session that we've dealt with. Right, it's the
Speaker 36
47:03
free market. Yeah, that's true. It is a free market. But I just feel like they need a voice
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
47:11
at the table. I agree, and Senator Stofield, I'm happy to, now that I've presented, I was hoping my fifth vote would show back up. He's not. I'm happy to, if there's anybody here to speak for or against, do that.
But I will not vote today and bring it back up. You know, does this committee meet Tuesday, I guess? Tuesday, yes.
I plan to run it Tuesday if you want to give your people plenty of notice to come. I'll let you go first. Yeah, perfect.
Speaker 152
47:40
I'm willing to do that. Okay. All right. Well,
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
47:47
thank you, Senator. All right. Thanks. Any other bills to be run?
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
47:54
All right, see no one, any other further bills, we are adjourned.
Agenda
CALL TO ORDER
SB406 A. Clark TO REQUIRE A COUNTY RECORDER TO VERIFY CERTAIN INFORMATION BEFORE RECORDING A DEED TO REAL ESTATE.
REGULAR AGENDA
SB399 G. Stubblefield TO CREATE THE ANTI-ATF COMMANDEERING ACT; AND TO PROHIBIT THE PROVISION OF MATERIAL AID AND SUPPORT FOR ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL FIREARMS LAWS.
SB518 Hester TO PROHIBIT A LOCAL GOVERNMENT FROM ENACTING REGULATIONS IN A FLOOD-PRONE AREA THAT ARE MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM IN CERTAIN INSTANCES.
SB531 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL PLANNING; AND TO ALLOW A MUNICIPALITY TO CONTRACT WITH A PROPERTY OWNER OUTSIDE THE MUNICIPAL BOUNDARY FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES IN CERTAIN INSTANCES.
SB580 K. Hammer TO EXTEND FINANCING FOR PURCHASES OF VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT FOR A RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT.
SB588 C. Penzo TO ESTABLISH A WINERY PRIVATE CLUB PERMIT.
HB1701 Gonzales TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING SEWER COLLECTION AND SEWER TREATMENT PROVIDERS AND RELATED SERVICES.
HB1808 A. Collins TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS; AND TO CREATE THE BILL OF RIGHTS FOR FIREFIGHTERS.
HB1476 B. McKenzie TO AMEND THE DIRECT SHIPMENT OF VINOUS LIQUOR ACT; AND TO ESTABLISH A WINE DIRECT SHIPPER LICENSE.
ADJOURNED
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — CITY, COUNTY & LOCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE - SENATE AND HOUSE, Apr 3, 2025 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
Speaker 2
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
Speaker 9
Speaker 10
Speaker 14
Speaker 18
Speaker 19
Senator Jane English
Unverified
Speaker 30
Speaker 29
Speaker 33
Paul Hayes
Unverified
Speaker 43
Speaker 44
Senator Jim Petty
Unverified
Speaker 56
Speaker 57
Speaker 61
Speaker 63
Speaker 65
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
Speaker 69
Speaker 71
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
Speaker 78
Speaker 87
Speaker 41
Speaker 32
Speaker 107
Speaker 106
Speaker 31
Speaker 130
Speaker 48
Speaker 132
Senator Bart Hester
Unverified
Speaker 141
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
Speaker 144
Speaker 36
Speaker 152