Joint Budget Committee
Video
Transcript
8 documents
Bills discussed (19)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
SB362
· 10 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…and secondary education out of school time program grants, SB 362 Department of Education Division of elementary and secondar…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION YOUTH … | K. Hammer | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB88
Act 610
· 8 mentions in transcript
Matched: “Senate Bill 88. That's a, uh, division of higher education. I'm sorry. I,…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - DIVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION APPROPRIATION FOR THE … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that SB88 is now Act 610 |
|
HB1577
· 6 mentions in transcript, agenda
Matched: “…tive Ladyman here today. Uh, we're gonna pass over, uh, C5, House Bill 1577 by Representative Crawford, page 14,”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - STATE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT - GRANTS FOR PERPETUAL … | Crawford | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB359
Act 613
· 5 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…B 39, Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Services SB 359, Department of Education. Division of Elementary and second…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION OUT-OF-SCHOOL … | J. Petty | Notification that SB359 is now Act 613 |
|
SB92
Act 777
· 5 mentions in agenda, transcript
Matched: “…condary Education 3. Amendment JAP032 by Senator Gilmore to SB92 – Department of Transformation and Shared Services 4. HB138…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSFORMATION AND SHARED SERVICES APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 FISCAL … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that SB92 is now Act 777 |
|
SB332
Act 536
· 4 mentions in agenda, transcript
Matched: “…rictions designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. 2. SB332 by Senator Dotson – Department of Education-Division of Ele…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION SEXUAL … | J. Dotson | Notification that SB332 is now Act 536 |
|
HB1089
Act 618
· 3 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…wrong port. B1 and B1 we have two that are ready to go, so House Bill 1089. is ready for a due pass as amended. In discussion on house…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - ARKANSAS WATERWAYS COMMISSION APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that HB1089 is now Act 618 |
|
SB39
Act 609
· 3 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…signified by saying aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Senate Bill 39, Department of Commerce is ready for a due pass as amended…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES APPROPRIATION FOR THE … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that SB39 is now Act 609 |
|
HB1191
Act 619
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…signified by saying aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. House Bill 1191 is also ready for a due pass as amended. Do you have any qu…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 FISCAL YEAR. | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that HB1191 is now Act 619 |
|
HB1389
Act 547
· 2 mentions in agenda, transcript
Matched: “…SB92 – Department of Transformation and Shared Services 4. HB1389 by Representative Ladyman – Department of Human Services-Di…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES - DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES - … | Ladyman | Notification that HB1389 is now Act 547 |
|
HB1635
· 2 mentions in transcript, agenda
Matched: “All right, thank you members. Do we have any questions on House Bill 1635. Senator Payton. Uh Thank you,”
|
AN ACT FOR A GRANT FOR AN ARKANSAS TEACHING VETERINARIAN HOSPITAL AT THE LITTLE ROCK … | McCullough | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB3332
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “Senate Bill 3332. Hey, Mr. Chair, Senate Bill 332 is, um, an appropriation o…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
SB36
Act 890
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…he following actions. Subcommittee adopted 6 amendments for SB 36, Department of Human Services Division of Aging, Adult and…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES - DIVISION OF AGING, ADULT, AND BEHAVIORAL … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that SB36 is now Act 890 |
|
SB37
Act 608
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…gnified with saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Senate Bill 37. Department of Commerce is also ready for a motion to pass…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 FISCAL YEAR. | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that SB37 is now Act 608 |
|
SB392
Act 499
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…oint budget committee and not released until the passage of Senate Bill 392, which is a pay plan by Beau Chambers. All right, thank you…”
|
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING THE CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES; AND TO DECLARE … | B. Davis | Notification that SB392 is now Act 499 |
|
HB1105
Act 1004
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ndments 1. Amendment LCW050 by Representative Beaty, Jr. to HB1105 – Department of Human Services- Secretary’s Office Note: Al…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES - SECRETARY'S OFFICE APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that HB1105 is now Act 1004 |
|
HB1163
Act 1005
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ing effective date 9. Amendment KMW047 by Senator Bryant to HB1163 – Department of Labor and Licensing-Boards and Commissions…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND LICENSING - BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS APPROPRIATION FOR … | Joint Budget Committee | Notification that HB1163 is now Act 1005 |
|
HB1639
Act 549
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ing Officer-Teaching Veterinarian Hospital at the LR Zoo 7. HB1639 by Representative Lundstrum – University of Arkansas for Me…”
|
AN ACT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES - SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINER … | Lundstrum | Notification that HB1639 is now Act 549 |
|
HB1927
Act 552
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ansas for Medical Sciences-Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner 8. HB1927 by Representative Jean/Senator Dismang to Amend Provision o…”
|
TO AMEND A PROVISION OF ACTS 2025, NO. 408, CONCERNING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF ACTS … | Jean | Notification that HB1927 is now Act 552 |
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Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
0:30
Members, if we can go ahead and take our seats, we're going to get started. The clock's slow on the back wall again.
