State Agencies & Govt'l Affairs- House
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Bills discussed (74)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1069
· 6 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…eaty, Jr. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1069 S. Meeks TO OBSERVE STANDARD TIME YEAR ROUND IN ARKANSAS; A…”
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TO OBSERVE STANDARD TIME YEAR ROUND IN ARKANSAS; AND TO ELIMINATE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN … | S. Meeks | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1070
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1070 John Carr TO CREATE THE BALLOT DRAW STANDARDIZATION ACT OF…”
|
TO CREATE THE BALLOT DRAW STANDARDIZATION ACT OF 2025. | John Carr | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1352
Act 937
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…O CREATE THE ARKANSAS CYBERSECURITY ACT OF 2025. Richardson HB1352 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED…”
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TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED TO CERTAIN FOREIGN ENTITIES. | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1352 is now Act 937 |
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HB1422
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…NS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. HB1422 Long TO CREATE THE ONLY CITIZENS VOTE ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW…”
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TO CREATE THE ONLY CITIZENS VOTE ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DRIVER'S LICENSES … | Long | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1549
Act 489
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…D TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 51, SECTION 13. HB1549 R. Scott TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS CYBERSECURITY ACT OF 2025.…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS CYBERSECURITY ACT OF 2025. | R. Scott Richardson | Notification that HB1549 is now Act 489 |
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HB1560
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1560 McGrew TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS;…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS; AND TO REQUIRE PRICING INFORMATION FOR LIGHTING … | McGrew | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1574
Act 453
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ORMATION FOR LIGHTING COMPONENTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS. HB1574 Vaught TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PAID CANVASSERS; AND TO…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PAID CANVASSERS; AND TO REQUIRE DOMICILE IN ARKANSAS. | Vaught | Notification that HB1574 is now Act 453 |
|
HB1604
Act 943
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RNING PAID CANVASSERS; AND TO REQUIRE DOMICILE IN ARKANSAS. HB1604 McAlindon TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROHIBITED CONTRACTS…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROHIBITED CONTRACTS BY STATE AGENCIES; AND TO PROHIBIT THE USE … | McAlindon | Notification that HB1604 is now Act 943 |
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HB1621
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…STATE AGENCIES TO PURCHASE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS MADE IN CHINA. HB1621 Wardlaw TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AN…”
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TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO EXEMPT PERSONAL INFORMATION OF … | Wardlaw | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1631
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…IALS, ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS, AND THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY. HB1631 Wardlaw TO ADDRESS THE ISSUANCE OF HUNTING AND FISHING LICE…”
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TO ADDRESS THE ISSUANCE OF HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES TO FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENTS. | Wardlaw | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1632
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES TO FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENTS. HB1632 Wardlaw TO REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS STATE GAME…”
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TO REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS STATE GAME AND FISH COMMISSION FOR FREE OR DISCOUNTED … | Wardlaw | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1637
Act 457
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ISSION FOR FREE OR DISCOUNTED HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES. HB1637 Ray CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION OF FISCAL I…”
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CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION OF FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENTS CONCERNING THE FISCAL IMPACT OF STATEWIDE … | Ray | Notification that HB1637 is now Act 457 |
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HB1690
Act 583
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…SURES AND LEGISLATIVELY REFERRED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. HB1690 Pilkington TO TRANSFER THE NUCLEAR PLANNING AND RESPONSE PR…”
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TO TRANSFER THE NUCLEAR PLANNING AND RESPONSE PROGRAM FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO THE … | Pilkington | Notification that HB1690 is now Act 583 |
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HB1693
Act 458
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…estrictions designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. HB1693 Hawk TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE BALLO…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE BALLOTS; AND TO ALLOW THE STATE BOARD … | Hawk | Notification that HB1693 is now Act 458 |
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HB1694
Act 996
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…REGARDING THE DUPLICATION OF DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE BALLOTS. HB1694 Hawk TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ALTERNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ALTERNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS. | Hawk | Notification that HB1694 is now Act 996 |
|
HB1706
Act 829
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS. HB1706 McCollum TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROH…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT RANKED CHOICE VOTING. | McCollum | Notification that HB1706 is now Act 829 |
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HB1707
Act 524
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1707 Hawk TO REQUIRE CERTAIN CANDIDATES TO FILE REPORTS WITH THE…”
|
TO REQUIRE CERTAIN CANDIDATES TO FILE REPORTS WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE; TO AMEND PORTIONS … | Hawk | Notification that HB1707 is now Act 524 |
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HB1713
Act 602
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…AWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED TO CERTAIN FOREIGN ENTITIES. HB1713 Rose TO REQUIRE BALLOT TITLES FOR INITIATED MEASURES TO BE…”
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TO REQUIRE BALLOT TITLES FOR INITIATED MEASURES TO BE AT OR UNDER A CERTAIN READING … | Rose | Notification that HB1713 is now Act 602 |
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HB1714
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…UNDER A CERTAIN READING LEVEL; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. HB1714 Rose TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF PAID CANVASSER. HB1720 Vaug…”
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TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF PAID CANVASSER. | Rose | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1720
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1720 Vaught TO CREATE THE BABIES AT WORK ACT; TO ALLOW STATE AGE…”
|
TO CREATE THE BABIES AT WORK ACT; TO ALLOW STATE AGENCIES TO PERMIT PUBLIC EMPLOYEES … | Vaught | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1001
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1001 A. Collins A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE CITIZEN…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE CITIZENS' REDISTRICTING COMMISSION AND TO REPEAL THE BOARD OF … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1002
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1002 J. Richardson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO…”
|
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REPEAL THE EXCEPTION TO THE PROHIBITION OF SLAVERY … | J. Richardson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1003
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1003 A. Collins THE ARKANSAS GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE AMENDMENT.”
|
THE ARKANSAS GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE AMENDMENT. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1005
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1005 Long AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREATE TH…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS. | Long | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1006
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1006 B. McKenzie AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION PROVI…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION PROVIDING THAT A GOVERNMENTAL BODY SHALL NOT USE STATE … | B. McKenzie | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HJR1007
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…NTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH A LOBBYIST FOR LOBBYING PURPOSES. HJR1007 Cavenaugh A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE A PROCEDURE…”
|
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE A PROCEDURE FOR THE RECALL OF CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICIALS. | Cavenaugh | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1008
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TE A PROCEDURE FOR THE RECALL OF CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICIALS. HJR1008 S. Meeks AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNI…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING THE TAXATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY … | S. Meeks | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1009
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. HJR1009 K. Brown AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO BE KN…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO BE KNOWN AS THE ARKANSAS VICTIMS' BILL OF … | K. Brown | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1010
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…NCLUDING VICTIMS IN THE ADULT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS. HJR1010 Unger A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT BY A TWO-T…”
|
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT BY A TWO-THIRDS VOTE, THE SENATE MAY REMOVE MEMBERS … | Unger | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1011
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…S AND COMMISSIONS FOR CAUSE ONLY, AFTER NOTICE AND HEARING. HJR1011 S. Meeks A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE CONSIDER…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE CONSIDERATION OF BILLS OTHER THAN APPROPRIATION BILLS DURING A FISCAL … | S. Meeks | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1012
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TION BILLS DURING A FISCAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. HJR1012 R. Scott AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REPEA…”
|
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REPEAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE REAPPRAISAL AND REASSESSMENT OF … | R. Scott Richardson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1013
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 79, CONCERNING REAL PROPERTY TAXES. HJR1013 Pilkington A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTA…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN VACANCIES SHALL BE FILLED BY APPOINTMENT BY THE … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1014
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1014 Beaty Jr. A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING ECONOMIC DE…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL … | Beaty Jr. | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1015
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1015 Lundstrum A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY BY REQUIRING A JUDICIAL CANDIDATE TO DECLARE HIS OR … | Lundstrum | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HJR1016
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1016 Ray A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO REPEAL THE PROVISION OF A…”
|
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO REPEAL THE PROVISION OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 5, § 1, ALLOWING … | Ray | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1017
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1017 Ray A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROVIDING THAT A PROPOSED ST…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROVIDING THAT A PROPOSED STATE-WIDE INITIATED ACT OR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT SHALL BECOME … | Ray | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1018
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1018 Ray THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT.”
|
THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT. | Ray | Approved by the Governor |
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HJR1019
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1019 S. Meeks AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REMOV…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REMOVE REFERENCES TO GREYHOUND RACING FROM ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, … | S. Meeks | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HJR1020
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HJR1020 K. Brown A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BE KNOWN AS THE VICT…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BE KNOWN AS THE VICTIM’S BILL OF RIGHTS; AND TO PROVIDE … | K. Brown | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
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SB293
Act 487
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 51. SB293 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE REQUIRED POSTINGS…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE REQUIRED POSTINGS AT A POLLING SITE; AND TO AMEND … | K. Hammer | Notification that SB293 is now Act 487 |
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SB299
Act 403
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB299 K. Hammer TO REQUIRE A STAFF MEMBER TO WITNESS AN ADMINISTR…”
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TO REQUIRE A STAFF MEMBER TO WITNESS AN ADMINISTRATOR ASSISTING A RESIDENT OF A LONG-TERM … | K. Hammer | Notification that SB299 is now Act 403 |
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SB304
Act 372
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…HS OR YOUNGER TO WORK. SENATE BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle SB304 M. McKee TO ALLOW A CLASS OF REGISTERED VOTERS THAT HAVE CH…”
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TO ALLOW A CLASS OF REGISTERED VOTERS THAT HAVE CHANGED THEIR COUNTY OF RESIDENCE TO … | M. McKee | Notification that SB304 is now Act 372 |
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SB343
Act 734
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB343 Irvin TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING STATE-OWNED MOTOR VEHICLE…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING STATE-OWNED MOTOR VEHICLES; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC PROPERTY; … | Irvin | Notification that SB343 is now Act 734 |
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SB344
Act 444
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB344 Irvin TO TRANSFER THE HEALTHY EMPLOYEE LIFESTYLE PROGRAM FR…”
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TO TRANSFER THE HEALTHY EMPLOYEE LIFESTYLE PROGRAM FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO THE DEPARTMENT … | Irvin | Notification that SB344 is now Act 444 |
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SB351
Act 592
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB351 J. Dismang TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE; TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT … | J. Dismang | Notification that SB351 is now Act 592 |
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SB370
Act 462
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…OF 1990; AND TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996. SB370 Irvin TO TRANSFER THE ARKANSAS WINE PRODUCERS COUNCIL FROM…”
|
TO TRANSFER THE ARKANSAS WINE PRODUCERS COUNCIL FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO THE DEPARTMENT … | Irvin | Notification that SB370 is now Act 462 |
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HB1024
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…L CRIMINAL OFFENSES. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1024 A. Collins TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC EMPLOYEES; AN…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC EMPLOYEES; AND TO REPEAL THE LAW PROHIBITING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1028
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…S; AND TO REPEAL THE LAW PROHIBITING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. HB1028 A. Collins TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE LAW CONCERNING OBSCEN…”
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TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE LAW CONCERNING OBSCENITY AND THE PROCESS FOR CHALLENGING MATERIALS INCLUDED … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1035
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…PROHIBITING BOOK BANNING IN ORDER TO RECEIVE STATE FUNDING. HB1035 A. Collins TO CREATE THE ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 2…”
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TO CREATE THE ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 2025; TO ALLOW ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION; TO … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1036
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…MENT 51; AND TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. HB1036 A. Collins TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING VOTER REGISTRATION;…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING VOTER REGISTRATION; TO ALLOW VOTER REGISTRATION DURING EARLY VOTING AND … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1037
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 51. HB1037 A. Collins TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING PERSONS WHO MAY…”
|
AN ACT TO CREATE THE PREREGISTRATION TO VOTE ACT; AND TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF ARKANSAS … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1038
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ORITY GRANTED BY ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 51, § 19. HB1038 A. Collins TO CREATE THE NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING ACT OF 2…”
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TO CREATE THE NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ABSENTEE … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1039
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NG; AND TO REPEAL VOTER QUALIFICATIONS FOR ABSENTEE VOTING. HB1039 A. Collins TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING ABSENTEE BALLOT…”
|
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING ABSENTEE BALLOTS; AND TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1040
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…EE BALLOTS; AND TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS. HB1040 A. Collins TO CREATE THE WATER IN LINE ACT OF 2025; AND TO…”
|
TO CREATE THE WATER IN LINE ACT OF 2025; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1041
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…RNING PENALTIES FOR MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES RELATED TO VOTING. HB1041 A. Collins TO PROHIBIT DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT DEEPFAKES I…”
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TO PROHIBIT DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT DEEPFAKES IN ELECTION COMMUNICATIONS. | R. Scott Richardson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1042
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…EPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT DEEPFAKES IN ELECTION COMMUNICATIONS. HB1042 A. Collins TO CREATE THE DIRECT DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2025; TO R…”
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TO CREATE THE DIRECT DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2025; TO REPEAL THE ENSURING ACCESS FOR ALL … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1043
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NG OF A BALLOT INITIATIVE PETITION AND REFERENDUM PETITION. HB1043 A. Collins TO REQUIRE DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF NONCANDID…”
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TO REQUIRE DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF NONCANDIDATE EXPENDITURES PERTAINING TO APPELLATE JUDICIAL ELECTIONS; AND TO … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1058
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ield TO ESTABLISH GOOD FRIDAY AS AN OFFICIAL STATE HOLIDAY. HB1058 Unger TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ETHICS AND CONFLICTS OF I…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ETHICS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; … | Unger | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1059
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…GIVING ADVANCE NOTICE TO ENTITIES OF REQUIRED INSPECTIONS. HB1059 Unger TO PROVIDE THE OPTION FOR A FREE LIFETIME HUNTING AND…”
|
TO PROVIDE THE OPTION FOR A FREE LIFETIME HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSE TO A COMMERCIAL … | Unger | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1064
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 3/12/2025 @ 8:25 AM) Removed HB1064 House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ABSENTEE VOTING; AND TO ALLOW PERSONS OVER SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF … | D. Whitaker | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1078
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ICENSURE BY ENDORSEMENT FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS. HB1078 Long TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING RUNOFF ELECTIONS; AND…”
|
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING RUNOFF ELECTIONS; AND TO PROVIDE FOR A RUNOFF ELECTION FOR … | Long | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1162
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TO ADOPT NEW LAWS CONCERNING APPELLATE JUDICIAL CAMPAIGNS. HB1162 Duffield TO ESTABLISH GOOD FRIDAY AS AN OFFICIAL STATE HOLI…”
|
TO ESTABLISH GOOD FRIDAY AS AN OFFICIAL STATE HOLIDAY. | Duffield | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1187
Act 858
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…PROVIDES CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATED TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING. HB1187 Vaught TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSURE BY ENDORSEMENT FOR MARRIAGE…”
|
TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSURE BY ENDORSEMENT FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS. | Vaught | Notification that HB1187 is now Act 858 |
|
HB1243
Act 994
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…POSE TERM LIMITS OF MEMBERS FOR THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS. HB1243 Underwood TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CAMPAIGN CONTR…”
|
TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES; TO AMEND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING AND PROTECT … | Underwood | Notification that HB1243 is now Act 994 |
|
HB1281
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NTEGRITY; AND TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996. HB1281 McAlindon TO AMEND REPORTING FOR A CANDIDATE FOR CERTAIN MU…”
|
TO AMEND REPORTING FOR A CANDIDATE FOR CERTAIN MUNICIPAL OFFICES AND FOR COUNTY OFFICE; AND … | McAlindon | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1415
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…E ARKANSAS CODE THAT RESULTED FROM INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996. HB1415 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DUTIES OF THE ST…”
|
TO REQUIRE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO RESPOND TO A REQUEST FOR A FIRE INQUIRY. | L. Johnson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1459
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TATE AGENCIES TO PUBLISH FEDERAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ONLINE. HB1459 L. Johnson CONCERNING RECURRING REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE GE…”
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CONCERNING RECURRING REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. | L. Johnson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1461
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ERNING RECURRING REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. HB1461 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE EVALUATION OF NE…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE EVALUATION OF NECESSITY OF VARIOUS COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS. | L. Johnson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1470
Act 582
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…EVALUATION OF NECESSITY OF VARIOUS COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS. HB1470 Beaty Jr. TO REPEAL THE LAW CONCERNING THE REVIEW OF INFORM…”
|
TO REPEAL THE LAW CONCERNING THE REVIEW OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLANS. | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1470 is now Act 582 |
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HB1494
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…INQUIRY BY THE DIVISION OF ARKANSAS STATE POLICE FOR ARSON. HB1494 Hawk TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS GUIDANCE OUT OF THE DARKNESS AC…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS GUIDANCE OUT OF THE DARKNESS ACT; AND TO REQUIRE STATE AGENCIES … | Hawk | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1667
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AT WAS MANUFACTURED IN WHOLE OR IN PART USING FORCED LABOR. HB1667 Bentley TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AN…”
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TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING … | Bentley | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1683
Act 924
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AND THE STATE LIBRARY BOARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. HB1683 McAlindon TO PROHIBIT THE PROCUREMENT BY A GOVERNMENTAL ENT…”
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TO PROHIBIT THE PROCUREMENT BY A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY OF AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE OR A COMPONENT … | McAlindon | Notification that HB1683 is now Act 924 |
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HJR1004
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…CANDIDATES FOR THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. HJR1004 Ladyman APPLYING TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS FOR AN ARTIC…”
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APPLYING TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS FOR AN ARTICLE V CONVENTION OF THE STATES FOR … | Ladyman | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SB184
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…LAW CONCERNING THE REVIEW OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLANS. SB184 D. Sullivan TO TRANSFER THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ARKANS…”
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TO TRANSFER THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ARKANSAS EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION COMMISSION AND THE STATE … | D. Sullivan | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
Machine transcript
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OK, the committee's back from recess. Cher sees a quorum. First item on the agenda is a special or a business. We have House Bill 1069 Representative Meeks. it makes you recognized.
