Said in CommitteeBeta

Exactly as spoken.

Public Transportation- House

March 11, 2025 ·10:00 AM ·Room B, MAC ·15:58
Video Transcript 1 document

Bills discussed (8)

Bill Title Sponsor Status
HB1550 · 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ux Rep. Trey Steimel REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1550 Andrews CONCERNING EXPEDITED SECURITY SCREENINGS AT AN AIRP…”
CONCERNING EXPEDITED SECURITY SCREENINGS AT AN AIRPORT. Andrews Recommended for study in the Interim by the …
HB1606 Act 922 · 2 mentions in agenda, transcript
Matched: “…ews CONCERNING EXPEDITED SECURITY SCREENINGS AT AN AIRPORT. HB1606 Steimel TO ALLOW A LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO AUTHORIZE THE OPERAT…”
TO ALLOW A LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO AUTHORIZE THE OPERATION OF A UTILITY TASK VEHICLE ON … Steimel Notification that HB1606 is now Act 922
HB1654 Act 490 · 2 mentions in transcript, agenda
Matched: “…ion we're gonna go ahead and move to uh representative Tosh House Bill 1654. Representative Tosh. Oh, you ready? Go. I was looking arou…”
TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF A SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE FOR THE MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF THE … Tosh Notification that HB1654 is now Act 490
HB1284 · 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…EXTRA LICENSE PLATE. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1284 Unger TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCAT…”
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A PERSON'S DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR … Unger Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment.
HB1371 · 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…D TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING A RESTRICTED DRIVER'S PERMIT. HB1371 Wardlaw TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COMPLETION OF A H…”
TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COMPLETION OF A HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COURSE FOR THE … Wardlaw Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment.
HB1569 · 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ION COURSE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE. HB1569 Long TO CREATE THE SECURE ROADS AND SAFE TRUCKING ACT OF 20…”
TO CREATE THE SECURE ROADS AND SAFE TRUCKING ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW … Long WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR
HB1623 · 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 03/07/25 @ 3:50 PM) Moved HB1623 to Deferred Bills House Committee on Public Transportation…”
TO EXEMPT H-2A VISA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE A VALID INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERMIT … J. Moore Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment.
HB1688 Act 710 · 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ID-SOUTH COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE. HB1688 Cavenaugh TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING THE USE OF A DEA…”
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING THE USE OF A DEALER'S EXTRA LICENSE PLATE. Cavenaugh Notification that HB1688 is now Act 710