About three minutes. We're three minutes past. It's about two minutes late.
All right, with that, Chair sees a quorum. Senator Bryant, you are recognized to present the Personnel
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
1:54
Subcommittee Report. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. JBC Personnel Subcommittee met yesterday, April 1st, and reviewed the items listed in constitutional officer letters 1A through 1K and governor's letters listed 2A through E.
I move the adoption of the report and that items listed as 1A through K be held in joint budget committee and not released until the passage of Senate Bill 392, which is a pay plan by
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
2:17
both chambers. All right. Thank you, members. Do we have any questions on the report? Seeing no questions on
the report, we've got a motion to adopt. We've got a second. Any discussion? Seeing no discussion, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those
opposed, motion carries. Members, there are five bills in that report that are ready. The first is Senate Bill 88. That's a division of higher education.
I'm sorry, I flipped to the wrong port. B1. In B1, we have two that are ready to go. So House Bill 1089 is ready for a due pass as amended. Any discussion on House Bill 1089? All right. Seeing none, we've got a motion to adopt House Bill or a motion do pass as amended. House Bill 1089, we've got a second. All those in favor signify by saying aye.
All those opposed, motion carries. House Bill 1191 is also ready for a do pass as amended. Do we have any questions on House Bill 1191? as amended. Seeing no questions, we've got a motion due pass as amended for House Bill 1191. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Senator Bryant, you're recognized to present the special language report. All right, Senator McKee, if you can hit your button, you're ready to go.
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
3:50
Thank you, Mr. Chairman special language subcommittee met on Tuesday April 1st and reports the following actions Subcommittee adopted six amendments for SB 36 Department of Human Services Division of Aging Adult and Behavioral Services governor's letter number 28 to SB 88 Department of Education Division of Higher Education governor's letter 32 to SB 37 Department of Commerce governor's letter 33 to SB 39 Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Services sb 359 department of education division of elementary and secondary education out of school time
program grants sb 362 department of education division of elementary and secondary education youth organization branch pages 2 through 27 of the pack and include all the attachments adopted by the subcommittee i move for adoption of the report all right thank you members you've heard the report we have any questions on the report
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
4:42
Seeing none, we've got a motion to adopt. We've got a second. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. There are five bills, and I'll go back to that. Five bills that are ready to be passed out from that special language report.
The first is Senate Bill 88, Division of Higher Education. Do we have any
questions? All right, seeing none, we've got a motion to do pass as amended for Senate Bill 88. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Senate Bill 37, Department of Commerce, is also ready for a motion due pass as amended. Do we have any questions? Seeing none, we've got a motion due pass as amended for Senate Bill 37.
We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Senate Bill 39, Department of Commerce, is ready for a due pass as amended, Workforce Services. Do we have any questions on Senate Bill 39? Seeing none, we've got a motion due pass as amended for Senate Bill 39. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Senate Bill 359. This is out-of-school time program grants by Senator Petty.