Representative Meeks, he would identify yourself, state the district that you represent, and you're recognized. Present your amendment. Alright, thank you, Mr. Chairman
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:25
and colleagues, uh, the, uh, first I've got two amendments uh that we're gonna look at the, the first one's pretty straightforward. I'm gonna add a list of uh co-sponsors, uh, second one, we're gonna hold off on for right now, and I'll, I'll get to what that one is when we get into the discussion of the bill, but the first one is just to add uh co-sponsors and once everyone has a chance to look at it. I'll make a motion to pass on the amendment.
All right, looks like just an amendment to co-sponsors. You have a motion Representative Meeks? Yes, Mr. Chairman, do pass on the amendment. All right. Can a motion to pass on the amendment. Is there any discussion saying not all those in favor say aye. All those opposed. Amendment's been
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
2:13
adopted. Representative Meeks are recognized. Alright, thank you, uh, Mr. Chairman and colleagues, again, Representative Steven Meeks, District 42. Uh. This bill that we're about to look at, uh, colleagues, is arguably the most consequential bill that we're gonna look at this session. Um
And, and I know a lot of people say, you know, what's the big deal? We're only talking about an hour, right? But this bill literally affects the health and well-being both physically and mentally of every citizen of the state. This bill affects our economy and this bill affects the outcome of student achievement across the state. So for those reasons, uh, I would argue that this is going to be one of the most important bills, if not the most important bill we look at this session. So I'm gonna make 3 quick points and then I'm gonna tell you the
story about how we ended up where we are, uh, where we're at today. So, uh, my first point is this. Standard Time is natural time as told by the sun, uh, we were designed as humans to operate off of standard time and anytime we get away from that natural rhythm of nature, there's a cost to it. Second point that I'll make in the winter, the day is 10 hours long, and the summer, it is 14 hours long, regardless of what our clocks say. Uh, I think
unfortunately some people think that daylight saving time magically creates an extra hour in the day. It does not, right? Uh, it's like, you know, government, uh, you know, you take a towel, you cut the top inch off the towel, you sew it back to the bottom and you convince people you got a longer tile, right? I've, I've heard that analogy used in, in this situation. Uh, last thing, uh, foundation, I will throw out is that uh when we talk about time, when we use AM and PM. Those are actually units of measure. I know most people don't understand what AM
and PM is what those definitions are, but like the uh inch, the mile or the gallon, those are actual standards of measurements and what happens is every summer when we go to daylight saving time, we make those measurements worthless. It would be like saying that uh during the summer months, the instead of being 12 inches long is now gonna be 13 inches long and the gallon instead of being 64 ounces, we're going to make it 65 ounces. That's what we're doing and if anyone wants to get into that more details, I'm, I'm glad to do that during the, during the question and answer
section. So how did we get to where we're at? So the story of Daylight saving time actually begins back during World War One in Germany. Germany was the first country to implement daylight saving time. It was done with the idea that it would save uh uh lighting oil for lamps. It would save energy. The thought was is that if you get people to get up an hour earlier, they'll go to bed now earlier before the sun sets, but we all know that that is not actually what happens in reality, and that's partly where
the, where the rub comes in. So since Germany did it, The United States followed, so we did it for one year during World War One, and then it became known as wartime. After World War One, we went back to Standard Time. We stayed on Standard Time until we got into World War II. Once again, the nation went on what was called wartime. Uh, that wartime was year-round daylight saving time. It was the first time that our country attempted to do year-round daylight saving time. At the end of World War II, when
we went back to Standard Time, the year-round daylight saving time only had a 17% approval rating. So in other words, the overwhelming majority of American were opposed to daylight saving time year round. They had just experienced it. After World War II, we had about a 20 year long period or so that we were on natural time brings us to the year 1965. So what I wanna do is I want to kind of use our imaginations here a little bit. Pretend it's the
year 1965 by irony were actually that would be the sixty-fifth General Assembly. Our predecessors are all sitting around this table just like we are here today and I were to bring you a bill that was trying to introduce daylight saving time. So again, we're on Standard Time year round. It's the way it's always been, but I bring you a bill because I want to uh put Arkansas on daylight saving time. And so once I present that bill, you guys would start to ask questions as is, is customary,
and you might ask a question like, Representative Meeks, why would we do this? Don't, uh, most businesses already offer a summer schedule for employees. And I would say yes, because back during that time, a lot of businesses had a summer schedule which allowed their employees to come in early and get off early so they can enjoy those extra hours in the evening. So instead of switching our clocks, they were switching their schedules. Then you might ask, well, does.
Daylight saving time actually save energy because that's what it was purported to do, and I would have to tell you no, uh, all studies that have looked at that have said daylight saving time does not save energy. Then you might ask, well, does this improve the health of our citizens by having that extra daylight in the evening, and again I'd have to say no. You might say, well, would there be a benefit to the economy. Again, the answer is no. And so after this long chain of questions, you might, you'd finally get to the point, why
are we even doing this, right? And so here would what be, be what my answer is. Back during World War II, the retailers and the largest cities, New York, Boston, Chicago, they realized that by having longer evening hours that meant shoppers stayed out later and shopped because in the big cities, it was not safe to be out after dark. And so, uh, what a lot of these cities did is in order to improve uh retail sales. They started going to Daylight saving time, but
because there was no standard across the country what end up happening. was, uh, the, the time of year that New York was on Daylight saving time was different than the time of year that Chicago was on daylight saving time was different than the time of year that Boston, Baltimore, they all had these different uh ways they did daylight saving time. And so what ended up happening was it created a lot of confusion for people that were traveling. So for example, if you were traveling between Little Rock and say, Nashville, you might go
through 345 different time changes because when you got to Forest City, they were on daylight saving time. Then you go back to Standard Time, then Memphis, she jumped back to the day to daylight saving, then you jump back and it was creating mass confusion across the country. So finally in 1966, the uniform time standard came out. And in the uniform time standard, what that said was that all states across the, the nation will go on daylight saving time. It'll begin at the same time for everybody everywhere. It'll end at the
same time for everybody everywhere. And the only other option you have besides what we've mandated in Congress is that if you want, you can exempt yourself and stay on standard time year round. The only state that took advantage of that only 2 states that took advantage of that were Arizona and Hawaii. Now, think about Arizona. So for the last 60 years, Arizona has been on standard time year round. They've been surrounded by states that have gone back
and forth to daylight saving time over those 60 years. And you know what? Arizona has never Gone to daylight saving time. I, I talked to uh a constituent of mine. He used to live in Arizona and he said that he was hopeful that Arkansas would join Arizona and staying on standard time because they don't understand the craziness of this back and forth that we do, uh, as a matter of fact, you look at polling across the country, 80% of people hate the back and
forth. They want us to lock the clocks. The only option we have to lock the clock as it currently stand is to go to standard time year round. And so that's what this bill purports to, to do. Now, what are the costs of us continuing to go back and forth. Chronic sleep deprivation, and that's where the big problem is here because when we adjust the clock that evening daylight hours, wants to drag us back to standard time because our clocks
are, are biological clocks are driven by the sun. That extra light at night keeps trying to drag us back to Standard time. The light in the morning, which we are robbing is actually the more important light for our health. So we're stealing the light that we need for our health benefits. We're putting it at the end of the day because, uh, you know, we, we wanna use it for, you know, playtime, recreational activities, things like that. What is the cost of daylight saving time.
Uh, estimates are, are, are generally in different, you know, in different levels, but, uh, the latest estimates say that the United States loses an estimated $400 billion annually in lost productivity and increased healthcare costs because of the poor sleep that daylight savings times brings the additional car accidents, long term mental health issues that strain businesses, families, and the, and the economies. Teenagers are the ones who are the most
susceptible to this. Teenagers are the most sleep deprived group of any age in the United States Studies show that anywhere between 70 to 80% of high school students are, um, getting insufficient sleep. This is largely due to uh these earlier work times. Teenagers, the way their biological clocks are wired, they are wired to be up later if you've ever had a teenager, you might remember what It was like being a teenager. It was difficult to get up in the
morning because our biology, when we're teenagers, wants to have us getting up later in the morning and when we make our teenagers get up earlier. They're going to school more tired, they're going to school crankier and that leads to poorer educational outcomes. Um, the, um sleep deprived teens have lower grades, lower test scores, they have more uh car crashes caused
by drowsy driving. There's increases in drug and alcohol use, lower, uh, graduation rates, higher rates of uh depression, anxiety, suicide, aggressive behavior, and carrying of weapons all because of daylight saving time. Um. There was one study that found that by getting rid of daylight saving time, we could add billions of dollars to our economy every year simply by the increased graduation rate of our high school students because of
this um issue. Now let's talk about adults. Studies show uh that uh disrupted sleep leads to adverse outcomes, including significant increases in heart attacks, and these effects linger for days after we make the shift. We all just made the shift. We understand the impact that it has. Studies have shown that adopting permanent standard time could prevent over 5000 suicides annually by reducing seasonal
depression, uh, decreasing errors, in injuries, absenteeism in the workplace and could potentially prevent 1300 death traffic deaths per year. So understand this, this decision that you're gonna make today regarding this bill. It's gonna have real world uh impacts, life and death on the The citizens of our state. Now, there are people, as we, we, we, we debate this issue,
like I said, 80% of people are ready for us to stop the back and forth. They're ready for us to lock the clocks. The debate becomes, do we go to permanent standard time or do we go to permanent daylight saving time. As I've mentioned, permanent daylight saving time was tried during World War II, it failed. Y'all know the axiom. If we don't learn from history, we're due to repeat it. 1974 during the energy crisis, they tried it again, permanent daylight saving time after 9
months, it was repealed. It failed. The United States is not the only country that have tried this. 3 other countries have tried permanent year-round daylight saving time. Most recently, it was Portugal in 1996. They all failed every time daylight saving time has been tried permanently, it has failed. So when you add up the cost to health when you add up the cost to the economy, when you look at the impact to students, uh,
there is really only one choice. If we want to lock the clocks and stop this back and forth, and that is to go to permanent standard time. uh, here with me at the, at the end of the table, I'm gonna let her uh introduce herself, uh, but, uh, this is Ms. Fast. She is a behavioral sleep specialist, and I'm gonna let her, um, kind of talk about uh What she's experienced in her work related to this issue and why we need to take this, uh, this important step.
Elspeth Fast
Unverified
15:54
Thank you, Representative Meeks. Um, my name is Elspeth Fast and I'm a behavioral sleep specialist. I'm also an adjunct professor at the Alice Walton School of Medicine. I was a master trainer and consultant for CBT for insomnia with the Department of Veterans Affairs for 15 years. Um, I'm here to speak in support of House Bill 1069. Um, I agree 100% with Representative Meeks. This bill to eliminate daylight savings time in Arkansas and observed standard time year round.
is an investment in the long-term health of Arkansans. HB 1069 is in alignment with the wisdom of our bodies' circadian rhythm, which is your internal body clock, but we actually have every cell in our body is dictated by our body clock and our circadian rhythm. Um, this bill is in uh alignment with the recommendations of our most respected institutions, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Medical. Association and the Society of
Behavioral Sleep Medicine, of which I'm a member. This past Sunday at 2 a.m. Arkansans and approximately 300 million other people around the world experienced a shifting forward of our external clocks, so the clock on your wrist, the wall, your phone, but our internal clocks were left as is, um, this incongruency uh as Representative Meek said, causes a whole host of really dire health consequences. circadian rhythm is impacted by
many things, but by far the most powerful cue is light exposure. Our daily sleep-wake cycle is reliant on bright light exposure in the morning and darkness or the absence of light in the evening. I frequently hear from clients that they want that extra hour of daylight in the evening, but I can tell you as someone that's been treating insomnia for over 30 years. Uh, the presence of daylight in the evening actually contributes to insomnia. Um, we need morning sunlight, not evening sunlight
to help um the epidemic of insomnia that we're seeing across Arkansas and the nation. Um, we have a wealth of evidence that this morning sunlight, what would be preserved by HB 1069 is far more beneficial to our sleep mood and overall physical health and that extra hour in the evening. Exposure to morning light strengthens our circadian clock. Um, this misalignment when we spring when we go through the spring transition does not last for just a couple of days, it can last.
Up until the time in November when we transitioned back. We know this change impacts cardiovascular health, increases the risk of diabetes and obesity. It reduces our cognitive performance and impedes our mental health. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine published a powerful position statement illuminating this risk in very sobering terms while making the distinction between the acute and the chronic effects of switching between daylight savings time and standard time along with increases in heart rate and
blood pressure, the switch also causes immune system alterations and altered gene expression. This is very important because scientists have discovered that alterations in gene expression are what can sort of flip. On and off genes that may otherwise stay turned off, increasing potentially the risk for cancer and, and we see that, you know, we, this is not us guessing at the effects, like we can see this in states where they observe year-round Standard Time and we can also see it in states where, you know, on the western side, uh, people are
getting more, more morning sunlight exposure. Um, in addition, um. Uh, to these more immediate measurable risks we get less sleep following daylight savings time due to the lack of morning sun and too much sunlight exposure in the evening. Chronic insomnia also contributes to poor short-term memory, increased risk of dementia and lower productivity. Many are Arkansans with insomnia do not have access to the most effective treatments for insomnia like cognitive
behavioral therapy for insomnia, but by restoring standard time year round, we could prevent the development of insomnia for a large percentage of the population. It is undeniable that we have an overwhelming amount of evidence that daylight savings time is detrimental to every aspect of our well-being. Um, so I, I'm here today in support of this bill. OK, thank you. So, colleagues,
Speaker 14
20:29
when we switched to daylight saving time, as
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
20:32
I had mentioned early on, we're forcing
everybody to get up an hour earlier. But because that extra light that we have in the evening, we don't go to bed an hour earlier. So on average, every adult is losing 20 minutes of sleep per night. Every teenager as I talked about is losing about 30 minutes of sleep per night. There was cumulative effects over time lead to these impacts that, that we're talking about here. Every, just about every major medical, and I'm not going to, I've got a long list here that I could go through. Most major medical
associations have said we need to go to permanent standard time, uh, the, uh, PTA, the, the National Parent Teachers Association. They, uh, promote standard. time because of the impact that it has on our, on our students, and there's numerous other organizations. This for grants, I said, OK, we've got all these people saying we need to get rid of daylight saving time. Are there any organizations who are promoting saying we need to go stay on daylight saving time. The only organization that I found goes back to the original
what the retailers, the, the hospitality, those few people that benefit from that extra uh daylight and night, but everybody else, uh, that has looked at this as we need to go back. In natural time as told by the uh by the uh the sun. Uh, I'm gonna make just a few more points and then, then we'll open it up to uh to questions. Um, one of the common questions that I get on this is, what about uh those of us that live on the border, right? There, there could be some confusion between, you know, we're on
Standard Time and my neighbor stayed next door is on daylight saving time. Arkansas is kind of in a somewhat unique position on the western half of the country, not having any bordering states that touch a time zone change. Uh, I, I'm not gonna list them, but there are actually 12 states in the country that are divided by time zones. So for example, Tennessee, half the states in Central, half the state is in eastern they have a they've adopted to, to, to handle that
difference. Florida, part of the state is in central. The state is Eastern. Those people have adopted to be able to understand those changes. Um Over half the states of the country either border a time zone or have a time zone running through, uh, those folks have all adapted to, to those changes. I have no doubt that we in Arkansas can do the same. And I, and I would, I would further make this argument. Which is the, the weightier
issue. People being inconvenienced by having a time zone difference over the border or the health and welfare of our citizens. I would say, are we gonna damage the health and welfare of our citizens just so people don't get confused about what time their dentist appointment is. I, I, I, I hope not. um. The uh the last thing I will, I will finish with uh before we open it up to questions. I do have a 2nd Amendment that I have prepared. So the way, the way
the bill is drafted right now is if it is passed, uh, next year, Arkansas will go on and stay on Standard Time year round. There are allowances within the bill that if uh the federal government does adopt year-round daylight saving time if we've got a, you know, repeat the same mistake as our forebearers that Arkansas would follow that. We would go to year-round daylight savings time as long as it was required by Congress. So the purpose of this bill is we're gonna lock the clock
either way. My preference is Standard Time, that's the only option we have available to us right now, but if Congress says daylight saving time, then we'll do daylight saving time. The other thing that it allows is it allows state employees where is um practical, the opportunity to have a summer schedule. So if it makes more sense for them to come in an hour early or if they want to come in that hour early so they can take advantage of some extra daylight in the evening. We allow for that, um, that would have the benefit of maybe spreading out rush hour a little
bit, reducing rush hour traffic, which who could be against that, right? Um, and my hope is that uh businesses would uh would follow similar
by creating that uh allowance. The amendment that I have prepared is this, um, it would take the bill and, and
change it from a, we are going to do this next year and we'll turn it into a trigger bell. So what that means is we would continue doing the back and forth until one of our surrounding states also agreed to adopt daylight saving
time and or excuse me, also agreed to adopt permanent standard time, then at that point we would go to Standard Time, um. You know, I, I, I kind of like in daylight saving time to, to smoking, right? People who are addicted to this, the, the smoking and the nicotine, they can come up with excuses for why smoking is beneficial, right? Uh, it, you know, helps calm my nerves. It helps me in my, in my social circles, but we all understand that the damaging health
ramifications caused by smoking and and and nicotine. And what happens sometimes is you can imagine a group of 5 friends who are all, uh, you know, who are all smokers. They all understand the need to quit, but nobody wants to be first. If one of them had the strength to be first, the rest of them would stop. But what happens is They ended up being locked in a lifetime of these negative health consequences because no one is willing to take that step to go first. That's what I'm
asking you. If Arkansas takes the step to do this first. There are 30 other states around this country that have bills to do this exact same thing. The reason why they keep failing is because nobody wants to step out and go first. I have every confidence that if we will be a leader in this, it'll definitely make national headlines and it will encourage other states to stake that step with us. If the best we can do today is make it
a trigger bell then so be it. Uh, I will leave that up to the will of the committee. uh, if we wanna handle it as is, that's great. If somebody, if would like to turn it into a church Bill, uh, would like to make an amendment to do so. I would consider that a friendly amendment or if it's the will of the committee, I will make that motion myself. So two options are on the table for us this morning and uh
with that uh Mr. Chairman, uh, we will open it up to any questions from the committee. Alright. Representative Meeks has
explained the bill. We do have some questions by the committee. Representative Hawk, recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
27:25
Representatives, I, I appreciate the persistence you've done this quite a bit since you've been here, um, I, I've got a couple of things that, uh, my background is as a broadcaster, right? And so, uh, I've spent 15 years of my life in syndication and things like that. If we were to do this, right, and
let's just hypothetically say there's a razorback game that's at 11 o'clock, right? But everybody
else is still in Central time, and it would be at noon. It messes up all broadcast syndications across for not only our local partners, but even regional partners, would you not
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
28:00
agree? I, I agree that, that definitely could be a concern, but I also understand that uh for example, uh, Columbus, Georgia is sitting right on the border between the times they've got that exact same issue and they've found ways to to deal with it, uh, you know, between Tallahassee and
Pensacola, Florida, same issue, uh, the, uh, Pierre North Dakota, the capital up there. Time zone runs right through the middle of the city practically, uh, and so this issue was dealt with other places across the country and so and so again, it's kind of like going back to my nicotine example. You can find some good to this and, and I understand that concern, which is why I have this trigger option in here to try to maybe placate that a little bit, but if I, if I have to look at the two harms that
the harm to the broadcasters over you know, maybe some confusion or the harm to our citizens and our children, you know, how am I gonna weigh those? Uh, you know, I'm gonna put our citizens and our children first. Mr. Sherry, if you'll give me a little
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
29:06
ahead. So I'm glad you said that about children because um this has been a top of topic of conversation in my neighborhood, so we've got 45 houses in our, in our neighborhood and we actually had our POA meeting this last week and this bill got
brought up and I did not have one person that said, well, wouldn't the health of our kids being able to play outside longer, wouldn't that be beneficial as well and and when we're talking about health and our kids being able to play outside and, and do, we're we're advocating, look, we just took cell phones out of out of schools. So you're not on iPads. We want them to be outside. Would you agree that having it lighter outside to have them play outside would be beneficial. So,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
29:44
uh, to and, and I don't know if you've got any got any input here. So, uh, what ends up, what up the uh
On one level, yes, we definitely want our kids to be outside enjoying, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying the sun shine, but what ends up happening is because we push that daylight so far into the evening that it makes it more difficult for children to go to sleep at night, uh, and because of that, they're losing sleep that is vital for their health. So you've got, you almost got two choices here. Do we want them exercising or do we want them getting the sleep they need, right? Uh, you could. You know,
you could, you know, that she might have some more thoughts on that, but the um the other thing that I would say is that uh I have heard from teachers across the state and uh numerous teachers across the state who have told me that one of their concerns is that we go to daylight savings time that uh the sporting activities stay later and later and later into the evening. The, the students are getting less sleep and they see that in their students when they're coming.