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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 0:10
uh, without objection we're gonna go ahead and move to uh representative Tosh House Bill 1654. Representative Tosh. Oh, you ready? Go. I was looking around the room for you he's sitting right in front of me. OK, introduce
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Representative Dwight Tosh Unverified 0:27
yourself, and you may proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman Committee members, I'm Representative Dwight Tosh, District 38, and, uh, I'm presenting to you today the, uh, for a special license plate for a Make A Wish Foundation under the current state law that we have the the special license plates you can only have 25 of them in the state, so the only way that you can actually run a bill is you have to find one to remove from that list of 25. And, uh, so with the help of the DFNA, uh, we found one, it's a Mid-South College at, uh, West Memphis. They, uh, they've only issued 14 license plates over the last several years and, and they, they've got 600 license plates in stock, so they will still be able to continue to purchase one of those tags, uh, and apparently was 600 in stock, they'll be able to do that for many, many, many years to come. But by doing that. That this makes room for us to authorize with this legislation, a special license plate for the Make A Wish Foundation and I don't think there's Any need for me to explain to this committee as well known as the Make a Wish Foundation is, uh, the role that they play and the things that they, that they can bring and the things that they do to help kids with these catastrophic illnesses, so that's what this bill does. There's no opposition to this bill, like I said, Mid-South Community College is on board with it, the legislator that represents that area. He's, uh, a Representative McGruder. He, uh, I went to him and he wanted to help also co-sponsor this. this bill, so he's a co-sponsor on the bill for, uh, and, and Mid-South, like I said in ASU they're good with it or we wouldn't have moved forward without your permission. So with that, I'll take any questions. Any questions from committee? Seeing none, anyone here
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 2:25
to speak for or against the bill. I was gonna toss you close. I'm closed, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate a good vote. What's the will the committee representative McIlroy, you recognize, have a recommendation of do pass from Representative McIlroy in the discussion on it. Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Any opposes same like I hearing non. Congratulations, your bill passes. Thank you. I appreciate you. OK, next on the agenda, we have a Representative Steiner with House Bill 1606, and I think he has an amendment for that bill, so Representative Stein, if you will present your Introduce yourself, present your amendment, we'll take it up first, then we'll move to the bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, what, uh, staff's passing around
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 3:17
the amendment where it's, uh, this will make an amendment to put Tyler Dees as a Senate sponsor on this bill and, and with that, I would, uh, Make a motion do pass.
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 3:27
OK, have a motion to pass on the amendment in the discussion. All in favor say aye. Any opposed, hearing none. Amendment passes, you may proceed with the bill. All right. So,
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 3:38
guys, this is a local control bill first off, this is a, uh, this, this is something that's been needed in my first session down here, uh, we had some ATV bills and UTV bills that try to come through that probably weren't the best. There was a lot of uh push back on that. So what I've done, uh, over the last 6 months is, is worked with uh all a lot of the stakeholders in order to bring a good comprehensive bill to, uh, you know, to allow some local control for the counties and. uh municipalities across Arkansas. So when I say local control bill, you know this is gonna be something in in these rural counties where we need, uh, maybe some tourism, you know, we, uh, have pockets of that and especially in my neck of the woods, we have Cherokee Village, which is a small community that already runs a lot, a lot of UTVs, but what we want to be able to do with this is we want to define what a UTV is. We don't want three wheelers and 4 wheelers out here doing wheelies off of uh state highways. What we want is. It to be defined as a true side by side and for when we think about uh what in our minds what a side by side is, uh, you'll see the definition here. I won't go into it, but in, in the bill that it does define it such as a rollover protection system, or, you know, it has your, your cage, uh, you know, it's gonna be a, it's 80 inches or or or less in width so there again just your typical uh UTV and also the uh size of the engine needs to be about. 00 ccs or more in order to uh meet the requirements of this bill. Um, so when we go into the uh what what an operator has to have in order to uh to operate with this, uh, this ordinance or this executive order, they're gonna have to have a valid driver's license. That's an operator of 16 years or older, uh, based on current statute, or they're gonna have to register the utility vehicle in, uh, in the county that it is uh operated in. They're gonna have to maintain insurance so your standard liability insurance that will have to be maintained with current statute and. uh, you know, they also have to have to carry the proof of the insurance in the UTV with them as well just like you would a private passenger auto. And they're also gonna have to comply with the uh rules of the roadway. So, Some of the stuff on these vehicles or these UTVs where you're gonna have to have, they're gonna have to have at least 2 headlamps like a standard UT or like a standard private passenger auto, rear facing turn signals. At least one brake light and seat belts in order to uh meet the requirement and you know, with, with that, guys. Please help me pass a uh a comprehensive bill that gives local control to these rural counties. Does Pulaski County probably need to pass this? Absolutely not. Do the folks in uh Sharp County or Randolph County or Fulton County or Polk County need to pass this absolutely. Another thing I'd like to say is this does not in any way uh impede with the trailhead to trailhead. We had some language put in here that will not uh kind of cross cross those folks up that way it's working for them and their communities, so. With that, I'll take any
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Representative Brad Hall Unverified 6:51
questions from committee. Representative Hall, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, will this any way interact with, uh, as a cattle rancher, I have ranches in different parts, areas, and I, I drive my UTV, you know, in between them. Would that anyway affect, uh,
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 7:10
people like me? Absolutely not. This is not any way impact uh how Ag currently uses, uh, UTVs because they are allowed to run 4 wheelers and 3 wheelers field to field, uh, in, in cross. So no, we did not want to get away of ag anyway here. So, no, no, sir. Good question,
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Speaker 14 7:29
Representative Hall. Any other questions from the committee? Anyone here
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 7:37
speak for or against the bill? OK. See, uh, Got Sharp County judge. Mark, uh, you and, and, uh. Sheriff Russell, both are here, so why don't you just come up. Introduce yourself and uh you may proceed. Every everybody who wants to go first, that's fine. Just introduce yourself and.
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Speaker 16 7:55
Just keep it Short and sweet, we don't wanna stay here a long time. Good morning. I'd like to start off by
