Arkansas Legislative Update – 2/27/2009

Posted on February 27th, 2009

Date: February 27, 2009
Contact: House Information Office, 501-682-7771
For Immediate Release

LITTLE ROCK – Lawmakers stiffened the state’s seatbelt law, made a move toward ending the state’s participation in the Electoral College, and unveiled draft legislation for lottery-funded scholarships during the General Assembly’s seventh week in session.

Senate Bill 78, which was presented in the House by Rep. Fred Allen of Little Rock, makes seatbelt violations a primary offense, meaning an officer can make a traffic stop on that violation alone. Until now, not wearing a seatbelt was a secondary offense, and the officer had to witness another violation before making a stop. The fine for not wearing a seatbelt will be $25.

Backers of the bill have tried to change the secondary-violation law for several sessions, never succeeding until now. The bill goes to the governor and takes effect immediately upon his signature. Passage of the bill assures the state of receiving $9.5 million in federal highway-safety grants. The violation is a primary offense in 26 other states, according to federal records.

The House also approved HB 1339, by Rep. Eddie Cooper of Melbourne, to change how Arkansas casts its six electoral votes for president every four years. The six votes now go to the candidate who carries the state. HB 1339 says the votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote.

Even if the measure is approved by the Senate and signed by the governor, it won’t take effect unless several other states pass similar legislation. Winning the presidency requires 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes. The Electoral College would effectively be abolished if enough states with a combined 270 electoral votes pass legislation like Arkansas’s. Five states have, so far.

Speaker of the House Robbie Wills of Conway and other legislative leaders unveiled a summary of how college scholarships to be funded by the new state lottery could be set up. Noting the vast differences in estimates of how much money will be generated by the lottery (from $55 million a year to more than $100 million), Wills said the state must be careful to not promise what it can’t deliver.

Because of that uncertainty, the draft legislation suggests a sliding scale for scholarships with their values based on the revenue actually generated. Scholarships to four-year colleges would range from $2,500 a year to $5,500, depending on revenue. Scholarships to the less-expensive two-year colleges would be half of those amounts. Ticket sales could begin late this year, and the first scholarships would be available for the 2010-2011 school year. The number of college students receiving scholarships will increase from about 8,000 to 35,000, and many of those recipients will be nontraditional students, Wills said. Eligibility requirements, under the draft, are a 2.5 grade point average or an ACT score of 19. Financial need, as well as academic accomplishment, will be considered.

Also during the week, the House approved:

• HB 1459, by Rep. Barbara Nix of Benton, to double the amount of time a judge can consider previous DWI convictions in setting a drunk driver’s punishment. It also gives prosecutors the same flexibility in determining what charges to file. The so-called “look back” period currently is five years, but HB 1459 would double that to 10. Most states have five-year periods, while a few others have no time limit at all. Under HB 1459, a person with at least four DWI convictions within a 10-year period could receive a felony enhancement in his sentence for another drunk driving conviction. The bill goes to the Senate.
• HB 1404, by Rep. Kathy Webb of Little Rock, to clear up confusion on the ballot. For last year’s general election, Arkansas voters faced three very different measures: Initiated Act No. 1 (limiting adoptions), Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1 (cleaning up election laws), and Referred Question No. 1 (to issue water bonds). The bill, which now goes to the Senate, will require the measures to be numbered in sequence, with no number being repeated. Constitutional amendments referred to the people by the General Assembly would get the first numbers, followed by proposed amendments placed on the ballot through citizens’ petition drives, any initiated acts placed on the ballot by the people, and by any acts referred to the people by the General Assembly.
• HB 1464, by Rep. Jim Nickels of North Little Rock, to raise the minimum wage from $6.25 an hour to $6.55, matching the federal minimum wage. Most minimum-wage earners in Arkansas already are getting the federal rate. The last time minimum-wage hike in Arkansas was in 2006, going from $5.15 an hour to $6.25. The bill goes to the Senate.
• HB 1402, by Rep. Steve Harrelson of Texarkana, to require Arkansas retail stores to sell only “fire-safe” cigarettes. The cigarettes extinguish themselves if they’re not actively smoked, and supporters of the bill say it will help prevent fire deaths. The bill goes to the Senate.

Along with the scholarship work, lawmakers in the coming days will consider a bill that sets up the state trauma network and identifies which hospitals will have major roles in that network.

Tags: legislative update
Filed under Uncategorized |

Comments are closed.