to school the next day, uh, which affects their, you know, academic performance. And so, uh, like I said, the teachers are saying they're seeing this, they're seeing how it's robbing our students of their academics and so when you look at these two, again, we're having to make a choice here. Would we rather than play outside for an extra 30 minutes at night. I would rather have them using that time to get the sleep that they need so that they can perform better in their studies the next day.
Elspeth Fast
Unverified
31:23
I can second that. I mean, and we are actually in the mental health community, we're seeing an epidemic of suicidal ideation and depression in teens that is very much tied to to lack of sleep and insomnia and even within my private practice several months ago I treated a 14-year-old who's pediatrician contacted me because he, you know, reported having suicidal ideation and depression and the pediatrician wanted to put him on an antidepressant medication. And uh this kid, this 114 year
old had the wisdom to say, you know, I really feel like if I could sleep, I would be less depressed and not have suicidal ideation and sure enough, with the help of CBT for insomnia and us getting him to bed earlier, uh, using, you know, blackout curtains at night and um, you know, increased sunlight exposure in the morning, his depression and suicidal ideation cleared up within weeks. So there is a really strong connection between Sleep and mood for every, every
person walking the planet, but particularly for teenagers and one reason why teenagers circadian rhythm is, is shifted forward and delayed is they really need a significant amount of deep REM sleep, um, in order to, you know, knit together different regions of their brain and develop their frontal lobes and um and unfortunately, morning sunlight is a key component of being able to sleep at night. Um, we are, we are very much
meant to have our sleep patterns in conjunction with the rising and setting of the sun, and when we, when we kind of disobey that that natural sort of law, it's really at our own peril. Yeah, and, and I
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
33:10
would follow up, uh, you know, my wife and I, we homeschool, uh, our daughter and
she's a teenager as well, uh, and we let her sleep in the morning until she's ready to get up and just that alone gives her a huge advantage over her peers that are going to public school
that we're forcing right here before we do our testing to see, you know, how we're doing compared to other states, um, we're forcing them to get up an hour earlier, uh, right before having him take those critical. fast. OK, I'll have one
Speaker 24
33:39
more question and I'll be done, Mr. Chair, for now, and I
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
33:43
appreciate these questions these are good questions. This is, you know, even if this bill doesn't go anywhere, we're having a very important discussion that
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
33:51
has been going on for many, many years and, and you know I was doing some research last last night in Wall Street
Journal and some others, um, talked about energy consumption, right, and that with daylight savings time, it also reduces energy consumption amongst people that are within the daylight. savings time period. Would you agree that that is a uh a positive for daylight savings time, so
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
34:15
it's been sold as that, but the studies I've looked at said it's the exact opposite. OK, because what, what you're doing is you're shifting that demand from the evening to the morning. OK, and so it doesn't, uh, you know, it doesn't play out, you
know, and in the summer by people staying up later, you're running your air conditioners more, whereas, you know, you start going to bed, you, you might uh turn air conditioner out, whatever, but anyways, the studies I've seen, there's practically no difference in the energy usage, um, uh, there was a senator, uh, back when we did the, the change back in 1974 that uh he lamented that when Congress put us on year-round daylight saving time. He said Congress did so without any studies, without even
looking at it, and he said back then when they went to year-round daylight saving time at best there might have been 12%. Energy savings. And so I had that at it's almost, you know, non-existent. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Wooldridge, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Representative Meeks for bringing these
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
35:23
um this forward, I agree with you, it is an important discussion and I think that we all, you know, obviously care about our children and uh I appreciate the comments about
insomnia. I'm also a behavioral health professional. I think there are a lot of other areas that lead to that with, you know, stress in schools and screen time and you know, hormones change during puberty, all those kind of things reset that clock and make a difference. I don't know that Standard Time is necessarily the culprit for all of that, but Um, I do have a question when we talk about like being part of a time zone and you keep using the analogy of a time zone running through a state. Well, those are still established time zones so when you, you know what time
you're on, I guess my question for you would be when people come into Arkansas, we may all get used to it being on Arkansas time, uh, but how would the rest of the world as they travel through or they're inbound coming through the state. They're coming here for ball games or activities or business. I mean, how, how would they know? what would we do to alert them that you think your conference starts at 9 a.m. central time, but it really starts at 9:00 a.m. Arkansas time. How would you even
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
36:32
how would that work, uh, so again, Arizona has been doing this for, for a very long time, and I think in this regard, technology is the answer. Uh, if you, you know, you've got to, you know, got a watch on, you've got your phone, itsy. So as soon as you land in that new time zone, your phone and your watch are automatically gonna sync, uh. You know, I, I know as I drive across the country, as soon as I, you know, within 5 miles of crossing that time zone line, my phone and my watch on my wrist, they change automatically, uh, and so I don't, I don't foresee that being, being a real big
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
37:04
issue. So follow up, Mr. Chair, if, if we were to change this and adopt this regular time then what whatever causes that to sync up to iPhones and watches and all that would automatically be adopted by those platforms, right, OK. Thank you.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
37:18
Just say, you know, the, the cell phone carriers, the, you know, people who program our computers, all that, um, they would just make that change in the software so that if you're in Arkansas, you just don't spring forward and backwards. Thank you, Mr. Chair and kind of
along that along that point, you know, I, I, I'll throw this out as well. If we were to try this and it turned into an absolute catastrophe, you know what, you know what we could do. You just run another bill and we'll go back to swapping back and forth, right? Well, I, right,
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
37:50
I appreciate that, you know, obviously the, the time it would take for us to come back into session and run another bill to swap it back. There'd be chaos for a two-year period. Have you gotten any confirmation from cell phone carriers or these other platforms that they would indeed make these algorithm changes
that would automatically update that. I, I've not talked to him,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
38:08
but I have no doubt that that would take place like you know that it happens in Arizona every year, so. Thank you, sir. You know, I read an article from uh someone who in Arizona who uh was praying that the rest of the country would join them staying
Representative Mark D. McElroy
Unverified
38:27
on Standard Time. Representative McIlroy, you're recognized. Thank you, Representative Meeks. I agree that uh it affects uh
our sleep habits this Sunday, I slept through the sermon and then I had to go home and take another. I had to take another hour nap after I got home. You takes care of it, But uh you know that I agree that switching back and forth, it, it really affects me and other people, but where the rub is. Half of my of my neighbors and friends are for one side and halves for the other. Have you ever, have you ever, uh,
Thought about a compromise by splitting it 30 minutes and leaving it alone. you know,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
39:15
you know, if I could do that, that might be something to consider, you know, but unfortunately, federal law doesn't,
Speaker 46
39:21
uh, doesn't give us that choice Mr. Chair and you know, I represent the delta part of uh
Representative Mark D. McElroy
Unverified
39:27
a lot of the river, Mississippi River Delta, and we have some crossings there and you, you touched, you touched on it and a lot of them work in
Mississippi and, and Memphis and they go back and forth. Uh, do you really think that this would be better handled at a federal level where everybody, I, I agree with I agree wholly that we need to do something, but it, it's really gonna cause confusion and Helena and people working back and forth. Uh, so to answer your question, I, I, I, I had
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
39:58
that same problem Sunday morning trying to stay awake during the sermon, uh, and we all did because of that, that jolt to our, our system. Um, yes, what I'd love for Congress
to handle this and uh do it nationwide. I think that would be the best possible way to do it, uh, but do I have any faith that Congress will? No, none practically, uh, yeah, so, uh, but If states would start doing this, then I think at some point Congress would step in and and and do it nationwide. But until they start seeing that there is a, uh, you know, large public
outcry to get this done. We're gonna be forever trapped in this back and forth, and our citizens are going to pay that price. And again, kind of like uh like I I I talked about, uh, could there be some confusion on that cross-border? Sure, but what is the, the, the, the greater evil that concern for that confusion or the health of our citizens, teenagers, suicide rates, which one of those is the way of your matter. And for, for me, it's, you know, it's, it's a simple choice. I, I thank you representative Meeks
Representative Mark D. McElroy
Unverified
41:12
for bringing this to our attention and maybe we'll get some federal
Chair
Unverified
41:16
attention. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Representative Representative Crawford, you recognized. Thank you Mr.
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
41:27
Chair. Representative makes I am tired just from listening to you. There is so much confusion that goes with it that I would be the one to say let's do the trigger bill. If the federal government
does it, then we all do it at the
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
41:48
same time. Thank you. And, and I'm, I'm happy to, to, to do that. So what the, what the trigger bill would do is it would say that uh we'll continue the back and forth until one of our uh neighboring states agrees to join us in this effort, uh, and, and just to give you, I mean, Texas had 4 bills to do this. OK. I
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
42:06
guess um follow up I guess I kind of misunderstood
that, so the trigger bill would not just be a trigger bill for when Congress does it for the
whole US we would still go back and forth until that happened. I mean if
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
42:25
Congress acted, then it would be superfluous, anything that we did here within the, within the state. And so what the trigger would be is the The law is federal laws right now. We can go to standard time and stay permanently on Standard Time. What the trigger bill would do
is it would say that we in Arkansas will continue to go back and forth with daylight saving time until one of our neighboring states agrees to go to Standard Time as well. So for example, as I said, there, there are 4 bills in Texas, uh, to try to put them on year-round Standard Time. If they were to adopt that bill in their state, then Arkansas and Texas would both go to Standard Time year round. Or if it was Missouri or Tennessee, there've been, there have been standard time bills and all these and all these states around us. So if one of
our neighboring states agreed to do it with us, then we would go to year-round Standard Time. OK.
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
43:21
Follow up, please. You're recognized. I would like to see a trigger bill to where we don't do anything different. Until Congress makes a decision. There would be no point to a
bill like that because if Congress makes a decision,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
43:37
then it then it just happens, right? I mean, I mean we could pass a resolution
encouraging Congress to take action, I think we've done before, right, but just to say we're gonna pass a bill so that when Congress does something, we'll follow it, you know, it happens through the supremacy clause anyway, so it would be
superfluous to do that. I think it's too confusing. Thank
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
44:01
you. All right, seeing no further questions by
the committee. Are there any, OK, Representative Long, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr.
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
44:10
Chairman. Um, we've been talked before about this, but I thought I needed to
bring up one last time, uh, as a, um, a part-time farmer, uh, like there's thousands of others here in Arkansas. That extra hour of daylight when you get home from work to be able to take care of your animals and stuff. There's, I think there's a lot of efficiency gained there that maybe, you know, you might be overlooking because uh when you're out there doing it with a headlamp, it it doesn't go so well, you know, and, uh, you know, that, that's always been one of my main. Concerns is losing that productivity on the farm. Sure. Uh, so I, I'll I'll I'll, I'll address that just real quick.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
44:49
Uh, first point, uh, when daylight saving time was first implemented back in the 1960s, the uh farmers were the group that were the most vehemently opposed to it because farmers probably understand better than anyone else that nature operates on standard time, so the animals on the farm, they're gonna operate on standard time, the, the, the. Uh, plants, they're gonna operate on stand everything else in nature is operating on standard time except for us. Right? And there's a consequence
that, that comes to that, you know, I, I, and I've spoken to, to that issue, uh, with folks before that there is nothing that would forbid folks if they want to, to get up that extra hour earlier in the morning to, uh, you know, adjust their schedules to be able to take advantage of uh of that now that the daylight hours in the summer are always going to be longer regardless of what we do on the clock because contrary to some belief, the earth is actually round and So, uh, we're, we're gonna have
that extra daylight during the summer months. And I think it is. We need to be honest with ourselves and if we're gonna make a shift, let's shift our schedules and not shift our clocks. Well, I, I, I guess, you know, one of my problems is like
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
46:04
when you, you work off the farm, you know, you're, you're, you're gonna get off whenever the boss man says it's time to get off and and particularly at this time of the year, you know, in the fall too, that extra hour there, you know, that you can take care of a lot of, a lot of
things that you, you ordinarily wouldn't be able to if it if it was dark, sure appreciate you trying to answer,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
46:31
to that point, I, I don't disagree that there are some benefits to the illusion of the extra hour in the evening, but again, that comes at a cost, and are we willing to pay that cost as a society to have that illusion of that extra hour. And in my mind, the cost is just too great.
Elspeth Fast
Unverified
46:53
I was gonna just also say, you know, the fact that every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association has is strongly in support of, of switching to standard time, I think it's pretty remarkable. I mean, we have so much science available that that, that feeling off this week that all of us have is not just, oh, I got a little bit less sleep. It really is. Every single person in this room has increased cardiovascular. Risk, increased risk of stroke,
heart attack for weeks following this time change, like there are really serious medical consequences to what we're doing, um, so I agree with, with Representative Meeks, there's all kinds of inconveniences with making a change like this. It's just a question of whether Arkansas is bold enough to say we care so much about the health and welfare of our, of our citizens that we are going to look at this undeniable science and, and be the ones to make this change and, and then as the years progress, seeing things like increased testing scores,
decreased traffic accidents in the morning, decrease, you know, a heart attack and stroke across the, across the state, you know, that, that will be when, you know, we'd be able to gather in a room like this and say, thank God we, we looked at what was most important and made that decision, right, seeing no further questions
by the committee. We do have someone signed up to speak. Against the bill, Ned Gladner.