It is ready for a due pass as amended. Do we have any questions on Senate Bill 359 as amended? Seeing none, we've got a motion due pass as amended. We've got a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those
opposed, motion carries. Senate Bill 362, Youth Organization Grants by Senator Hammer. It's ready for a due pass as amended. Do we have any questions on Senate Bill 362? Seeing no questions on
Senate Bill 362, we have a motion to do pass as amended.
We've got a second. End discussion on the motion. Representative Collins, you ready for a discussion? Senate Bill 362.
Representative Andrew Collins
Unverified
6:44
yeah I just wanted to discuss this one we've got one that just we passed out
here 359 for out-of-school time programs by Senator Petty and those are grants which I believe can go to the Boys and Girls Club this one my understanding is that it's written in a way that is targeting the Boys and Girls Club so
but these funds cannot be directed there specifically. It also contains language regarding, you know, DEI and all that sort of thing, and I understand there's different views about DEI, but I think either way, whatever your views are there, targeting an organization with these funds that we expend is not the way we should go, so I'm a no on that. Thanks. All right, thank
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
7:35
you. Senator Hamer, you recognize for discussion on the bill.
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
7:39
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think characterizing as targeting is a misrepresentation of what it does. What it does is establish the parameters that if you want to be able to utilize these grants, we have taken the language that is out of the Learns Act, also has been upheld in the Supreme Court and have incorporated it into the bill. And if you are an organization that would like to access the money, it's very simple. just comply with the existing law comply with the existing standards that are set forth in the learns act and also if you are affiliated with the national
organization it has a capacity in there that you can have a memorandum of understanding that that national organization will not violate the law by forcing you as a local entity to be required to subject your participants or the distribution of other materials so I think it's an unfair characterization It also establishes a matching grant so that there's some skin in the game for all the local organizations and it is weighted heavily to give those that are New Start grants or New Start youth out of school programs a 25-75 match versus those that are five years or older.
So there's some very practical components in the bill as well. And so, members, I would appreciate a good vote on this bill. All right. Thank
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
8:58
you, members. Do we have any more discussion? representative Collins would it be possible to get a
Representative Andrew Collins
Unverified
9:03
roll call on this by chamber yeah if the hands are there
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
9:17
okay we're gonna vote by what should you
move for division of the chamber or what did you yeah the
division of the chamber all right I'm going to back up just one second. I accidentally passed over Representative Shepard, so he had a question.
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
9:52
Wrong button. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have a question for the sponsor. With regard to these national organizations, I think you mentioned that they could enter into some kind of memorandum of understanding with that national organization. Is that required even if the local entity in the state of Arkansas is maybe not following any directive from the national organization?
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
10:23
If it's written in there and the rules will be promulgated by the Department of Ed that as long as they can produce evidence that they are not allowing those things that would violate the laws written into it, that they would not have to have that memorandum of understanding. However, the memorandum of understanding would be a good safety just to protect the local entity in the event that things began to be pushed down that would violate it. but I believe that the way the law is written, as long as they can produce evidence
and the Department of Ed would be the gatekeeper of that determination and it is promulgated in the rules that it could be such, then I think there would be that safety net wouldn't be required.
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
11:12
All right, thank you. All right, do we have any other questions? Representative Shepard, you're good. Let me turn your mic off. members uh one thing i'll remind you there's several of these that we have this is appropriation
Speaker 40
11:28
only and with that we'll start with the house yes sir voting on do pass as amended to senate bill 362 and the special language report on page 19 starting with the house representative matthew Sheppard, no, Representative Holcomb, not saying Representative Holcomb, Representative Ennett, no, Representative Richmond,
yes, Representative Pilkington, no, Representative Warren, no. He'll convince it now, right? Sorry. Representative Kavanaugh? No. No. Representative Lynch? Not seeing Representative Lynch.