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Speaker 18 8:08
saying thank you to the committee. Yes, sir. My name's Mark Kentz and I'm Sharp County Judge, uh, prior to being county judge, I was county sheriff and worked in law enforcement, I guess my whole life, um, today, uh, we come down in support of, uh, representative representative uh Trey Steel's bill here. Sharp pianty is a county of 17,800 and something people in our county relies a lot on tourism and farming in our area. If it wasn't for tourism and farming, then we probably wouldn't survive. We're a small county. Uh, we got the rivers and the lakes that come through Sharp County and have a lot of traffic of where people come from all over to enjoy that area. I, I'm strong in support of this bill because I know today people sure like to get out and ride their UTVs and. And to give them opportunity to come up there and to use UTVs while they're on vacation. I think it'll be a big plus and help us with our tourism and hopefully. Raise more tax dollars for our area. So I know I'm kind of short, but does anybody have any questions of me? Seeing the sheriff go
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 9:23
ahead. Sharp County, that's the, that's the turkey capital of the state of Arkansas in for turkey hunter
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Speaker 20 9:31
real close that's what I thought Sheriff introduce yourself,
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Speaker 23 9:35
you may proceed. My name's Shane Russell. I'm Sharp County Sheriff. Uh, I appreciate being able to come down and talk to y'all today about uh uh being in favor of 1606, um, I'll keep this short, um, our tax base, especially on the north end of our County. Is uh mostly made up of tax revenue. By allowing this bill to go and By allowing this bill to go uh be individual county by county, um. We would, uh, it, it would possibly encourage longer stays by tourists, uh, which would be able to, uh, explore an area more conveniently leading to increased spending at local businesses, restaurants, and lodging. Um, this could possibly attract, uh, off-road enthusiast, many a travelers seek a destinations where we can ride UTVs, uh, legally, potentially bringing in new tourism. Uh, it'd be, uh, boosting local sales tax. Increased uh UTV usage would, uh, drive up the sale of fuel, uh, repairs, accessories, and rentals in our area. Uh, we're seeing a big increase in UTVs, um, and allowing to create uh counties to create their own policies would give a, a county like Sharp County, the ability to capitalize. On this, uh, plus getting ahead of this will allow law enforcement to more effectively regulate. These on our county roads and our city streets and highways.
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 11:07
OK, thank you, Sheriff. Any questions from committee? Uh Represent time when I saw where this is optional. They either a city or quote unquote can pass an ordinance and do this. Am I correct on
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 11:20
that? Yes, Mr. Chair, that is correct. So, uh, the city would pass an ordinance, uh, county judge was passed the executive order in order to uh to put this or implement this, uh, this, this bill, Chris. Thank you. Judge
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 11:32
Sheriff, thank you for your testimony. Thank you for being here today. You're excused. I don't see any questions for you, uh, Representative Steiner, if you don't mind, I'd like to call, uh, Mark Whitmore from the Association of Arkansas Counties, make sure they don't have any problems with this just get his feedback on and we'll proceed after that. Thank you,
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Speaker 30 11:57
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, uh, first of all, I want to thank Representative Steinel, uh, introduce yourself. He's worked
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Speaker 34 12:03
with this, uh, am I good introduce yourself? Oh, I'm sorry, Mark Whitmore Association of Arkansas County. I
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Speaker 30 12:15
apologize, uh, should do that first thing, um, he has worked with us, uh, we had the sheriff's form a committee. Actually, this issue was here, uh, 2 years ago. And so we had a committee from 2 years ago, both county judges and sheriffs met with Representative Steel, uh, you can see he addresses the safety concerns, uh, which were the sheriff's concerns. He addressed the county judge's concerns, uh, about local control. I know of several sheriffs that are for the bill. I know several county judges that are for the bill. I know no sheriff and no county judge against the bill. So, uh, I want to commend him for being a good part. partner in, in this, uh. We agree that the tourism. Is an important element Arkansas has certain resources we see in certain communities where uh near state national force there people bring from other states these. Side by sides and, uh, just the utility of it for a local community if somebody lives in a small town up in Sharp County, for example, Hardy or Cherokee Village to be able to go on a road, uh, from their cabin, uh, to go and get, you know, bread or. Come to town, do things, uh, that's a community decision obviously like Pulaski County, uh, bigger counties that may not be appealing and so we appreciate that and that's kind of the position of the county
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Speaker 24 13:44
judges and the sheriffs. Thank you, Mr. Whitmore. Any questions, Mrs. Whitmore?
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 13:49
Seeing none. Thank you. You're excused. No one here to testify against the bill, so, uh, uh, Representative Steiner, you, you wanna close? Yes, Mr. Chair, I'd like to close.
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 14:00
So when we talk about people that are neutral or uh in favor of this bill. You've heard of a sheriff and a county judge, uh, from, you know, my local district that is, is for this, but also. The state police is neutral on this. Our dot is neutral on this. Sheriff's Association is neutral on this. So like I said, we, we put together a really comprehensive bill that will hopefully give a pathway to increase tourism and uh and bring some much needed relief to rural Arkansas as far as, uh, any kind of, any, any kind of ordinance here. So we're just talking about local control. Absolutely, and this will, uh, that, that's what you know I campaigned on that's what we need to make sure that we allow these local citizens to do what's best for them in their in their counties. And you know, to uh just to kind of speak on what uh Sheriff Russell, uh, expanded on is this will allow this ordinance will allow, uh, the sheriffs to do their job and, and allow them to potentially take the bad actors, they're acting a fool out here on their UTVs, and that's what we need, guys. We need, uh, we need, you know, smart people using these UTVs and the majority of people out here are smart using them, so we want to, we want to empower them with this, with this bill. With that I'm closed. You want to
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Speaker 29 15:17
Do you have a motion? Motion to pass as, as a, as amended, we have motion to pass as amended. Any discussion
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Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified 15:25
on the motion. All in favor say aye. Any polls same like sign hearing none. Congratulations to you bill passes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you committee. Uh, committee, I don't see any other. Uh Representative Kavanaugh, I advised me she was not going to run her bill today, uh, Representative Andrews is not here, so his bill will go to deferred, uh, we will not meet again until next Tuesday. Is there anything else to come before the committee today.
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Agenda

