Daily Legislative Update
Thursday, January 29, 2009
12th Day of the 87th General Assembly
YESTERDAY AT THE CAPITOL
SB 77 by Sen. Sue Madison and Rep. Pam Adcock passed the House by a vote of 88-9 yesterday. The bill will now go to the Governor’s desk for his signature. It will make aggravated cruelty to cats, dogs and horses a Class D felony on the first offense. When the bill becomes law, offenders will face a fine of up to $10,000 and up to six years in prison. The bill also has an enhanced penalty for those who torture animals in the presence of a child. Only certified law enforcement will be allowed to make arrests in animal cruelty cases. SB 77 specifically exempts animal husbandry and other accepted practices.
SB 33 by Sen. Robert Thompson would remove the prohibition against citing unpublished decisions of the Court of Appeals as precedent. Senator Thompson presented this bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday morning but did not ask for a vote. He wanted to give the committee time to consider the bill and he will likely bring it back up when the committee meets again next Wednesday.
SB 33 would only affect un-published opinions on a going forward basis. He described the issue as having been studied and recommended by the Supreme Court’s Civil Practice Committee. Later the Court of Appeals judges voted against the proposal and then the Supreme Court justices voted against the proposal on a 4 to 3 vote. Thompson said the Bar Association and the Trial Lawyers Association have no objections to the bill. He also said the proposal was submitted for public comment and all types of attorneys made comments to the Supreme Court’s Civil Practice Committee. Passage of the bill would raise some constitutional issues according to Thompson.
If the bill allows un-published opinions to continue but gives them precedential value then we are concerned. If the bill only eliminates un-published opinions then we have no concern.
TODAY AT THE CAPITOL
House convenes at 1:30 p.m.
Senate convenes at 11:00 a.m.
Committee Meetings:
JOINT
|
8:00 AM |
Room 151 |
JBC-PERSONNEL |
Agenda |
|
|
9:00 AM |
Room 171 |
JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE |
Agenda |
|
HOUSE
|
10:00 AM |
Room 130 |
PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE- HOUSE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
Room 138 |
EDUCATION COMMITTEE- HOUSE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
Room 428 |
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION- HOUSE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
Room 149 |
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
Room 151 |
REVENUE & TAXATION- HOUSE |
Agenda |
|
SENATE
|
10:00 AM |
Room 171 |
INSURANCE & COMMERCE - SENATE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
ROOM 272 |
CITY, COUNTY & LOCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE - SENATE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
OSC |
STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE |
Agenda |
|
|
10:00 AM |
ROOM 309 |
AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - SENATE |
Agenda |
|
ISSUES
PACKAGING MATERIALS EXEMPTION
HB 1084 by Rep. Lindsley Smith is on this morning’s House Revenue & Taxation Committee agenda. It would limit the use of the sale for resale exemption for packaging materials sold to a manufacturer, to packaging made of biodegradable or recyclable materials. The State Chamber/AIA is opposed to this bill. We are beginning to hear from some of our members about some significant cost implications.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
We spoke with Rep. Garry Smith about HB 1187, which would allow full workers’ compensation benefits for job injuries to persons retired under the State Highway Employees’ Retirement System, in addition to retirement benefits. We explained our concerns about the cost of eliminating the offset provisions of workers’ compensation claims and that we had an agreement between management and labor that would require the State Chamber/AIA and the AFL-CIO to jointly oppose all workers’ compensation bills that are not part of the agreement. Rep. Smith understood and appreciated our comments on this bill that he filed to represent the desires of a constituent.
STATE CHAMBER/AIA BILL TRACKING
To date the House has filed 268 bills and the Senate has filed 254 bills.
The State Chamber/AIA is tracking 117 bills and resolutions.
New bills added to State Chamber/AIA tracking today:
HB 1244 |
Joint Budget |
Appropriates funds to the Department of Workforce Services for 2009-10 operations. |
HB 1251 |
Breedlove |
Changes the tuition assistance available for out of state professional education from a grant to a loan program that requires repayment, but offers loan forgiveness in return for maintaining a practice in Arkansas for at least five years. |
SB 216 |
Altes |
Makes persons receiving certain public assistance subject to drug testing on a random selection basis, with individuals failing a drug test to complete a one-year drug treatment program or lose the assistance benefits. |
Please visit our tracking site here for the complete, searchable list of bills being tracked. The full text of each bill is also available at the site.
TOMORROW AT THE CAPITOL
Committee Meetings for Friday, January 30, 2009
JOINT
None listed.
HOUSE
9:00 AM |
Room 149 |
INSURANCE & COMMERCE- HOUSE |
Agenda |
|
15 Minutes upon Adjournment |
Room 151 |
ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - HOUSE |
|
|
SENATE
None listed.
CONTACT INFORMATION
State Senators: 501-682-2902
State Representatives: 501-682-6211
State Chamber/AIA Staff
Randy Zook, President/CEO: rzook@arkansasstatechamber.com
Kenny Hall, Executive Vice President: khall@arkansasstatechamber.com
Angela DeLille, Director of Governmental Affairs:
adelille@arkansasstatechamber.com
State Chamber/AIA phone: (501) 372-2222
State Chamber/AIA web site: www.arkansasstatechamber.com