Representative McGruder? No. No. Representative Evans? Representative Barnett? Representative Milligan? Yes. Representative Walker? Yes. Representative Moore? Yes. Representative McGee? No. Representative Wooten? Representative Tara Shepard? No.
Representative Collins? No. Representative McCulloch? No. Representative Springer? No. Representative Hudson? No. No. Representative Garner? No. Representative Lee Johnson? Yes. Representative Clowney? No. Representative Gramlich? Yes. Representative Scott Richardson? Yes. Representative Nick Burks? Yes. Representative Eves? No. Representative Wardlaw? Representative Lundstrom?
Yes. Representative Gassaway? all right uh
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
13:52
we have house bill 1389 by representative laden i'm sorry i'm on the wrong yeah
i went to the wrong page when we were
talking all right that was 362 now we've got a report on department human services reimbursement rates under living
Choices Assisted Living Waiver. Do we have any questions on B3? All right, seeing no questions, that report is reviewed. C1, that is Representative Beatty, that's special language. All right, C2, Senator Dotson, Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
thank you mr. chair all right yes sir
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
14:58
you're recognized present senate bill 3332 thank you mr. chair senate bill 332 is an appropriation only for the department of education we had during the interim some committees that discussed some some good programs in the state that are very limited in their scope
they only are in certain areas of the state and are not statewide because they don't have funding to take their program statewide but have very good results for for youth in in schools with their health programs particularly identifying and they're called sexual risk avoidance in education programs and so there is no funding tied to this at the moment but in order to begin to start that conversation you have to have an appropriation available for the department to look into it
and see if there might be opportunities or funding available to begin to expand those programs which right now are funded primarily through federal grants and so this would help to identify areas of the state hopefully that um are not being served currently and expand these programs in into those areas and with that i'll take any questions all right members you've heard an explanation of senate
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
16:11
bill 332 do we have any questions all right seeing no questions that is
ready for a motion to pass we've got a motion to pass representative lunchroom okay We've got a motion to do pass, and I'll have a second by Representative Lundstrom. Do we have any discussion
on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, motion carries. We're ready for it. Thank you. All right. Motion carries. Thank you. All right. Amendment, let's see. We have an amendment to Senate Bill 92, Department of Transformation and Shared Services.
Senator Ben Gilmore
Unverified
16:51
That's on page 7. Senator Gilmore. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members, this is creating the positions for the Office of Property Risk to house the captive insurance program that we are creating. The bill's already passed the House. We'll be hearing it on the floor today as well. So this is doing that. I'm happy to take any questions. All right, members, do
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
17:17
we have any questions about, is it Amendment 1?
Amendment 1 on Senate Bill 92. Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to adopt. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, motion carries. C4, Representative Ladyman. It's page 12 in your packet. Representative Ladyman here today. We're going to pass over C5, House Bill 1577 by Representative Crawford.
Page 14, Representative Crawford, are you here
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
17:59
today? House Bill 1577 is an act to make an appropriation for grants so that perpetual care cemeteries experiencing financial hardships may apply for funds to pay for infrastructure repairs. The funds are derived from cemetery sales, including space, sales, graves, openings, and closings.
But the money has dried up over the past several decades due to cremations, leading to fewer funerals and cemetery burials. They were also able to get money off of their maintenance funds, but some of those range from $250 to $1 million, and they can only get 20% from a grant or from a bill that was passed in 2021. If the cemeteries do not comply with maintenance regulations of the states,
they could be fined up to $10,000 for noncompliance with state laws and rules. If we don't make a plan, some of the cemeteries could wind up in receivership, which is costing the city, county, and state more money. So I'm asking for appropriation for cemeteries, perpetual cemeteries in the state of Arkansas. All right. Thank you for that explanation. One thing I want to say, if
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
19:20
you're not a member of the committee and you've got a bill that you're trying to present,
then we need to go up front. I didn't realize what was happening there. Just to make it easier for members to be able to see and have a conversation about a bill. If you're a member of the committee, I give you latitude to stay in the chair. I've got one question that I know of so far.