Mr. Gladner, if you would state your name for the record and any organization you're here representing and you'll be recognized
Neil Gladner
Unverified
48:44
to speak against the bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Neil Gladner. I'm the executive director
Speaker 75
48:52
of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association. Sorry, I misread your name. I apologize about that handwriting, Mr. Chairman, not your
Neil Gladner
Unverified
48:59
reading ability All right, you're recognized. Thank you, sir. Um, I can tell you that that few things had come before the legislature have
garnered as much attention from our members as this bill, and there's no shortage of things that the legislature that have garnered our attention. But this one has a big impact and, and many people outside of our business say, why do broadcasters care about this? First, let me start by saying that the broadcast industry uh might surprise you in terms of its economic impact in Arkansas. Study from woods and Poole, which is a Washington DC research firm. Says that radio and TV in
Arkansas have a $9.4 billion impact here in over 21,000 jobs. I'm here with the backing of our members radio and television in strong opposition to House Bill 1069. Because of the impact that it has on broadcasters, some of which Representative Hawke mentioned earlier. So many radio and especially TV stations have network or syndicated programming from the nightly news to the primetime programming to syndicated
morning shows, this impact on our members, the, the TV and radio stations that the citizens of Arkansas listen to or watch is large. For instance, uh, whether you like the program or not, the NBC Nightly News that comes on at 5:30 Central time all year. would come on at 4:30 for approximately 7 months of the year because that's when the network sends the show. They're not going to send a special edition of that program for Arkansas. If there is a football game in
September, let's say CBS picks up the Razorback football game and that afternoon game starts at 3 o'clock central time, regardless of where it's played for CBS, they're not gonna run an announcement that says the razorbacks are playing whoever at 4 o'clock Eastern, 3 o'clock Central, except in Arkansas. They're not going to make that announcement, so that will lead to some confusion and hardships on our member stations, uh, TV stations in particular have so much network. programming, so prime time programming during the time of the year when the rest of the
Speaker 77
51:11
country is on daylight savings time, prime time here would start at 6 o'clock. And go till 9 o'clock. Um, so that, that hurts our members and you might say, well, it's an inconvenience, it's more than an
Neil Gladner
Unverified
51:25
inconvenience. It is a serious business consideration for the radio and television stations of Arkansas because of the expense they would go to, have to reprogramming we just referred to it as our automation, but it's, it is the satellite systems that connect our TV stations to our network
partners around the state. They'd either have to purchase very expensive equipment to tape delay the programmings. And some of that could not happen, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee because many of the network programs come to affiliates with specific requirements about what time they are broadcast. Uh, radio stations likewise carry syndicated programming, um, a popular one in central Arkansas is the Bobby Bones Show on Kissing. That's a 6 to 10 program. It's a national program, all of a sudden that
would be at 5 a.m. until 9 a.m. That, that hurts the radio station's ability to sell advertising in that program because an hour it would be outside of what our industry refers to as morning drive, uh, I, I mentioned the time difference not only for news and sports and syndicated programming, but it's just a big expense item we in broadcasting right now face no shortages of challenges from big tech, if you will, and we don't need Arkansas giving us additional challenges in terms
of our expense lines so that we can continue to serve our listeners and viewers and bring them. Information that's crucial to their daily lives, like when we have tornado warnings like when we, we do programs about um like the snow that hit us in and paralyzed us if you all of that happens because radio and TV stations who are facing increasing costs or declining revenues because of big tech, we have to stay in business to be able to provide those local services. Hi, thank you for your
consideration. I hope strongly that this committee will vote no on 1069, and I'll be happy to answer any questions. All right, thank you, Mr.
Gladner. Are there any questions by the committee? Seeing no, thank you for your remarks. Thank you, sir. Seeing no one else sign up to speak for or against the bill. Representative Meeks you recognized a close for
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
53:36
your bill. Alright, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you committee. We've been here for about an hour discussing this issue once again as I mentioned before, this is a decision that's gonna.
In fact, the, the life, the health, well-being of every citizen of our, our state. This decision has consequences, uh, on the one hand, as you heard from the broadcasters, there's concern that it might create some confusion, uh, and I, I do not, don't, don't deny that. But let's weigh the cost here for us to continue doing this. We know by doing this that the uh suicide rates in Arkansas are going to be higher, which means
every year, if we vote this down, we're gonna lose more of our citizens to suicide. We know rates of depression, uh, anxiety, those are gonna increase. We know that um student achievements, if we continue down this path, we are harming our students and their ability to. a score academically, um, we know that, uh, overall, while there is some benefit to certain segments of the economy overall, the net effect of the economy by continuing daylight saving time
is negative. And finally, just the overall health we've all felt the impacts of this. We all understand that by continuing on daylight saving time, there is gonna be a cost. Every human is designed so that our biological clocks are synced with the sun. When we work in concert with nature, we have our healthier selves. When we fight against nature, artificially even by an hour, there's a consequence to that. And so I hope this morning that you'll stand with me and say, Arkansas is gonna be a leader in this.
We're gonna be bold. We're gonna take that first step and um do what's in the best health, welfare and interests of our citizens and with that. Mr. Chairman, I am close and would
make a motion do pass as amended on 1069. Alright, Representative Meeks has made a
motion to pass as amended. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing no discussion on
the motion. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed. The nos have it.
All right. The bill has failed. Next we have House Bill 1070 Representative John Carr.
All right, Alright, step had a couple of handouts to pass out to the committee. I want to make sure everybody's had a chance to review those. After everyone's had a moment to review those.
All right. Representative Carr. You would state your name, the district you represent, you'll be
recognized to present House Bill 1070. John Car State Representative Arkansas House District 15, my guest. Kim Dennison, I'm
Speaker 89
58:23
the election coordinator for Benton County. All right, Representative Carr, you're
recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, everybody when they go into the voting booth, you see
Representative John P. Carr
Unverified
58:37
different names for all the different contests on your ballots, and people probably wonder how is that order determined. The orders determined through a ballot draw process. Today, I bring to you House Bill 1070. The ballot draw standardization Act of 2025. Elections must have very clear foolproof, fair and consistent processes. First thing we're gonna do is we're gonna go over the major stakeholders um affecting this, affected by this bill. The State Board of Elections, they know, they know about the
bill. We told them about they've expressed no concerns to us. Secretary of State's office has no concerns. The County Clerks Association is opposing the bill, but not all county clerks are against the bill. Next, Let's talk about roles and responsibilities with this, with this bill. The Secretary of State is is responsible for filing candidates at the state and the federal level. The county clerk is responsible for storing the county's documents. The only thing we're asking of this bill is to have the county
clerk's date and time stamp, the filing document of the candidate filing form. Some clerks already do that, so it wouldn't be affected by this bill at all. Statute 7-5-203. Little B1 defines the role of the county clerk. Not less than 75 days before each general election day, the clerk of each county shall certify to the county board of election commissioners of his or County, a full list of candidates to be voted on.
For the county as nominations have been certified or otherwise properly submitted to him or her. So once the, once the, the documents are done, they hand they list names to the election commission and their responsibilities are through. Next, the election commission is responsible for the ballot draw per statute 7-5-207, little C1. I'm gonna read the second half of the statute. The order in which name the candidates shall appear, actually the full statute and the order and the names which the candidate will shall appear
on the ballot, shall be determined by a lot of public meeting of the county Board of Election commissions, not less than 72 days before the general election. That's the responsibility to the ballot draw of the election commission. So I know that the county clerks Association has been opposed to this bill. Next, I'm going to go through the timeline and the history of how we've attempted to work with the association. The bill was worked on long before session began. We've been very careful and very methodical on this bill to make sure we get things right because you gotta have your laws exactly right for
elections. On December 7th, I sent a draft of the bill to the county curse Association asking for concerns. 129, the county clerks Association, they came back and asked a clarifying question which she promptly answered. December 18th, the bill was pre-filed. That way anybody would have an opportunity to express any concerns about the bill. January 15th in this room, the County Clerks Association did approach me about the bill. We started to discuss it. And the Cali clerks associate
decided to take a position against the bill. January 29th, I reached out again to the County Clerks Association to ask us to get with the clerks so we could talk about any concerns that they have and make sure we can discuss it. Some clerks did approach us and Coordinator Dennison did speak with some of them, and so she'll fill you in more on that. And then based upon feedback we got from coordinators and such that did talk to us. We did an amendment to clarify the bill based upon the feedback to make a good bill better, to make sure it's nice and solid.
On, on, uh, March 4th You know, I contacted the county clerks Association as a courtesy to let them know the bill will be running today. So that way they would, they would have a heads up. Yesterday, the county clerks Association did offer an amendment last minute to uh to us on the bill. Here are the concerns with the amendment that was offered. Um, they want to put the state board of elections in charge of the ballot draw. Number one, this amendment does not apply to the role of the county clerks. Why are they pushing an
amendment that does not apply to their function. Number 2, the amendment was offered last minute. We tried to work with them earlier. And they've had ample opportunity to work with us. Number 3 Rules can take a very long time, months sometimes to change in the process is cumbersome. I've sat in the Arkansas Legislative Council, and I've seen all the different processes have to go through to make a rule. And it's, it takes a long time. Sometimes the committee heads have to come to ALC and explain why the rule's not ready.
Number 4 rules require public comment period. This process does not affect the public. It would be better suited in statutes, as it's very clearly defined. And number 5, the supporters of this bill want the process in statute. Now let's talk about the need for the bill. As I mentioned, the statute earlier, current law is very vague and ambiguous. There's no process stated for how to run a ballot draw. So I'm gonna read 7-5-207 subsection C1 again. The order
in which names of candidates shall appear on the ballot, shall be determined by a lot of public meeting of the county Board of Election commissioners, not less than 72 days before the general election. That's very vague. There's not a lot of information on how to do a ballot drawing there. There's a lot of turnover at the election commission. New election commissioners would not be able to understand how to do a ballot draw on this current status alone, statute alone, is way too vague. The bill clearly defines how to conduct the our bill really defines how to conduct the ballot draw. It
clearly is very streamlined, fair, and common sense procedure, but it still leaves ultimate control to the election commission. We made sure to write it that way because they, they still have control. It's not a partisan bill. It's fair for all candidates and gives them all, everybody equal opportunity. Let's talk about the next, the next reason. Time stamps are already part of the candidate filing process for statute 7-7-301A. I'm gonna read half of this one. A for noon of the last day of
the political party filing period, all candidates in primary elections, political parties shall file an affidavit of eligibility. And any pledge required by such party to pay party filing fees by party as follows. This bill simply requires the county clerks to add a time stamp to a filing document. A time stamp can be added by hand. All the documents are filed at the county clerk's, all the all the documents you file at the county clerk's office already require a date stamp as it is to go into the, the their res their
reservoir. So passing this bill would help also ensure compliance with current state law and ensure that no inadvertent filings occur in the last day after 12 p.m. as it's already in state law for a time stamp for the filing period. ballot position slot position does matter. There are many studies. That show that the farther down the ballot the contest is, the more significant the advantage is. Next we're going to review the
overall process again. Candidates when they file for office will file during the candidate filing period. Remember, noon to noon, that's the request need for the time stamp. State and federal candidates file with the Secretary of State. County and municipal file with the county clerk. The Secretary of State, upon collusion of filing when they certify, we'll send out the names with the date and time stamp of when the county to the, to the uh election commission when they filed. County clerks will provide the election commission with the names of candidates who have
filed by contest with date, as they always do and adding a time stamp. And the election commission will prepare the list of candidates by contest ordered by date and by time of filing. And so at this point, I'll hand it over to coordinator Dennison to
Speaker 89
1:06:33
add her comments. Thank you, Representative Carr. Um With this bill, our election commission chairman had asked for this bill a few years ago, and it's been in the works since then. Uh, this bill just simply
gives, gives guidance to the election commissions that may be new and don't know where to start. Um, this would have been very helpful for me, becoming a new coordinator 13 years ago. Uh, this will create consistency across the state in how the process is done. And um We had gotten feedback from 10 of the 75 counties, 5 of those reached out to Representative Carr and myself um with their concerns and we
amended the bill to accommodate some of those concerns where we could. Um, the other 5 I had just reached out to them to just understand the process in which their counties do the ballot draw. And to my surprise, um, most of them do. Just like we do in Benton County or something similar, very similar. The 4 largest counties and even a few of the smaller counties that I had talked to are already doing it. In the way that it is laid out
in the bill. Um This bill would just require that a date and time be certified to the election commission and the list be in this order when it's received from the county clerk and the Secretary of State's office. We have been very fortunate in our county that this is how we already receive it from our county clerk. And this is the basis of how we currently do our process and how our process was developed, um, in creating fairness to all candidates.
Unfortunately, when we receive the list currently from the Secretary of State's office. It lists the candidates in alphabetical order by party for each race. Um, so if you know where to find the filing list on the Secretary of State's website, you could go and find the date that somebody has filed, but it does not have a time stamp on it, so if two people file on the same date, you wouldn't know which one did first. Um And a new coordinator or
election commissioner may not know where to find that. It's not easily found. Uh, most of the time, the ballot draw would be scheduled for the next day to meet deadlines, and we don't receive that information from the Secretary of State's office and sometimes the county clerk until the day that there's the last day for them to certify to us. And why did we only put one person to draw for a candidate
in the bill, um, because we give, we believe that this gives fairness to all candidates so that a representative isn't there drawing for everybody that may not show up. Um, I heard from a few counties that they did like this option in the bill and then a couple did not, um, as they would have the party chair that would draw for all candidates that didn't show up. And I believe that this could still happen with the wording in the bill that says drawn by a member of the County Board of
Election Commission or person designated by the County Board of Election commissioners. Um, one of the handouts that you were given just a little while ago is a letter that we send to our candidates. I'm just explaining what our ballot draw bill or ballot draw process looks like. And so, um, as you can see, I The candidate list is compiled in a way um to all fairness to
the candidates. So anybody that may show up took the time to show up in person would be eligible to draw first. If two people did, then that's
Speaker 93
1:10:32
where the time stamp really comes in handy because the person that filed first would be the person to draw first. Uh,
Speaker 89
1:10:41
somebody may send a representative in their place, and this person's only allowed to draw one time. Um, and then if nobody shows up for that candidate, then the election commission or somebody
they appoint would draw for them. It's really very simple. We're not telling the counties how to What type of lot to use when they do their ballot
Speaker 96
1:11:04
draw by lot as defined in the law, um, so this just gives a clear process
Speaker 89
1:11:10
and gives fairness to candidates. I'd be happy to answer any questions. All right, thank you for those comments. Representative Hawk
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:11:28
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Representative Carr for bringing this. So I've got, got a few questions. OK. Um, so in Saline County where I'm at, right, we, we've got a pretty flawless system, right? Like you walk in, everybody's cordial. It's
kind of a gathering of all the, the elected officials running for our the people running for office. They throw a hat out there and and you kind of joke with your partner on who's gonna draw on it. It's very cordial never, to my knowledge, I don't think we've ever had any issues. What, when it's kind of that
kind my question I guess is, is it not this way across the state, like is it very contentious at at other ballot draws across the
Speaker 89
1:12:09
state. I've not heard of it being contentious, honestly, um, but what happens when your entire election commission does not get reelected and they come in and need guidance on where to start. This just kind of helps give them that
Speaker 93
1:12:23
guidance in how to do a ballot draw process to keep it
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:12:30
fair for candidates and I and I get that. I understand that, but This is not a hard process. You're, you're
sticking your hand in a hat with pulling a number, right? And, and so there shouldn't have to be a starting point on, you say, OK, candidates, you gotta be here on this day and you're gonna, we're gonna put numbers in the hat based on the number of candidates are and you're going to stick your hand in there and pull it out, and that's how you're going to be on there. I mean, is that, is that a complicated process? It's not, and I really hope that everybody
Speaker 93
1:13:00
can continue to be civil, but we've also heard about
Speaker 89
1:13:04
other Meetings that have not been so civil in places and this would help keep something like that from happening.