REGULAR AGENDA

CONCERNING EXPEDITED SECURITY SCREENINGS AT AN AIRPORT. Andrews HB1550

TO ALLOW A LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO AUTHORIZE THE OPERATION OF A Steimel HB1606UTILITY TASK VEHICLE ON A DESIGNATED PUBLIC STREET OR HIGHWAY WITHIN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S JURISDICTION SUBJECT TO CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.

3:05

TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF A SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE FOR THE MAKE- Tosh HB1654A-WISH FOUNDATION OF THE MID SOUTH; AND TO ADDRESS THE INVENTORY OF THE MID-SOUTH COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE.

0:28

TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING THE USE OF A DEALER'S EXTRA Cavenaugh HB1688LICENSE PLATE.

DEFERRED BILLS

TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A Unger HB1284PERSON'S DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PAY A COURT-ORDERED FINE; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING A RESTRICTED DRIVER'S PERMIT.

TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COMPLETION OF A HUMAN Wardlaw HB1371TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COURSE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE.

TO CREATE THE SECURE ROADS AND SAFE TRUCKING ACT OF 2025; TO Long HB1569AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COMMERCIAL DRIVERS; TO CREATE PENALTIES FOR OFFENSES COMMITTED WHILE OPERATING A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

TO EXEMPT H-2A VISA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE A VALID J. Moore HB1623INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERMIT FROM THE SKILLS PORTION OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE EXAMINATION.

Speakers

Representative Mike Holcomb Unverified
14 segments
Representative Dwight Tosh Unverified
5 segments
Representative Trey Steimel Unverified
15 segments
Representative Brad Hall Unverified
1 segment
Speaker 14
1 segment
Speaker 16
1 segment
Speaker 18
3 segments
Speaker 20
1 segment
Speaker 23
3 segments
Speaker 30
4 segments
Speaker 34
2 segments
Speaker 24
1 segment
Speaker 29
1 segment