Senator John Payton
Unverified
19:41
Senator Payton, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is the mic on? It is. Thank you. I'm just, do we know how many of these cemeteries there are? Do we have a list or where they're located? Well, they're all across the state.
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
19:56
There are 104 perpetual care cemeteries. 104? Right. And one thing I'd like to point out, just to mow the lawns on one cemetery is close to $100,000 per season. So
Senator John Payton
Unverified
20:14
do we know how many of the 104 are in fiscal distress? Pardon? Do we know how many of the 104 are in fiscal distress?
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
20:22
No, I can answer that in Fort Smith that we have three that are in fiscal distress.
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
20:31
Okay, thank you. All right, thank you.
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
20:38
Senator Hickey. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a question from the sponsor, I guess. And I understand fully this is
just the appropriation, but is this
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
20:48
anything we've ever funded in the past? To my knowledge, no. Okay. And the reason this is being asked, I had a constituent come to me because the cemeteries are close to being put in receivership But with the city or state, we'll have to take it over.
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
21:05
Yes, ma'am. Well, I appreciate the discussion. So let me ask you this, not that it would matter, but have we ever even tried to appropriate money for this? I've just never seen this before was the reason I was asking that question. To my
knowledge, no. Okay. Thank you, ma'am. Senator Blake Johnson, you're recognized for
Speaker 74
21:35
a question. I get you on all right, so I think you already kind of entered it with Senator Hickey
these are not state-owned at this time no
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
21:45
these are perpetual care cemeteries that are regulated by the state but they are not owned by the state at this time but if we do not they have got to have relief if we do not help them they may be owned by the state because the state would have to come in and take them over is i don't know
Speaker 74
22:10
who do i ask that question if that's true
how many state i mean how many cemeteries have we ever taken over in the past anybody here to answer that uh may i respond to
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
22:38
that yeah you're welcome to respond to that
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
22:40
as a sponsor okay i don't know that any have been taken over by the state but the thing that you've got to realize is this is new this is a new problem
because of cremations that are happening across our state and across our nation. It's not something that has been going on for many, many years. So I
Speaker 78
22:58
don't believe any have been taken over yet. our members
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
23:17
sounds like we have a few questions representative Crawford if you don't mind
can we put this on Tuesday's agenda so you can get some of those answered for members that have questions and I would encourage members with questions to ask those in the
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
23:33
meantime yes could the members get with me if they would please
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
23:38
yes thank you members if you have questions on this bill if you don't mind touching base with representative Crawford and try to work through
those or get to a resolution of what your position is. With that, we're going to move to C6,
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
23:53
page 16, House Bill 1635. Representative, you are recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This bill is an appropriation for $5 million to help build an Arkansas veterinary hospital at the zoo. The idea for the hospital came first with the news for the addition of the two vet schools here in Arkansas, one at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, and of course, the other with Lyon College, which would be in Cabot. The idea was further explored because of a knowledge of a partnership in Alabama with the Alabama State Legislature
for the Alabama State Teaching Hospital that is at the Birmingham Zoo. The Little Rock Zoo has established a partnership with Lyon and with Arkansas State University, But the zoo's facilities are grossly inadequate and would only be able to probably take one student during rotations instead of the 5 to 10 that could be done with a different facility. The project is supported by both of the universities, and this would add 5 to 10 additional internship and externship clinics that could be offered for the students every six weeks.
There's going to be a huge need for these opportunities for students so that they can have hands-on training with animals where they can learn practical skills for their veterinary medicine and especially the internship in the large hoofstock and equine animals is a much-needed field of veterinary medicine that our state needs support for. The hospital would also provide an opportunity to inspire the next generation of veterinarians and STEM learners here in Arkansas because it would be a place that inspires K-12 students as well.