Speaker 109
1:13:09
OK, so I heard your, your comments a minute
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:13:12
ago about You know people coming at the same time to file and you got the time stamp. So when we're talking about fair, right, you talk about this process being fair. If me and Representative Carr walk into the like at the same exact time and the clerk just so
says, who wants to go first? And he goes, I'll step up. I mean, we literally got there at the same time, but he got picked first to go file his paperwork. That, that's not really fair as far as as him getting to go first when we walked in the door at the same time and staff just happened to choose him first. There's not much fair
Speaker 93
1:13:51
about that, is there? So how would that be handled now if that was the case, then
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:13:57
what would happen you show up at your ballot draw day and you and
your candidate that you're going up against, you cordially say you wanna draw or you want me to draw? And that's the way we do it. I, I just don't know if it's done any different way and it's very cordial and if you have the
Speaker 89
1:14:11
same exact time stamp on your paperwork, the election commissions. This isn't taking that control away. The election commissions can decide how they want to handle that within their county. Yeah, and I, OK, I'll have
Speaker 116
1:14:22
more questions here. I've got something for you as well. The election commission still has the power to
Speaker 87
1:14:26
decide who, you know, who can draw so you guys, they can work that out, so it's not a problem.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
1:14:38
Representative Beatty. Thank you Mr. Chair. Representative Carr, I, I've expressed my concerns with the bill, um, I know I've received several comments, emails from county Board of Election commissioners, having served in that role myself, uh, once the Republican Party, um, um, we made the transition to um Rule in the constitutional offices and I was the first
Republican county um chair of the election commission in Ashley County. So I had to go through this process, uh, and right now it's a pretty simple process that you'll draw by lot. My concern that I expressed to you, I express again today is that now we've taken something from just a simple process where you, you agree and you draw by a lot to something that's mandated with multiple steps and and things that could create issues. and be burdensome for a county election commissioners, um, and
you know, you're saying there's a new election commissioner that you don't know what to do, uh, but the, the state board holds training for all election commissioners. It's a little over 5, almost 6 hours of training that you have to attend. Uh, the addition of this, uh, of this bill today if it's enacted, would add probably 30 or 45 minutes, not my words, but the state Board of Election commissioners that they said it's gonna add 30 to 45 minutes
of training, additional training just to cover by lot. My question to you is, did you consider a time stamp name. I understand that maybe that's, I don't disagree with that issue. But what about just the time stamped list of names in the order in which they filed and you put them in a random name generator and you throw that up and it tells you there's your ballot draw. It'd be a lot more expeditious. It would not, uh, cause a, a problem or a controversy on that side and you
can solve that problem in a snap and a push of a button as long as you had those. names input in the correct order, which would be a simple process, um. And solve some of the issues with this. I understand what you, what you're trying to accomplish, but I think it's solving a problem that doesn't doesn't exist. So have you considered any of those in, in drafting of this language, is that something you would consider? Well, the first thing I'll
Speaker 87
1:17:05
say is that the election commission still holds ultimate authority. They can decide, they can appoint people to, to uh
Representative John P. Carr
Unverified
1:17:12
draw. So that's, that's not a concern. They can still do what they need to do. The other stuff is really guidelines down below if they, uh, the way the bill is drafted. In terms of the, the filing time stamp, basically whoever files first is the one that would actually draw first. Well, right now, you know, in the state races, we don't have a time stamp. So we need a time stamp to be able to determine who would draw. It's the handout shows it's really a very simple and straightforward process to use. It's really not adding much, any really burden. It's more educational.
Speaker 89
1:17:43
And I have sat through the training for election commissioners year after year in my position and the training that you receive is you need to hold hold a
Speaker 93
1:17:52
ballot draw by lot. And it's as simple as that. It does not go into any details of how that process should work or what it should look like. So
Speaker 89
1:18:03
election commissions have to call somebody else or depend on The county clerks that may have sat through a ballot draw to get guidance if they are new.
Um, I just explained to you in Uh 2 minutes. On the process of how that ballot draw lays out and how it works. I'm not sure where 30, 45 minutes additional training would come into that. Well, my father would be, you did say that currently in
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
1:18:32
that training you've set through that I also set through for a few years that they say that ballot draw is by lot, and then they move on to other things. It took you 2
minutes and um one sheet of paper. To explain what you're gonna do and I guess in your county and Then it also leaves that discretion up to the um the Bo County Board of Election commissioners. My, my deal is not my words. Those were words that were given to me from the state board of election commissioners. I know they've taken a neutral position on this, but they've also told me that they haven't had a problem with the ballot draw or the,
the, the lot um draw hadn't been reported to them in any county. Uh, the only time that they had an issue with that was on the alphabetical side and it and it came from the when they were in alphabetical order and, and I think it's where the president was on toward the bottom and and the back end and that was the only issue and complaint that they had was where President Trump showed up on that county uh ballot draw. So again, I don't see where there's a need, uh, for This change, I appreciate the
time stamp information that does provide some rhyme or reason to how folks would draw instead of who's the first one to to be there, who's there in person? And all that other, but I just don't see uh the need for this change. I think it's overly burdensome and would create problems for some county, um, uh, county draws and um and I've expressed that and, and I'll leave it at that, um, but I wish you would consider and take into account if you want to make it simple, put them in by a time
stamp, use a random generator, throw it up there, you do it in one step. You've got your ballot draw, it's there and make that consistent throughout the state. And with that, I, I appreciate the time. All right, I'm gonna
take that as a question. Would you like to respond to that, Representative Carr? No No Well,
Representative John P. Carr
Unverified
1:20:39
like I say, it's really not a burdensome process. Um, coordinator Dennison went through this in 2 minutes. It's very easy. You can read it. It's very easy to set up the ballot draw. Very similar. A lot of places are doing now.
All right, Representative Clowney, you're recognized. Thank you,
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:20:57
Mr. Chair. I have two kind of separate lines of questioning. The first one is pretty simple. Can you just explain to me the
benefit of drawing first. I guess I just don't kind of understand on a. Just baseline level. Why is that advantageous? If you're lucky enough to draw the
Speaker 89
1:21:13
number one, you're going to be listed first on the ballot. Sure, but your chances are greater
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:21:19
of drawing number one if the first person goes and it hasn't been drawn, right, your
chances go up. I mean I guess I just don't understand the inherent benefit of
Speaker 89
1:21:31
drawing first. It's, it's just a preferred thing from the candidates, honestly. I mean, if they take the time out of their day to show up to the place where the ballot draws being held. Out of respect for them to allowing them to. Do that if they want to, but we've had a lot of candidates that actually don't show up to
Speaker 96
1:21:47
the ballot draw. So it doesn't affect them either way. OK, follow up, uh, so my second
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:21:56
question, um, has to do with There's just a lot of
shells in this bill. Can you talk me through what the penalties are if this process isn't
Speaker 89
1:22:11
followed. It would have to be reported, um, just like any other. Legislation, it's one of those, um, it would be reported and then Whoever the judge would have to decide what the penalty is gonna be. It's not, there's no.
Speaker 96
1:22:28
Laid out consequence in the bill, so I guess my
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:22:32
question is if um if what you're looking for is guidance, and I completely understand why you would want that. Why can that not be done through some sort of Secretary of State resource that provides guidance on what a ballot draw process could look like, um, without having the penalties of law attached to somebody who doesn't follow those
processes. I mean, this is 9 pages of new law to a T. I think the Secretary of State's office and
Speaker 93
1:22:55
the state Board of Election Commission already have
Speaker 89
1:23:00
a lot of things that they are responsible for going into an election and if this is just laid out in law, it allows for everybody to have access to that information without having to burden somebody else for that information. It Could have you talked to
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:23:17
the Secretary of State's office about just, I mean, you've already compiled the document, putting it on their website is that overly burdensome? They could make it happen. OK, thank you. Representative Wooldridge recognized.
Chair
Unverified
1:23:31
Thank you, Mr. Chair and thank you, Representative for bringing this, um, I, I
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
1:23:35
think, you know, and, and the more I listened to testimony and questions from the committee. I mean, I honestly feel like that you're solving a problem that doesn't exist and I guess I kind of subscribe to the theory that when it's not broke, don't try to fix it. Um, I know I've talked to several clerks in the in the counties that I represent and I've talked to election commissioners who again don't feel like there's a problem to representative Hawke's Point, you know, it's very cordial. They go in, uh, they've got a process that works for their
county and you know, I, I think that I've always said since I've been here that what works in Pulaski County doesn't work in clay or green or Randolph. Um, so why would we mandate or put into law a process that has to work in all 75 counties. I think that that's burdensome. I think that this is um again solving a problem that doesn't exist and I guess I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. I don't
Speaker 95
1:24:28
know that there is a huge problem. I'm looking ahead to the future of a new election
Speaker 89
1:24:34
commission comes in and they need guidance, honestly. I, as I said, this was brought about from our election commission chairman. Um He and I started about the same time. And we had been through several different processes to get to where we are today to make sure that we're creating fairness for all candidates involved. Um, and it's just a process that we've found that works and several other counties are also doing the same process already. So.
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
1:25:06
Well, I, I appreciate that, and again, you know, I, I, I don't have to say other than I think we're solving a problem that doesn't exist. I appreciate you bringing the bill. I think that the discussion is worthy of having, uh, but to me it just is unnecessary. All
Chair
Unverified
1:25:23
right, Representative Bennett, you're recognized. I yield my question. Thank you. Representative, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and um
Representative David Ray
Unverified
1:25:32
thank you Representative Carr for bringing this bill. I appreciate all the work you put
into it. There was one thing that caught my attention. I hadn't seen before. It says um. Uh, except as provided in this in this is at the at the bottom of page 3 and top of page 4. A person shall not be designated to draw by lot for more than one candidate. Is there, is there a reason that somebody wouldn't be allowed to draw for more than one person. I know sometimes I have a hard time making it to the ballot draw because I I'm bad about checking my email
and I find out at the last minute I just call somebody and say, hey, I can't make it. Will you draw for me? That person is typically Um, another candidate that's going to be on the ballot, uh, I assume they want to draw for themselves. Can you? Walk me through the, the, the thinking behind that provision. So
Speaker 89
1:26:30
with that thinking, um. If you have Say one person that shows up and you're going down the list of
candidates. Nobody's there in person, the second person, the second option is a representative, um, and then you go into The election commission would draw for anybody that's not present. If the Representative is there representing everybody from, say, one party, then they're always gonna take pres drawing over somebody else that may. Not be there that the election commission would draw for.
Speaker 101
1:27:11
But it also says that if the election commission designates that person, then they can do that. It would,
Speaker 89
1:27:17
it would fall into the hands of the election commission to decide whether or not they wanted to allow that. Representative Ray, does that answer your question?
All right. Seeing no further questions by the committee, we do have individuals signed up to speak for and against the bill.
Looks like First we have Laura. Balls. I'm sure I pronounced that correctly.
Miles, once you make it to the end of the table, if you would state your name, any organization you're here representing and then you're recognized to speak against the bill.
Speaker 152
1:28:08
Laura Faulkner County election coordinator, um, I believe that the concerns that
um I have in that um others with the county clerks Association have regarding this bill have been addressed in the comments uh by members of the committee, um, just want to reiterate that um. It does state that um well, what I really want to reiterate is the most important part about a draw is that it's done in public and that the order of the candidates that appear on the ballot is determined randomly, and that's why we need to keep in focus and keep in mind with the ballet drop. Thank you.
All right, are there any questions of Ms. Wis? Seeing none. Thank you for your remarks. Next we have signed up to
speak for the bill. Jennifer Price. Price if you would identify
Jennifer Price
Unverified
1:29:33
yourself, stating the name of the organization you're here representing and then you're recognized to make your remarks. Yes, my name is Jennifer Price, and I'm the director of elections for Washington County. We have conducted our ballot draw in this way for many, many years. One of the reasons we came up with this procedure was because we want consistency when we held our ballot draw.
As we create our list for the ballot draw. We needed to determine how are the names just simply being placed on the sheet of paper that we used to call out the name to come up and draw your name out of the hat, the bowl, the bingo, uh, form that you're using the deck of cards that you're going to use and so we determined rather than doing it by alphabet or by political party, it was easier to place the names on the list by. Using the order in which the candidates filed this way every time we did our ballot draw, the ballot draw was conducted in the exact same manner. One of the reasons that we have for the
candidates who are present getting the ability to draw first was because we felt like if the candidate appeared at the ballot draw, even if their name was listed 2nd. It allows them to actually draw versus the candidate who is not there but listed first. If we have two candidates that appear for the ballot draw. You have to determine which candidate draws first, and maybe it is done in a cordial manner. You go first, no, you go first. But this way it's very clear at every single ballot draw, the exact manner in
which we do that. One of the things that we saw in 2020 when we conducted our ballot draw. And the reason why we do ours in this manner. It's because it does matter in which the names do appear on the ballot, so and I think this was alluded to earlier when you had two major candidates. One was listed on the first page of the ballot running for president, and the other was listed on the 2nd page running for president. We had so many calls and questions about how our ballot draw was conducted, how was it fair when one candidate was listed on a. One page, the second candidate was listed on the other, because we had rules already in place and we recorded and streamed our ballot draw. We were easily able to answer any of those questions that the voters had in the conducting, conducting of the
ballot draw. So this is the way Washington County has always done their ballot draw. We give all of this information to all of the candidates when they come in and file. We also email this to the candidates. Inviting them to the ballot draw so that there is a clear direction on how we're going to conduct the ballot draw. All right, thank you, Ms. Price. And before you leave, are
there any questions by the committee? Representative Hawk, you're recognized. Thank
you, Mr. Chair and thank you for your testimony. Real
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:32:09
quick. So currently you guys had this in writing, right? with your election commission. So if this bill were not to pass, you still got, you guys would still be doing the same thing, correct? So it's not gonna change anything whether this passes or fails, whether it's going to help you guys
Jennifer Price
Unverified
1:32:25
or not. We will still conduct it in the same manner. I think, I think what this bill is trying to achieve is so that every county has a clear set of rules on how you're going to conduct your ballot draw. What we don't want to do and
what when I first started in this position, we didn't have a clear set of rules. So how did we address when a candidate came versus a representative who got to draw. What did you do if a representative was there and said, I'm here to represent all the candidates from this political party so they got to draw first for that political party. So it was a way for us to create a set of standards that wouldn't change. election, uh, per ballot draw.
And what this is trying to set that set out for all 75 counties is a is a standard. This is how you conduct it. All it is doing is creating the list that is it. It's not saying that a county that wants to use a bingo set can still do that if you wanna put numbers in a hat, you can still do that. But each election commission has to have a list of candidates that they're
going to call out the name and say come up and draw. So the question is how are you preparing that list? Are you preparing it by alphabet? Are you preparing it by political party. We prepare it by the day the candidate files and with the file mark number. We feel like that makes it the most fair way to create a list, otherwise it's arbitrary either alphabetical or by party. Do you know if there's any counties that don't
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:34:08
have it in writing. Like the reason I'm
asking is because it was testified earlier that, you know, every county commission does it their way and things like that. Are you aware of any counties that don't have this in writing that is not, that doesn't have a standard of how
Jennifer Price
Unverified
1:34:25
they do their ballot draw. So I'm not aware, but what I do know is that when we do get new election coordinators across the state. They do reach out to other commissions, other coordinators, how do you conduct your ballot? withdraw. So that's telling me that that wasn't in the
materials that they received as a new election coordinator. Thank you. All right, seeing no
further questions by the committee, thank you, Mr. Price for your remarks. Next we have. Deanna Sylvie. to speak against the bill? All right, Ms Sylvie's going to pass. Next we have When day to speak for the bill.
Wyn Gregory
Unverified
1:35:18
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Honorable members of the committee. My name is Wyn Gregory Day. I am in my 3rd year. As a member of the Benton County Board of Election commissioners. I am one of the commissioners. I'm one of the ones who Have to come aboard and learn how the process works. I am charged as a commissioner with saying that.
Our elections are fair and that the process is conducted as fairly and openly as possible. I speak in favor of this bill. I am only in my 3rd year as a commissioner and my experience as a new commissioner, uh, with such trying to learn the ropes, even with the assistance of our coordinator and our chair who has been with us for 10 to 13
years, something like that. He's probably in his 13th year. Um You want to have some guidelines. It's OK. Under this bill, For you to, for the county commission to select how they do this random what what should be a random act. A lot. OK, whether that lot is
Pulling names out of a hat or it's a roll of a dice. Uh, it's a card game. Whatever it is that you, that you choose, every county is free to do it their own way. This preserves that. While at the same time providing a process for Basically, the breaking of ties that Preserves the fairness for everybody who comes to observe those proceedings. We want people to walk away going, how
on earth did that happen? Instead, you want it to be, oh, this is the way that it is done all the time and the method that was chosen was fair, as we want. This process to be. We want confidence in our electorate and the electorate must have confidence. In their commissioners in the state board of Election commissioners, the Secretary of State. This provides that process. I'm
a retired attorney. For years I was also a professor of law. And in my mind, having this process laid out as it is in the statutes and the amendments clearly improved. That, um, Appearance for the electorate. In my opinion, this is a very, very sensible and prudent way to
approach process. That is all I really have. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you, Mr. Day. Are there
any questions by the committee? Seeing no questions by the committee,
thank you for those remarks. Thank you. Next we have Sharon Brooks signed up to speak for the bill. Thank you, Chairman.
Speaker 169
1:38:53
Representatives, I'm Sharon Brooks, Sebastian County Clerk. I have been, uh, I was
Speaker 170
1:38:59
elected in 2010 as county clerk for Sebastian County and the first thing that I did as a county clerk was implement timestamp, and the reason why I've done that is to make sure that. Everything is done proper, that the people entrust me when they come in to file their bills and you know when you come in, I mean not your bills, when you
come in to file your political practice pledges that those have to be in by 12 noon a deadline, so there will be no doubt to the people when those individuals come in on their time as far as when they file their paperwork and what we do also we put that paperwork in order to. The commissioners by those positions so that everything is in order for those commissioners. Also, I thought this was a great bill.
And I've talked to some of the other county clerks that couldn't be here today. And if you would look at the um My coordinator couldn't be here today, so she sent a letter to you all stating, and she is a new coordinator, very new. So when they went through the process of uh ballot draw. They had problems with the ball draw because they had no guidelines. What this law would do would guideline, those commissioners
also so we can keep order in place. And what she had to do, she had to call of the counties and what this bill would do, it will bring fairness all across the state. We have 75 counties that are doing everything different and what this bill would do, it would guideline the county clerks. It will guideline the commissioners. The time stamp is a great, we should have time stamps. And the other things that would do we want to make sure we
strengthen our voter integrity, that the voters entrust us for the process doing the process of elections. And also what it will also do when we unify. The State Board of Election will know what to do. Secretary of State, because the county clerks all 75 counties in commissioners are calling up on the state board of election and county and secretary of state everyone would have the same answer across the state. If we do this.
And let me make mention to you. I'm a little dry because I need some water anyway, let me make this here. I am a state board of election commissioner. Thank you, Senator Rose. I'm a state board election commissioner. It was mentioned that the state board of election um said it would do this and it would do that. That has not been brought to the state Board of Election commissioners. This has not been
brought to us so we don't have any input on this here bill. I wanna make that clear also. I would hope that you all would support this
Speaker 172
1:42:12
bill. All right, thank you, Ms. Brooks. Are there any questions
about the committee for Ms. Brooks? Seeing none, thank
you for those remarks. Seeing no one else signed up to speak for or against the bill, Representative Carr, you're recognized to close for your bill.
Representative John P. Carr
Unverified
1:42:45
Yeah, thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you committee. So basically we've had a good conversation today about ballot draw and about how the process would work. There's a couple of things I'd like to point out here. One is the fact that uh You know, the bill is 9 pages. A lot of that is because of the fact the same code repeats over and over again because the way the current election law is written is the law is written in all sections of the code. It's not in one place. There may be a technical correction sometime down the road, hint.
Um, and, uh, basically, We do need, we do need structure. We do need, we do need some rules. We've heard today this is the need for the bill. The fact that the commissioners are struggling. They're having to call to try to figure this process out. So we clearly lay it out in in law so they can very easily see what it is. So that is the need right there. It's, it's not the fact that people are going around the state and going around fighting each other, ballot draws and things, things of that nature. Nothing like that at all. It's
just the fact that we've got our coordinators, we've got our new election commissioners you've heard today, they're trying to learn the process and this would actually not make it more burdensome and make it less burdensome. The election commission, though still holds the ultimate power. If they want to appoint people to draw, they can draw. If they want a county party to draw for their county party people, they certainly can. So again, I do appreciate the committee's attention. I pushed the committee's consideration. And I would urge you to vote yes
on this and uh perhaps for a good vote and I move to pass. All
right, Representative Cars closed for his bill, and he's
made a motion to pass. Is there any discussion on the motion, Representative Hawk, you're recognized. Thank you,
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
1:44:30
Mr. Chair. Colleagues, you know, if we're talking about guidance here, uh, I don't know if
that needs to be in statute because as Representative Connie mentioned a minute ago, there's a lot of shells in this with no, there's no consequence for violating a shall in the bill if they need guidance, they can pick up the phone and call the
state board of Election commissioners for that guidance on how to do this. I just don't think this is something hard. I don't think we're having issues. I've talked to 4 different counties this morning alone that as Representative Carr said, They, they make their own rules. We don't have issues with the 4 that I talked to anyways. I just don't think this is a need, and I'll be voting
no on this. Representative Wooldridge, you're recognized. Uh, basically echo what Representative Hawke said again,
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
1:45:18
I think we're solving a problem that doesn't exist. I've spoken with multiple county clerks outside of the legislative district that I'm fortunate enough to represent who again agree that the problem just isn't there, so we're solving something that that really is not being faced by the majority of counties. Uh, I agree that putting it in the statute for guidance purposes is, is a step too far, uh, so for that I'll be voting no. Representative Underwood, you're recognized. Thank you. Chair, I would just say,
Speaker 64
1:45:45
you know, first I'll, I appreciate Representative Carr taking the
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:45:49
time and and working on this issue and um trying to standardize this process and, you know, I'll be for this bill. I don't really think it's all that burdensome or complicated, um, like we, it was mentioned, it only took a couple of minutes to to discuss it. And even if there isn't really a problem, you know, I think creating some transparency and fairness on this process and having some clear guidelines is not a problem, so I'll be for it. Thank you. Representative Crawford, you're recognized.
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
1:46:13
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I too believe that it's time
for structure, even though we're not having issues in a lot of places. When you have 75 counties, how much better is it when everyone is succinct and
doing the same thing. So for that reason, I'll be voting yes. All right, is there any other discussion
on the motion? If not, we have a motion do pass on House Bill 1070. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed. The nose habit.
See two hands call the
Speaker 181
1:47:02
row. Representative Meeks. Representative Meeks, yes. Representative Wardlaw. Representative Wardlaw. Representative Barry Representative Barry, no. Representative Mayberry, Representative Mayberry, yes.
Representative Crawford. Representative Crawford, yes. Representative Clowney. Representative Clowney, no. Representative Collins. Representative Collins, no. Representative Evans. Representative Evans. Representative in it. Representative in it? No. Representative McIlroy, Representative Mcy, yes. Representative Ray. Representative Ray.
Representative Ray, yes. Representative Beatty Representative Beatty, no. Representative Carr Representative Carr, yes. Representative Underwood. Representative Underwood, yes. Representative Long Representative Long, yes. Representative Hawk. Representative Hak? No. Representative Rose. Representative Rose, yes.
Representative Wooldridge, Representative Wooldridge, no. Representative Beck. Representative Beck. Congratulations, you passed your bill. Thank you committee. Thank
Speaker 116
1:48:36
you, Mr. Chair. tell me you Yeah, it's.
All right, next we have House Bill 1560. Representative McGrew. I Thank you. You're welcome. OK out of here.
can. All right, we seem to be in a bit of a lull. We've got some members who are asking questions about Vote thresholds that are required to pass a bill if the Speaker is a member of the committee and the speaker is not present, then it takes 10 votes
to pass a bill out of the committee. FYI. All right. Representative McGrew.
Good to see you this morning. We have House Bill 1560. You are recognized. Thank you, Mr. Baker. Thank you committee. Members, I present to you
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:50:51
today, House Bill 1560. I've been asked by electrical contractors to
bring this bill, and it's supported by the architects Association. It's a pretty simple bill. It simply allows prices from 3 separate lighting ages when taxpayers' money is being used for the state. And AG of the state, a county, a municipality, a school district, or other. This is about being a good steward with the taxpayer dollars. This is at the design level, line the availability for 3 separate prices to be available to the supply houses. This does not involve the contractor. It is at the design stage when the project is being
put together before the bid process. Currently there are many projects that have only one lighting agency price. This bill levels the playing field by simply requiring these prices to be seen. This bill also has a provision that allows architects or engineers to allow a fixture outside of this 3 bit spec when circumstances warrant. This bill simply allows prices to be seen, which helps to level the playing field. It creates competition and results in saving taxpayer dollars. Why would anyone not want these prices to be seen.
It's simply allowing them to be seen. I truly believe this would encourage more bids from electrical contractors to the general contractors. So what does this bill not do? It does not affect the private sector. It does not require any additional work from the designers. The other lighting edge can simply take the engineer's current picture schedule, scan it in, and convert the numbers to an equal. It does not require any addition to the bidding process. There's no, no requirement to take the lowest price here just to simply see it.
Let me finish by sharing a story of a recent visit I had with the lighting agency, which was helping with the lighting project at a church for a friend of mine. He asked me about my bill and I filled in where we were at. He said he understand what I was trying to do, but he expressed that they often helped with the design, which took time and labor and that they needed to be compensated for that. I answered that I got that, but the design was already paid for in the process, and was it not making this with this not making the tax.
pay twice to which his response was yes, it does, but that's just the way the industry works. This is a simple, straightforward bill that will save the taxpayers. It just makes sense and I'm available for any questions. Representative McGrew has explained the bill. Are
there any questions by the committee? Representative Beatty, you're recognized. Uh, represented McGrew, uh, we spoke
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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1:53:25
earlier. I, I ask you then I'll ask you in committee, uh, the requirements that are on the, on the lighting side into
this bill. Are there any other requirements on other um suppliers or uh parts of the construction bid process that would have uh any similar requirements placed on them. I have
Representative Richard McGrew
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1:53:45
not had any brought forward that needed the corrections that this needed. Representative Ray, you're
Speaker 64
1:53:56
recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative McGro, can you just describe how the process
Representative David Ray
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1:54:03
works currently versus the change that you're proposing. Can you just give me kind of a before and
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:54:10
after. Yes, sir. I believe that I can help with that. I also have someone here from the architects Association that may help with that if I could bring him to
Todd Welch
Unverified
1:54:25
the to the table. Hi, my name is Todd Welch. I'm the president of AIA Arkansas, which is an organization of architects, um. I'm, you know, I'm the president. I'm from Jonesboro,
um, and the process now works.
Speaker 209
1:54:38
we put together, we, we work with our engineers, our, our electrical engineer, and we prepare a lighting package, uh, generally speaking, that lighting package. Is, is a, a list of all the lights that we are going, are we wanting to use on the project, um, and They, they usually fall under the umbrella of one lighting rep, um, we used to a long time ago when before lighting reps uh
were around, we would just pick the pictures that we wanted without consideration of who represents which lighting company, um, but with lighting reps, we generally have to Select light fixtures that fall under the umbrella of one lighting agency and that gives them a little bit of an advantage because we're we're specifying light fixtures that are represented by one company, so other lighting reps um may be uh may not want to bid on the project because they would have
to uh figure out an equal light that matches that lighting the originally specified light, um, so it limits competition in some. cases. I believe this bill is looking to increase the competition so that then you get 3 bids on lighting instead of just the one. And also may I add that that process happens before
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:56:01
it gets to the contractors and how that when the when the engineer designs a lot of times the lighting ag will work within you're making the design.
And so then that design is giving to the supply houses or and they supply the prices to the. to the electrical contractors, so the problem is they're only getting prices from 11 lighting agency and in today with the technology when that fixture schedule is prepared, they can simply scan that picture schedule and put in a poor per equal and for instance schools where they're Specifying light fixtures, many different companies make that live picture now whether it's Antonia, whether it's Williams,
or whether it's elite, so this is just increasing competition and simply just letting those prices be seen. All
right. Any other questions by the committee, Representative Meeks you're recognized. Thank
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:57:00
you, Mr. Chair. Um, what, uh, what percentage of an overall project, does that lighting cost entail. So for example, um, if we were to implement this, we would be looking at potentially, you know, 1% savings, 2% saving.
What kind of savings do you think we could anticipate as a state by implementing this. You
Speaker 209
1:57:22
know that would vary widely, but, um, lighting is an expensive part of a project, um. It can on a say you're talking about a $15 million school, the lighting on that school could be 500 $600,000 how much you could save by the competition, uh, again, that could vary, um, but that kind of gives you an idea of the numbers. It's, it's in
Speaker 33
1:57:45
the hundreds of thousands of dollars. OK, all right, and uh my follow-up would be that this requires, you know,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
1:57:52
for at least 3, is there enough competition that that that there's always going to be 3, could Think of it, you know, there's a huge project and only 2 people decide they want to bid for it, uh, you know, that. Let, let me spell out this doesn't when
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:58:08
you're bidding for the project, the general contractors are bidding the electrical contractors are speaking to them, so but on the
lighting AC level, I'm not sure how many there are in the states, 6 or 78, maybe 8, so getting 3 would be very easy, you know, I come from this industry. It's been several years, 6 years ago or so, but, but there is, there is plenty of competition out there willing to give prices they're given the opportunity. OK, right, thank you. All
right, any other questions by the committee? Seeing no further questions about the Representative McIlroy, you're right. OK, I got you. Alright, no
saying no further questions by the committee. We do have several individuals signed up to speak for and against the bill. First we have Joshua Maddox, I apologize if I have read the name incorrectly. To speak against the bill. Mr. Maddox, if you would identify yourself, state in any
organization you may be here representing, and then you'll be recognized to speak against the bill. My
Speaker 215
1:59:22
name is Joshua Maddox. I'm here representing both myself as a light agent, and I'm also here, um, representing the AGC as well and their opposition to the bill. Um So, if you don't mind, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you committee. I'd like to share a few things with you if I could, um, I guess the first thing I'd like to do is maybe point out some points. I've got 8 points here that I think may have made its
way to your desk. If not, I, I'd like to read these to you and then, uh, offer a few more comments and accept your questions, Mr. Maddox, before you
go into those, we do have the handout. It's not been passed out to the committee yet, so if you'd like to just wait a minute so that we can pass that out so that
everyone has what you're referring to. OK, I'm not sure if it's
Speaker 215
2:00:08
my handout. OK, well, maybe it's not. We're gonna pass out
a handout that'll be relevant to the discussion of this bill. Absolutely, and more
dialogue would be great and uh After it's passed out, and I again, I apologize for interrupting you. I thought this was your handout. But um So No worries. All right. Looks like everybody has the handout, Mr. Maddox, you're recognizing it. OK. First of all,
Speaker 215
2:00:37
I'm, I'm here representing Association of General Contractors as well as other agents or other entities including the ABC, uh, I can also speak on behalf of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce,
all of which are opposed to this bill. And the points I'd like to make are while we agree with the spirit of competition wholeheartedly, uh, there are some uh clear issues with the bill that I think would create uh anti-competition measures and also, you know, just create lots of issues for designers as in general. The bill does not recognize the sovereignty of the various entities including the state, municipalities, universities, counties, or school districts,
the bill fails to recognize that there is currently abundant competition. Existing within this targeted industry, I can testify that there, I'm one of 8 agencies that bid actively on most every state project, day in and day out. The bill fails to recognize existing Arkansas building Authority code. ABA section 2-902F, which mandates methods for competition with procurement. The bill fails to recognize the AIA's.
Existing protocols or procedures for evaluating and propose equals both nationally and state. The bill will actually, in my opinion, direct business. It'll steer business to certain agencies and just by example, not all agencies represent like product. Some are clearly focused on first cost, uh, some are focused on Um, various needs that the project may entail that are beyond first cost.
So to, to create a 3 bid specification, there will inherently be bias in that specification that will direct business to one entity, not 3, and certainly not 8. The bill will discourage in my opinion, quality contractors from bidding reputable contractors, many of which are across the state. May be deterred from participating in a bid that prioritizes cost over quality. Expertise I believe the bill will influence overall bill design by
requiring that lighting systems be specified around the lowest common denominator. It limits the contractor's ability to provide meaningful innovative solutions for cost cutting measures. And lastly, the bill, uh, in my opinion sets a dangerous precedent that if passed, Would apply to numerous other contractors and trades. So in conclusion or to summarize, this is a very specific. Bill that targets a very specific industry. It is not
product specific, rather it's business specific. It limits competitive environment by removing the variable of open market competition. This bill has the potential for copycat retaliatory bills that could seek out other businesses. I'd also like to read. A few excerpts from uh design professionals within our construction industry. You may have seen these same letters or something very similar. Uh, both excerpts, uh, illustrate how serious the
design community takes in regard to being accountable to the taxpayers of Arkansas. The first is from an architect in Fort Smith. He says, I believe that the stewardship and evaluation my firm commits to our clients and taxpayers of Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Crawford County, and other cities within the river valley when we are charged to design and building a place. I know many of my colleagues across the state subscribe to the same thought and cares as they design our built environment. I would appreciate your support in opposing this bill. That's from
Travis Bartlett of MAHD Architecture in Fort Smith. I have an electrical engineer who writes, while the bill might appear to simply allow for more competition and pricing. It is my opinion that the end result will be determined by the lowest common denominator. I say this because the slight differences in quality will force all vendors to supply the very lowest product they can. Get by with Mr. Maddox, yes sir, and I apologize for interrupting you, but we can have a rule around
here and you would have had no way of knowing it.
Prior to today likely, but we don't. Allow witnesses to read statements for other people if you're here testifying against the bill has to be based on your own uh experience in your personal testimony before this committee today, not to not to read a statement on behalf of someone else, and again, you would have had no way of knowing that. And so I, I don't fault you, but I just, you do need to know that. OK, I apologize.
Thank you. Not a problem. So I can just wrap up that I
Speaker 215
2:05:30
believe and I can testify on behalf that there's there's broad opposition to the bill, um. I can also state that many of my competitors are here, most of my competitors are here, uh, just in conclusion, it's my opinion this limits competition as opposed to. takes the opportunity of the free market economy that we currently have. So any questions, I'm happy to answer. All right, thank you, Mr. Maddox. Looks like
there is a question by the committee, Representative Meeks you're recognized. Thank you. So yeah,
Representative Stephen Meeks
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2:06:02
you're, your testimony would be that this bill would not create more opportunities for you to bid on more jobs, but it would actually Maybe I don't make that harder, more difficult, take that away in some way. It would dissuade me, yes. So currently, any state project. Miss Project
Speaker 215
2:06:20
City project, school project is not a closed bit situation, so they're, they're currently 8 lighting agencies that operate in the state of Arkansas. There's nothing that stops an
agent from outside of Arkansas working in the state as well. So to limit this to a 3 bid specification with the danger of biasing toward one would certainly dissuade me from competing. Yeah, what, what, what in
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
2:06:46
your opinion, would the bill allow for more than 34567 of you wanted to bid. The bill states 3, the current scenario that we all live with and exist with is there is no limit on competition. OK, and uh my, my final question is if somebody new wanted to
come in, uh, into the space would this make it easier for them to do that or more difficult for them to do that? Like a new entity wanting to open a business, so a new business wanted to come to Arkansas and try to compete in this space, do you think this
Speaker 226
2:07:20
would help or hinder them? I would think it would probably. Or either
Speaker 223
2:07:27
way, I can't answer that question. OK, alright, thank you. Representative Wooldridge, you're
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
2:07:31
recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So if the bill set a minimum of 3 bids. Would you be comfortable with it and support
it then? Um probably not in the manner which is
Speaker 215
2:07:46
written because it's written in that it is not a product specific. It's written that it's to be agency specific, so. The way it's written, for instance, we have an event, all of us here and we say, We need to celebrate with a steak dinner. Are we gonna go to a steakhouse or we're gonna go to the Waffle House?
Both of them serve a steak. But what did You know, what is the quality that stake and what is as it relates to design, what does the design mandate? Is it design mandate a Waffle House steak or to design mandate an Arthur's Steakhouse steak. There's varying differences. Very nuances in lighting that sometimes subtle. Make a big difference. So you're saying if there was a current bid
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
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2:08:34
process, your quality may be superior to a competitor, but
you would be forced out because you weren't the lowest bid, quite possibly, yes. So does this bill specify that they have
Speaker 104
2:08:44
to go with the lowest bid or just get 3 bids. Um Well, I would have to know more about state state law
Speaker 221
2:08:52
as it relates to follow up, Mr. Chair,
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
2:08:55
my understanding of procurement laws is you're required to get 3 bids, but if you could justify why a bid was higher, but it's a better bid. You can still go with that bid if there's more quality or something else there. So again, just asking for 3 bids from a transparent perspective,
and I understand maybe you're concerned thinking it's limiting it to 3, but if there was a a language change that set a minimum of 3 bids, I, I guess I don't understand the heartburner concern. But thank you, Mr.
Chair. All right, do we, to Representative Wooldridge's point, is there anyone here from Transformation and Shared Services who may be able to shed some light upon the procurement process. May I
add 11 comment to state agencies. You may go ahead.
Speaker 215
2:09:48
confusion lies in what we actually do so. To state that you want 3 lighting. Bids really it's It's getting way, way, way, way, way down. There are currently, you know, contractors, for instance, there are multiple bids for contractors. There are multiple bids for subcontractors under those contractors. There are multiple bids from suppliers under those subcontractors.
To the contractors, so it's not as if There are limited bids now if that makes sense. All right. Any
other questions about the committee, Representative Ray, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
Representative David Ray
Unverified
2:10:30
and um my question was gonna be very similar to what um Representative Wooldridge asked, and I don't know if you, you may not know the answer, so I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna throw these questions.
Uh, out there and the, if, if you can't answer, maybe the next person can, so what, what would happen if there aren't 3 companies that wanted to bid, that would be one question. Secondly, following up on Representative Wooldridge's question. You know, would they have to take the lowest bid or if there was a sound justification for taking, uh, for needing, you know, a higher quality or a very specified type, um, lighting system. Could they do that even
if it wasn't the lowest bid and then my third question would be what's already been raised is would this require You know, could they accept more than 3 bids. It sounds like, did you say that oftentimes there's several, you know, there's way more than 3 companies that would bid for a
Speaker 226
2:11:31
project like this. Yes, I can't speak to the specifics of your first two questions, but
Speaker 215
2:11:37
I can wholeheartedly speak to the last, which is oftentimes there's more, there are often more than 3 bids for any particular state.
Project. Representative Ray. OK, all right. Seeing no further questions by the committee, thank you, Mr. Maddox for your. remarks. Thank you. Next we have Todd Welch signed up to speak for the bill. Hello again, um, yes, I, as I
Todd Welch
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2:12:22
said earlier, I believe that this bill would increase competition
Speaker 209
2:12:25
because If you right now, a lot of times we are, we're only receiving the one bid, um, we allow more bids, but we're sometimes only getting the one because we've written a lighting package around just one lighting rep, and so sometimes we only get one bid. That doesn't mean other lighting reps didn't try to to bid on the project. They actually submit their bids to an electrical sub
who is also providing electrical wiring and conduit and Many other parts of the electrical systems in the building. Lighting being only one part of that, so we don't necessarily know how many lighting agencies were interested, but we know that oftentimes that the, the, the winning. Bitter is the lighting rep that was that the lighting package was written around and so what we're trying to do is increase competition by having 3 lighting
reps involved, still we're not, the intent is not to minimize how many uh bids we get, we're not trying to, uh, you know, only get 3 bids or limit it to 3. We're trying to that'd be the minimum amount, um, but what we'd like to do is write 3, you have, have 3 different lighting packages. That will establish quality of the fixtures that we want. So there's, there's more of a chance that other lighting reps that want to bid on the project will have a better idea of the
quality of the fixture that we're trying to design into the building, um. So that's how I feel like it will increase competition. Um, I also feel like it potentially could lower costs when you, when you ride a lighting. Package around a lighting wrap that they can supply all those light fixtures, they're gonna be able to get those light pictures, the cheapest, uh, because they represent the companies that supply those lights. The companies that supply the lights will still
sell to other lighting reps, but at a higher cost. So if you get a lighting rep that um if you're writing your lighting package around a lighting rep, and they supply all those lights they're theoretically going to get you the cheapest, you know, the, at the cheapest price, um. If we open that to 3 different bids, then, you know, you're getting an opportunity for 3 different lighting reps to come up with 3 different prices, all of them being relatively equal in quality, um, so we're hoping
that the lowest bid out of the 3 will be the, you know, there, there's a better chance of getting a lower price. Um, and then I touched on the quality, a big part of these when we design lighting for a building, a big part of the design is the quality of the fixture and, you know, not all fixtures are the same. They can look the same, uh, when you're looking at a picture, but it can give off different light qualities. It can different luminosity, um, some fixtures are better at um
color, rendition than others, um, that's called the CRI, so if the CRI is higher, your picture is better, but when you ride a lighting package if there's a substitution, they might substitute a fixture that is of lesser quality with, say, a lower CRI and um during the bid process it gets kind of hectic because these blighting packages can be hundreds of pages long, so we have to go through each fixture and, and compare the quality and sometimes Things can be missed And we can end up with lower
quality pictures on our project, so I think part of the intent of this is to make sure that we're getting good quality fixtures that we want at at a fair price on public projects. And how I can take any questions that anybody has. OK. Thank you, Mr. Welcher. Are there
any questions about the committee? Seeing no questions by the committee. Thank you for your remarks. Next, we have signed up to speak against the bill, Jason Roach. Chairman, I was also sent on
Speaker 212
2:16:31
behalf of architectural firms and engineering firms, all
that. OK. Next we have signed up to speak for the bill. Chris East
Speaker 235
2:16:47
He was against. The Hello, everyone.
Chris East
Unverified
2:16:50
Thank you for having me. My name is Chris East, and I am representing the AIA Arkansas, uh, been practicing architecture in Arkansas for 23 years and I'm an
architect at Cromwell based in Little Rock, Arkansas. So I have some prepared remarks. I'll go ahead and just speak with you about um the intent of uh Representative McGrew's bill, and ultimately the intent of the AIA is to create more competition and transparency in the marketplace, and we believe that this bill is a step in that right direction. Our concern has always been when a fixture's been selected as the basis of design in an open bid project that it does not get
substituted by bidders, and that basis of design is the only one that gets bid. If that's the case, then lighting agencies have the opportunity to raise prices. Uh, it's not the case, then this basis of design is crossed by all lighting houses and what's ultimately selected is the most competitive product, then I get the opposition. Uh. However, with the lack of transparency and really understanding how much these cost as the architects and engineers, we believe that's not always the case.
One of the fundamental challenges that we face in our marketplace is lighting agencies do not split. packages. So as Todd mentioned before, you could select lights from all over, um, that might be needed and the light companies would then compete with each other to select that particular fixture, uh, but in Our experience what we see is lighting agencies have basically closed um light fixture
packages. So if you select one fixture from that lighting agency, they get the entire package and we'd really like to see is the ability for us to sort of resolve that by making sure that we do have more competition across multiple lighting agencies. Uh, thereby ensuring more competition and that the best price comes for the best product. So, what's typically you see is
us specifying a single light fixture and then just using that generic term or equal, and then we leave it to the contractors and Subcontractors supply houses and lighting agencies to find ways to cross that bid. However, that is a risk that they take that they will not have or submit a or equal product, so oftentimes because of that risk that they carry, they don't bother. Trying to cross it and you end up getting the same product that
you specify which we do like on some occasions, however, there's no incentive for competition when you do it that way. Um, obviously depending on who you talk to, um, They'll say that there is already competition at the subcontractor and construction management level, but our problem is the lack of transparency of what that actual cost is. One of our challenges again is the invaluable service that the lighting agencies do provide during the design process to
help us select fixtures, and this is um don't want to misinterpret that that is an estimated underestimated part of what they do, um. But Because of that, there still is little transparency in the market and changing to a 3 bed spec, uh. Hopefully we'll really Continue to encourage that competition, but we need to be careful about what they're worried about, which is not
selecting winners and losers so that we do not select, you know, one light fixtures to his point, uh, Waffle House and then another one is Arthur's Steakhouse. Our intent is all of them to be Arthur's Steakhouse. Um I'll just end with uh ultimately again what we want is more transparency and more competition, and we need to acknowledge that the reality of the marketplace is that an R equal is not really happening and at least that's the
perspective that we've seen, and we need to find a way to get the best price for the best product for the state. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. East. Are there any
questions about the committee, Representative Mayberry, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just really trying to
Representative Julie Mayberry
Unverified
2:21:26
understand all of this. I, I, I don't know which way I'm gonna vote. I'll be honest with you. I, I see both sides of this, but walk me through because I've heard kind of said a few times that um.
You often will start out with basically one lighting fixture, um, that you really like, so tell, tell, help me understand what what we're talking about. Are we talking about the parking lot light, um, are we talking about an indoor give me kind of a a little bit more specific like what, what is something so big that you start out with this one light and then decide to use
Speaker 242
2:22:03
this company completely. OK, no, I mean,
Speaker 235
2:22:06
that's a great question. I think that's sort of Uh Exemplifies the problem that
Chris East
Unverified
2:22:13
we're dealing with, um, so. When we talk about lighting fixtures, we're talking about every single lighting fixture in the building. So everything from parking lot lighting to exit signs to overhead fluorescence or LEDs, sorry, 2 x 4s and so forth. So it's everything. The problem is the way that the market works is that they don't split up the packages, so I can't specify one fixture from this supplier who's selling, you know, Lithonia, and then I fixed, pick another fixture from
a different lighting manufacturer that's Cooper. It all has to be the same thing and that's our concern. So if all we want is one beautiful fixture that may match a historic, you know, 100 year old building then whoever reps that gets everything. And Our concern is we also don't know what exactly everything costs. So, and the reason we don't know that is because we're
not really seeing. OK, it's costs this much for you, but we don't know how much it costs for you because there's too much risk in trying to cross those fixtures and assume that the architecture engineer is going to accept that as a Well, as an acceptable substitution. So we're trying to get rid of the substitutions and get rid of that risk by selecting 3 fixtures. Hopefully those 3 fixtures are all across the same, which is our intent.
Representative Julie Mayberry
Unverified
2:23:44
Did I answer your question? Well, kind of, I guess I'm just wondering why sometimes we get so fixated on one fixture to, well, you have this, like what, what is so wonderful, I, I'm not a lighting person, but what's so wonderful that one that one thing that kind of gears you towards one company because of that one fixture. Why?
Chris East
Unverified
2:24:05
Because that particular fixture might not be offered as an or equal by the other uh lighting reps. So let's just say again, I'll use the historic um
Light fixture is an example. If only one person makes that historic light fixture, then the other companies don't make that specific light fixture. That company will only basically bid on the project that makes that one light fixture because they don't want as One of our other colleagues mentioned again. Even if the other companies do try to cross those, and they have the opportunity just to buy that one particular fixture. Well, that one fixture is going to get sold to the other guy for
twice the cost or more. We don't really know exactly how much more, but they're going to sell it to him at a cost that makes them less competitive. OK, OK, thank you. All right, any
other, any other questions by the committee? Alright, I do
have a question. I had a actually had a constituent reach out to me about this. And these were his remarks to me, and I would just like to hear someone address this.
He said generally opposed because of the gross overreach. The bill will prevent creativity of architectural and engineering
design. By mandating that state projects be designed around products of the lowest common denominator. The bill will strip design professionals of the ability to innovate with lighting, thus impacting the occupants experience with said design. Bill will prevent design professionals from selecting products that offer the best life cycle costs for the taxpayer. The bill prevents the design professionals from being able to accomplish the task for
which they're being hired. Uh, which is to be the steward of the taxpayers' money while designing a facility that meets the needs of that building. Every project has a specific set of needs, so how would you address those concerns? Well,
Chris East
Unverified
2:26:07
the bill does allow for the architect or engineer to select a specific picture that Basically does not have substitutions so that you can have that design flexibility. So
I wouldn't say it necessarily limits design, um, but I think it still allows you the ability to focus on one particular fixture that you want and then For instance, what we could do is say we've got the historic fixture that it needs to occur. Well, then we have just our typical 2 x 4 fixtures here. What we could do is still specify that one historic fixture, but then 3 of the more commodity type fixtures than any
agency would uh would supply. All right. Any other
questions by the committee. Seeing no further questions by the committee. Thank you,
Mr. East, for your remarks. Next we have signed up to speak against the bill. Brian Wilson. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson is for
Speaker 248
2:27:23
the bill thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Representatives. So, uh, I, I'm Brian Wilson. I'm an electrical contractor and have been for the past 37 years. So, uh, I mean, I'm not going to get into a big spiel here, but So the, the, the way the process goes is the electrical engineer, architect, design team. Picks a uh the light fixtures for a job and they ride it
around one particular brand, so Uh, then it goes to bid and yes, there's, I guess it says or equal, but as, as it's been brought up. No, the other companies don't want to take the liability of, well, what if we don't get approved, you know, so then someone's stuck holding a bunch of money that they shouldn't be held with. Uh, so, anyhow, what, what this will do is in the design stage,
it will set precedents for at least 3 different manufacturers that are approved that everybody knows that their product is of equal. And acceptable for the project. So Uh, anyhow, that's, that's what I think might have been a little bit unclear was that uh Yes, uh, it is. Generally, it, it may say or equal, but If it's not approved before it
goes out to bid, then who knows if it's really equal or not, whereas this would specify that everybody has looked at and accepted these three different 3 plus whatever. Uh, different manufacturers as their product being acceptable and equal for the project. And uh I think everybody would agree that any time that you have just one person. Uh Bidding a particular job that
You know, not all of them, but there's gonna be someone that's gonna take advantage of that. And the taxpayer is the one that's
Speaker 79
2:29:41
gonna pay. So I guess that's all I've got to say. All right. Thank
you, Mr. Wilson. We do have a question by the committee representative Meeks. Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair. So,
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
2:29:51
so this is, this is my concern. If we, if there's an architect who is designing a lighting system to a certain specification, right, to a certain manufacturer.
Would it not be possible for this system to be easily abused by a lighting systems, uh, by those entities or manufacturers, and I'm not accusing anybody, but, but you see the concern here is that a um, you know, a lighting firm, all I got to do is get cozy with a couple of these architects and through whatever means, cozy means, we could all go down that lane, but they get cozy with a couple of these primary architects and now they're generating. potentially thousands of
dollars' worth of business for their company just because they've cozied up to, you know, these architects, and they've, you know, uh, you know, wind him and dined them and, you know, you see the ethical dilemma that's here and so I'm just wondering, uh, your thoughts on that, uh, you know, how we could prevent that from happening using other methods, if you're opposed to this bill, um, to make sure that there is Fair competition and, and these things are being judged on their
merit and not because some architecture has a friend in the lighting company who he's trying to win favor with. So
Speaker 248
2:31:13
you're, you're describing the process as it is now and we are trying to change that. Which will eliminate The winding and dining, as you said. All right. Any other questions by the
committee? See no further questions by the
committee. Thank you, Mr. Wilson, for your remarks. Next we have
James Gillam. Signed up to speak for the bill. Good afternoon.
James Gillam
Unverified
2:31:51
My name is James Gillam. I owned and operated the Gilla Electric for in Hot Springs for 40 years until I recently sold out. I have many years of experience in large and small commercial projects.
This bill will help to make the process more fair. Allowing this Prized to be seen not only creates more competition. It also helps hold all players accountable. This would have been great had it existed years ago. I believe this would also serve the taxpayers well. I fully support this bill. All right, thank you, Mr. Gillam. Are there any questions by the committee? Seeing
no questions by the committee, thank you for those remarks.
And then last we have signed up to speak against the bill, and I'm sorry I should have called you earlier, Courtney Little. Good afternoon.
Courtney Little
Unverified
2:32:56
My name is Courtney Little. I have an ACE class. We do glass work across the state. I'm here, uh, on behalf of AGC but also of other subcontractors. Uh, there's just a general concern that this type
of bill would bleed over into other materials. What's next? If we, if you got to put down your pricing early on in the budget process on lighting fixtures is that hard door Hardware Next, uh, is. It the kind of curtain wall that I'm specifying on a job. It's, it's all the other materials and so if we laser beam one thing, what's the next, uh, issue. Um, you know, I think it fixes a problem that really doesn't exist, uh, like it's been mentioned, uh, there's an or equal. Anybody can do a substitution request on any job to say, hey, I'd like to bid
that job, but I can't buy that particular fixture or I can't buy that particular door so I can I substitute this and most of the time an arctic says it performs the same. Great. Put a bid in, please, uh, but more often than not, you don't have enough bidders because uh there's just they call and say, hey, we're trying to find a second bid and. In a small town, you know, we've got an operation in Hot Springs, Rogers, and Little Rock. I get calls to go to Jonesboro, Springfield, all over, they can't get enough bid activity, so requiring 3 bids that you cannot contract a project
because you don't have 3 bidders really limits uh the contractors and the architect on, you know, in some of these towns that don't have a lot of coverage. You've got one electrician in town that can perform. A big project. What do you do when you can't get 3 people at the table. All of a sudden you gotta call it county. You're not getting a better price if they've got to travel and, and come in to do work and bring their people and do that. It's not a, it doesn't improve the system. Uh, there's already sufficient competition in in most places in the bigger cities, but like I said, in smaller towns, it's, it's hard to get enough people
and this doesn't change that at all. Uh, if you look at the biggest bit spreads that we were talking about they mentioned earlier, you know, a lighting package could be a half a million dollars on a $15 million project. Well, that's 3%, but a bitspread between two equal bidders is usually somewhere between 1 and 10%, so that maybe as much as $50,000 on a $15 million job, but I would venture to say that because of the way we buy in volume with one, with one representative of one agency in this case, but for me,
from one supplier, if I said, hey, I wanna buy your doors, but I'm gonna buy metal from somebody else and I'm gonna do this 3rd piece of the project with somebody else. What's my price? It's not the same as if they get the whole project. There's a volume discount for buying all the stuff from the same warehouse. That's why we have people that do warehousing and and gather the stuff up and sell it in bulk and so That's what a lot, you know, what an electrician does. They're buying in bulk from somebody all the fixtures on the job, they start piecemealing this out, any savings that you got from buying in bulk go away.
So the new competition doesn't actually give you better pricing, you just have a whole lot more work to do to get there. Something else that's not been talked about is the cost of budgeting and pricing a job. If you talk to a general contractor on what it costs him to bid a school. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars in time and effort to put that price together so the same thing for these lighting houses, you've got 3 people now doing budget work on the same project. So let's say it cost him $50,000 apiece to put together the
specification, gather the information, answer questions and do that. Now you're gonna do that x 3 for every single project that goes out that's. public. There's not going to be a lot of interest in that when the current system works. One person puts it out and they know if they've got equal products or not. They know pretty quick if they want it or they go in and say, can I do a substitution? So the cost savings there to the schools and the interest that you get in the current process worked pretty well. I would also say that it's going to be hard to, it's going to limit design. If you've got a design around what does
everybody have? There are some exceptions in the in the uh in the bill that say, well, if I want a special fixture, I can go get that somewhere else. Well, that's fine. But if we're all being honest, if you got a, if you got to specify to the or equals across everything then you're, you're gonna be uh hesitant to, to pick the pictures you want or the or the newest thing that's, you know, energy efficient, easy to install, safer, because not everybody has that product yet and you're going to get back, be back in this process again. Uh, and then the last things that I'll mention is that uh
confusion when you start mixing and matching, confusion causes mistakes. So when you get the low price from a guy, a lot of times it's not because they know better and they've got a better process. It's because they missed something. They were working hard trying to figure it out last minute. There were 3 different packages coming together and they miss something and they get on bid day they go, great, I got a job. They go back and do their bid tally afterwards to start buying the project out and they find that oops, I know I got the job. I didn't get all the stuff in it. In the hurry of trying to get all this information put together, I missed something. And so that confusion, that is
not good for subcontractors and electricians and people trying to put all this information together last minute at the end. And, um, and so, and I'd say that we also have a hard time mixing and matching, you know, if I've got to buy from 2 or 3 different suppliers, that's multiple, uh, POs I've got to put out, I've got to deal with 3 different companies. I've got to deal with the credit applications and all that. It's a lot of work to have multiple people, then I lose my efficiencies and then I have to build that into my price. So I would say having a really good process and some good trade partners, good vendors that I trust and do good work with.
That's where the schools get the uh and the and the public entities get the best product for the best. Price. All right.
uh, thank you, Mr. Little. Are there any questions by the committee? Representative Ray, if you're recognized. Thank
Representative David Ray
Unverified
2:38:36
you, Mr. Chairman, and I apologize this is not really a question for you, but
our committee structure doesn't really give us a better way to do this, so, um, you raised a point about um You know, if this 3 bid
arrangement is the way to go. Why, why is it not being extended to other areas in the construction process, I guess that would be a question that I hope Representative McGree could address in his closing. You know, I care to pond to why it's not in this bill now,
Courtney Little
Unverified
2:39:06
but I would say that would not be a good thing and you'd have a lot more people here in opposition today if it wasn't just a laser into 11 specific, uh, product if you expand that to all construction, I think you'd have a room full of contractors and different people that specify and work really hard to build
these projects. When you start tripling the price of budgeting and doing that work when we're already undermanned and uh and just trying to get all these projects done. I think you'd have a room full of people here in opposition. It's just the fact that it's, it's one small group got uh it's caught on this one, but, you know, like I said, I heard about it and I was asked to come speak. What if this happens to you next, Courtney? and I said, I'm, you know, I've got to go say my piece now because I could be the next one and then the next one and then the next one. So I would say this is not good for construction in general.
All right. Were there any other questions by the committee? All right, seeing none, thank you, Mr. Little. Thank you
for your time today. I appreciate y'all's consideration. All right, seeing no one else under to speak for or against the
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
2:40:19
bill, Representative McGreg, you're recognized to close for your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me, uh, just a few of the questions. First of all, uh, the architects. are supportive of this bill. I met with them, one of their biggest concerns was there in
the in the construction process, they're the boss. They're the ones that's responsible for that design and for, you know, they hire the engineers and and and everybody downneath them. They were very concerned about their design and their ability. That's why the exception into the bill that allowed them to, to make exceptions if necessary. They understand how this process works. works Uh, so their design was very important as far as the budget. I didn't understand what he was
saying about the budget. This is about a bid process. Many contractors bid the jobs and I was one of those contractor one time. Yes, it takes money to bid the job. That's part of doing the business. It sure doesn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars every time you bid a job or you'd be out of business pretty quick. So that didn't make any sense to me, uh, as far as the quality in a project when you Be on a project and the light fixtures, uh, You get, you, you're the winning bid. You have to submit some
medals on those light fixtures which is telling what the life picture and how they're constructed for the engineer to approve. You heard the architect say that all they're doing is approving that beforehand so that you know that they will be accepted because you don't want to take that risk that you bid this job and then they're gonna be rejected later. And the and to probably help you understand how we got to where we're at. I think it's, it's pretty clear that uh. That We're only dealing with one price, and I think we all know if you got only one person
pricing a job, what's your chances that they're gonna get greedy and go up on that price, and that's, that's what I think the concern that we're seeing and so years ago. Uh, the lighting, uh, representatives worked with the engineers to design the projects and that's how it worked and it was hard to say that if you used another package you were gonna get exactly the equal price, so the engineers would have to do a tremendous amount of work later. Uh, to determine whether those are equal. Today, that's not
that way. Today these live pictures you see several different manufacturers make that exact same light fixture, same with the metal, same type of wire, same type of LED lighting in them. They're exactly the same and today the lighting agencies know that that's why the lady judges when I ask them, I said, because we didn't wanna cause any increased work during the bid process. Can you take that fixture schedule that the engineer has. And scan it and cross it and the answer was in seconds we can do
that today because of the technology we have and guarantee the engineer that we are submitting an exact equal. So when it boils down to it, it's just about creating more competition. Also, know where my bill did it say you have to get 3 bids. It said allow 3 bids. And this is not talking about the bids for the project. It's talking about the price of the supply house. I think many of y'all got that piece of paper that showed the trail. It happens before it gets to the contractors. And so,
All it's doing is guarantee those lighting agencies that want to bid the job that their package will be accepted and that they're allowed to give a price, so it's increasing instead of one, we go to 3. If you want 456, if all 8 wanted be they sure can. There's nothing that that limits it. There's nothing there that says you absolutely have to have 3. It just allows 3, And the quality is protected by the engineer. Um, truly believe this will
create competition and, and make it better for the taxpayer. This is about taxpayers' dollars. The quality is protected. It's not, as he said, buying pieces of parts from different ones. Once they know their whole package will be accepted, it just creating competition and it's a very good bill for the taxpayers and it's just the right thing to do. Thank you very much and I'm closed. Representative McGrew. has closed
for his bill. What are the wishes of the committee? I
see a motion to pass Representative Rose. Is there
any discussion on the motion? Representative Rose, you're recognized. Yes, sir.
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
2:44:45
Thank you, Mr. Speak uh Mr. Chair, yeah I'll be voting for, um, obviously this bill in the motion do pass, and I think one of the, the most compelling arguments that was made against this was the notion that this would mandate 3 bids be made and its representative McGreg pointed out in his closing. It's simply that a allowance is required for 3 bids, but not a mandate that 3
bids be submitted and so uh for that many other reasons that were mentioned, I'll be voting
for this. Thank you, Mr. Chair. All right, is there any other discussion on the motion? Seeing no further discussion on the motion, we do have a motion to pass on House Bill 1560. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed. The eyes have it. Congratulations, you passed your bill. Thank you, see a motion. Well, I've already called it, but it's passed.
Um All right, with that, it is 1252, uh, we go into session at 1:30, as everyone knows, and so we have uh remaining. Thank you very much
uh, 11 House bills, 2 Senate bills that we're going to hear this afternoon and so we will come back 15 minutes upon
adjournment and reconvene and with that this committee will stand in recess.
Agenda
HB1069 S. Meeks TO OBSERVE STANDARD TIME YEAR ROUND IN ARKANSAS; AND TO ELIMINATE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN ARKANSAS.
HB1070 John Carr TO CREATE THE BALLOT DRAW STANDARDIZATION ACT OF 2025.
REGULAR AGENDA
HB1560 McGrew TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS; AND TO REQUIRE PRICING INFORMATION FOR LIGHTING COMPONENTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS.
HB1574 Vaught TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PAID CANVASSERS; AND TO REQUIRE DOMICILE IN ARKANSAS.
HB1604 McAlindon TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROHIBITED CONTRACTS BY STATE AGENCIES; AND TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY STATE AGENCIES TO PURCHASE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS MADE IN CHINA.
HB1621 Wardlaw TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO EXEMPT PERSONAL INFORMATION OF ELECTED CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS, JUDICIAL OFFICIALS, ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS, AND THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY.
HB1631 Wardlaw TO ADDRESS THE ISSUANCE OF HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES TO FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENTS.
HB1632 Wardlaw TO REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS STATE GAME AND FISH COMMISSION FOR FREE OR DISCOUNTED HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES.
HB1637 Ray CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION OF FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENTS CONCERNING THE FISCAL IMPACT OF STATEWIDE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM MEASURES AND LEGISLATIVELY REFERRED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
HB1690 Pilkington TO TRANSFER THE NUCLEAR PLANNING AND RESPONSE PROGRAM FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO THE DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
HB1693 Hawk TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE BALLOTS; AND TO ALLOW THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TO PROMULGATE RULES REGARDING THE DUPLICATION OF DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE BALLOTS.
HB1694 Hawk TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ALTERNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS.
HB1706 McCollum TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT RANKED CHOICE VOTING.
HB1707 Hawk TO REQUIRE CERTAIN CANDIDATES TO FILE REPORTS WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE; TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
HB1422 Long TO CREATE THE ONLY CITIZENS VOTE ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DRIVER'S LICENSES AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS OF CERTAIN NONCITIZENS; AND TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 51, SECTION 13.
HB1549 R. Scott Richardson TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS CYBERSECURITY ACT OF 2025.
HB1352 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED TO CERTAIN FOREIGN ENTITIES.
HB1713 Rose TO REQUIRE BALLOT TITLES FOR INITIATED MEASURES TO BE AT OR UNDER A CERTAIN READING LEVEL; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
HB1714 Rose TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF PAID CANVASSER.
HB1720 Vaught TO CREATE THE BABIES AT WORK ACT; TO ALLOW STATE AGENCIES TO PERMIT PUBLIC EMPLOYEES WHO ARE PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIANS TO BRING THEIR INFANTS SIX MONTHS OR YOUNGER TO WORK.
SENATE BILLS
SB304 M. McKee TO ALLOW A CLASS OF REGISTERED VOTERS THAT HAVE CHANGED THEIR COUNTY OF RESIDENCE TO CAST A VALID BALLOT; AND TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 51.
SB293 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE REQUIRED POSTINGS AT A POLLING SITE; AND TO AMEND THE LIST CONCERNING REQUIRED POSTING OF NOTICES, INFORMATION, AND MATERIAL AT A POLLING SITE ON ELECTION DAY.
SB344 Irvin TO TRANSFER THE HEALTHY EMPLOYEE LIFESTYLE PROGRAM FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSFORMATION AND SHARED SERVICES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PROGRAM.
SB351 J. Dismang TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE; TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1990; AND TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996.
SB370 Irvin TO TRANSFER THE ARKANSAS WINE PRODUCERS COUNCIL FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
SB299 K. Hammer TO REQUIRE A STAFF MEMBER TO WITNESS AN ADMINISTRATOR ASSISTING A RESIDENT OF A LONG-TERM RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY WITH ABSENTEE VOTING.
SB343 Irvin TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING STATE-OWNED MOTOR VEHICLES; TO
AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC PROPERTY; AND TO AMEND THE AUTOMOBILE AND PICKUP TRUCK ACQUISITION ACT FOR THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
HJR1001 A. Collins A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE CITIZENS' REDISTRICTING COMMISSION AND TO REPEAL THE BOARD OF APPORTIONMENT.
HJR1002 J. Richardson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REPEAL THE EXCEPTION TO THE PROHIBITION OF SLAVERY AND INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE.
HJR1003 A. Collins THE ARKANSAS GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE AMENDMENT.
HJR1005 Long AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS.
HJR1006 B. McKenzie AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION PROVIDING THAT A GOVERNMENTAL BODY SHALL NOT USE STATE OR LOCAL FUNDS TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH A LOBBYIST FOR LOBBYING PURPOSES.
HJR1007 Cavenaugh A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE A PROCEDURE FOR THE RECALL OF CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICIALS.
HJR1008 S. Meeks AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING THE TAXATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.
HJR1009 K. Brown AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO BE KNOWN AS THE ARKANSAS VICTIMS' BILL OF RIGHTS; AND TO PROVIDE RIGHTS FOR VICTIMS OF MISDEMEANOR AND FELONY OFFENSES, INCLUDING VICTIMS IN THE ADULT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS.
HJR1010 Unger A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT BY A TWO-THIRDS VOTE, THE SENATE MAY REMOVE MEMBERS OF CERTAIN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR CAUSE ONLY, AFTER NOTICE AND HEARING.
HJR1011 S. Meeks A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE CONSIDERATION OF BILLS OTHER THAN APPROPRIATION BILLS DURING A FISCAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
HJR1012 R. Scott Richardson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REPEAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE REAPPRAISAL AND REASSESSMENT OF REAL PROPERTY; AND TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 79, CONCERNING REAL PROPERTY TAXES.
HJR1013 Pilkington A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN VACANCIES SHALL BE FILLED BY APPOINTMENT BY THE GOVERNOR.
HJR1014 Beaty Jr. A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
HJR1015 Lundstrum A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY BY REQUIRING A JUDICIAL CANDIDATE TO DECLARE HIS OR HER POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION OR INDEPENDENT STATUS WHEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE.
HJR1016 Ray A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO REPEAL THE PROVISION OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 5, § 1, ALLOWING THE SPONSOR OF AN INITIATIVE OR REFERENDUM PETITION TO CORRECT OR AMEND A PETITION.
HJR1017 Ray A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROVIDING THAT A PROPOSED STATE-WIDE INITIATED ACT OR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT SHALL BECOME A LAW WHEN APPROVED BY A MAJORITY OF THE VOTES CAST IN THE ELECTION AND A MAJORITY OF THE COUNTIES OF THE STATE.
HJR1018 Ray THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT.
HJR1019 S. Meeks AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO REMOVE REFERENCES TO GREYHOUND RACING FROM ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 100.
HJR1020 K. Brown A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BE KNOWN AS THE VICTIM’S BILL OF RIGHTS; AND TO PROVIDE RIGHTS FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENT AND SEXUAL CRIMINAL OFFENSES.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS- HOUSE, Mar 12, 2025 | Agenda | 5 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Representative Jimmy Gazaway Chair
Unverified
Representative Stephen Meeks
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Elspeth Fast
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Speaker 14
Representative RJ Hawk
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Speaker 25
Speaker 24
Speaker 30
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
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Representative Mark D. McElroy
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Speaker 46
Chair
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Representative Cindy Crawford
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Representative Wayne Long
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Speaker 64
Neil Gladner
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Speaker 75
Speaker 77
Speaker 89
Representative John P. Carr
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Speaker 93
Speaker 96
Speaker 109
Speaker 116
Speaker 87
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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Representative Nicole Clowney
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Speaker 95
Representative David Ray
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Speaker 101
Speaker 152
Jennifer Price
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Wyn Gregory
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Speaker 169
Speaker 170
Speaker 172
Representative Kendon Underwood
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Speaker 181
Representative Richard McGrew
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Todd Welch
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Speaker 209
Speaker 33
Speaker 215
Speaker 226
Speaker 223
Speaker 104
Speaker 221
Speaker 220
Speaker 212
Speaker 235
Chris East
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Representative Julie Mayberry
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Speaker 242
Speaker 248
Speaker 79
James Gillam
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Courtney Little
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Representative Ryan A. Rose
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Speaker 258