The zoo has about 300,000 people come through on any given year, and this would be built in a way where there would be a viewing window where guests to the zoo would be able to come through and actually watch this work happen by taking tours through the hospital. So hopefully this would inspire our next generation of veterinarians, biologists, and researchers, would also help to keep these students here in Arkansas instead of going to other states. So the ask is for the $5 million appropriation,
but this would be done through a public-private partnership. The total cost would be expected to be $8 to $10 million, which the zoo would be willing to work to raise
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
26:23
the rest of that. All right. Thank you, members. Do we have any questions on House
Senator John Payton
Unverified
26:32
Bill 1635? Senator Payton. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So we have a couple of colleges that are starting veterinarian schools and classes. Are they associated with this in any way?
Have they asked for it? Or are they aware
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
26:45
that you're doing this? Yes, sir. Both have been asked for it. Shane Broadway has been in on all the discussions and everything. And both schools are supportive of this venture. Thank you. Thank
Chair
Unverified
26:58
you, Mr. Chair. All right, Senator Caldwell, you're recognized for questions. Mr. Chair. I had a
Senator Ronald Caldwell
Unverified
27:03
conversation with the professor of veterinarian at Arkansas State University, and one of the issues they had on trying to get them a hospital up there is that there's not enough animal usage to justify the expenditure.
And I would suggest the same thing here, is that we're looking at a $10 million expenditure for the zoo, and we've got a limited number of animals that's going to be serviced. So I'll be a no vote on this. Thank you. thanks
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
27:34
senator uh do you have a question all right senator hill recognized for a question thank you
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
27:45
you mentioned that uh both both the colleges are supporting this 100 you know but
they're behind this and i can see where they would be if the state's going to pay for this whenever they should be doing this themselves so can you tell me what what benefit we're actually
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
28:02
going to receive from this for the state um well yes sir i think that our students um right now we have um the places that our students are going to have to go uh would be probably oak lawn the prisons um and uh maybe some private places we just believe with the number of students that are going to be coming through with all of these uh with both of these schools doing the vet schools
that we need we're going to need places for them to do their internships and externships And, once again, we have a lot of big, big hoof, from what I understand, animals here in Arkansas, especially horses, and that this is going to help provide that help for people in the state. Thank you. All right, thank you. Members, do we
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
28:43
have any more questions on House Bill 1635? Senator Tucker. Sorry, Mr. Chair, I was just in
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
28:51
the back room, so I may have missed. I just want to clarify, this is appropriation only.
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
28:56
This is authority only, not funding, correct? absolutely yeah thank you all right thank you members
we have any other questions house bill 1635 all right seeing no further questions we've got a motion do pass we've got a second in discussion on the motion seeing none all those in
favor signify by saying aye all those opposed eyes have it
All right, we're good to go. Let's do three hands and let's make sure that whoever's calling for the roll call says they want a roll call by division and not multiple people saying that, okay? All right, so we've got a motion for roll call by division. We
Speaker 40
29:55
will start with the Senate. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is for a due pass on House Bill 1635.
That's on page 16 in your packet. Senator English. Senator Scott. Senator Mark Johnson. Senator Hammer. No. Senator Tucker. Yes. Senator Payton. No. Senator Irvin. Senator Caldwell, no.
Senator Flippo, no. Senator Blake Johnson, no. Senator Hill, no. Senator Sullivan, Senator Murdoch, Senator Hester, yes. Senator Letting, not seeing Senator Letting, Senator Boyd. Senator King. Senator Penzo.
Senator Bryant. Yes, Senator Deese. No. Senator Flowers. Senator Kroll. Senator Clark. Senator Stubbefield. Senator Hickey. No. Senator Davis. Senator McKee? No. Senator Gilmore? No. Senator Rice? No.
Senator Petty? No. No. Senator Wallace? No. No. All right, motion fails. All
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
31:40
right, it's going to move us to House Bill 1639, Representative Lundstrom. Representative Lundstrom, you
are recognized. No, you're not. Now you are. Thank you, Chairman. This
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
31:56
bill is to cover the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program that covers a variety of our hospitals in the state.
When a victim comes into the hospital, there are specific things that need to be done to help those rape victims, and with that, I would appreciate a good vote. All right, thank you, members.
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
32:17
Do we have any questions on Senate Bill 39, 1639, sorry, House Bill 1639? All right, seeing no questions, we've got a motion due pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, motion carries.
House Bill 1927. Members, there was a date that was incorrect on an appropriation that we passed previously. This corrects that date. With that, do we have any questions on House Bill 1927? All right, seeing none. we've got a motion to pass we've got a second in discussion on the motion seeing none all those in favor signify by saying aye all those opposed motion carries all right we are going to pass over c9 and then we're going to go back
up for representative ladyman and this is on c4 page 12. you're gonna get thank you mr. chairman
Speaker 104
33:27
well committee I didn't know this was on the agenda
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
33:33
don't have my notes with me I had a senator tell me the other day it
just talked from your heart and not from your paper so that's what I'm doing this morning so this bill you might recall we had a 10-year plan to re basically reconstruct the human development centers we spent over 20 million dollars at Boonville to do that. Took a couple, three years. Warren is in good shape. We have eight million dollars allocated to Jonesboro to redo that human development center. We need 20 million dollars more. I know that's a lot of money. I know money is getting tighter, but these folks in these
human development centers, and I've said this many times, but we treat them worse than we do people in our prisons. There are four people sleeping in a room. If you've ever been in a hospital where they had four beds in a room and you're in there for surgery or whatever, that's what it's like. But these people aren't there for surgery. They're there for life. This is their life. This is where they live. Many of them don't have parents. Some of them have nobody that comes to see them they need this and I know money's tight I know it's hard to get
but this is one of the needs that we really really need to meet I spent a lot of time there I'm visited all the human development centers these people work hard they don't care how much money they make excuse me how much money they make just what they care about is getting the check and feeling like they're contributing to their community so that's why i'm asking for this we need it we need to find this money somewhere and i think if we dig
far enough we can do that so mr chairman with that i'd take any
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
35:24
questions all right thank you members do we have
any questions on house bill 1389 all right seeing no questions we've got a Motion do pass. We've got a second. Do we have any discussion on House Bill 1389? Is that amended? No, sir. Okay. Any questions? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Members, we have a handout that's coming around right now.
It's a piece of special language. It is not on our agenda today. We will not be taking it up today, but we do need to make a motion to suspend the rules to add it to our calendar so that we can send it to special language. And so that's coming around right now. While we're waiting on that handout, I'm going to go ahead and announce next week's schedule. And if you have a standing committee, please do not cover up our budget subcommittees so that we can have attendance in those and that you can have attendance in your regular committees.
So please, if you are a chair of a standing committee, do not double up the meetings with our budget committee meetings. So
on Tuesday, April 8th, personnel is going to meet at 8. Special language is going to meet at 8.30, and we will come back in here at 9. On Wednesday, peer will meet at 8, and we will come back here at 9. On Thursday, we will be in here again at 9. So plan on being in joint budget Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week.
Again, I think we're still handing things out, so I'll go ahead and say
this, and I'll probably say it again before we leave. If you have a hold on a budget, please reconcile whatever it is you have going on with the agency. If you cannot get it reconciled by Tuesday, we will
ask you to state the reason for your hold. So just be prepared. If you have a hold and you're at an impasse, you will be asked on Tuesday in joint budget to state while you have a hold.
If you are not here and you have a hold, we will release your hold. If you're not here to state your reason on Tuesday, we will release your hold. Is everybody clear,
have questions on that? All right, thank you. I think we've got the handout here, so I need a motion to spin to add this amendment to the calendar. We've got a motion. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Special language. All right, so now we're going to go to...
Speaker 45
38:00
Personnel is canceled. No personnel meeting at 8. We don't need to meet. They're okay. Just if you want to tell them. Okay.
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
38:18
On personnel chairs, y'all may not have any business at 8 o'clock. We will have you pigeonholed there at 8. If nothing comes up between now and then, which it should not, then we will not meet at 8. All right, that will work. All right, thank you.
All right, we're going to go to our bills at this point. We're going to start with our Senate
bills. We have a few that are ready to go. Senate Bill 93, Department of Education. That's on page 10 in your packet. I'll give you a chance to get there. All right, members, do we have any questions on Senate Bill 93? Seeing none, we need a motion to do pass. We've got a motion to do pass.
We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Senate Bill 128,
that is UAMS. Do we have any questions on
Senate Bill 128? Seeing no questions, we have a motion
to do pass. We have a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries.
Senate Bill 130, ASU Jonesboro. That's on page 13. Members, do we have any questions on Senate Bill 130? Seeing none, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. We're going to go back to Senate Bill 25. That is ready. That is Insurance Department, and that is on page 1. Do we have any questions on Senate Bill 25?
Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. We're going to go to our House bills. First up, page 1, House Bill 1090. commerce department development finance authority do we have any questions on house bill 1090 seeing no questions we've got a motion do pass we've got a second in discussion on the motion seeing none all those in favor signify by saying aye all those opposed motion carries house bill
1091 also on page one health department do we have questions on house bill 1091 seeing no questions we've got a motion do pass we've got a second in discussion on the motion Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed. Motion carries. House Bill 1095 on page two. Bank and Securities Department. Do we have any questions on House Bill 1095? Seeing no questions on House Bill 1095. We've got a motion to pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed. Motion carries. House Bill 1097. Public Service Commission.
Do we have any questions on House Bill 1097? Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. House Bill 1102, Treasurer of State, County Aid, and Municipal Aid. Members, do we have any questions on House Bill 1102? Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. Page 5, House Bill 1124, page 5, DFA Management Services and Revenue Division.
Do we have any questions on House Bill 1124? Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. House Bill 1127, Education Department, State Library. Do we have any questions on House Bill 1127? Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. Do we have any discussion on House Bill 1127, Department of Education, State Library?
All right. Seeing no discussion, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed, motion carries. House Bill 1152 on page 7. Department of Public School Academic Facilities Fund. Do we have any questions on House Bill 1152? Seeing no questions, we've got a motion to do pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed. Motion carries. House Bill 1176, page 9. Public Safety Department Emergency Management.
Do we have any questions? Seeing none. We've got a motion to pass. We've got a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed. Motion carries. And I believe that wraps up. We've not missed any. Members, thank you for your time this morning. And we are adjourned until 9 o'clock on Tuesday. Thank you.
Agenda
A. Call to Order
B. Reports and Communications
C. Consideration of Member Bills and Amendments
D. Consideration of Bills Referred to Joint Budget Committee
E. Other Business
F. Adjournment
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE, Apr 2, 2025 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
| 4-2-25 BillsHolds | Exhibit | 6 | Official source ↗ |
| B.1 Personnel Report 4-2-2025 | Exhibit | 145 | Official source ↗ |
| B.2 April 2 2025 JBC SL Rpt | Exhibit | 31 needs OCR | Official source ↗ |
| B.3 ALC Assisted Living Report March 2025 | Exhibit | 1 | Official source ↗ |
| C. Member Bills and Amendments | Exhibit | 27 needs OCR | Official source ↗ |
| HOUSE CaptionsList | Exhibit | 15 | Official source ↗ |
| SENATE CaptionsList | Exhibit | 15 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Jonathan Dismang
Unverified
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
Representative Andrew Collins
Unverified
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
Speaker 40
Speaker 45
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
Senator Ben Gilmore
Unverified
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
Senator John Payton
Unverified
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
Representative Lane Jean Chair
Unverified
Speaker 74
Speaker 78
Representative Tippi McCullough
Unverified
Chair
Unverified
Senator Ronald Caldwell
Unverified
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
Speaker 104
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified