Daily Legislative Update
Thursday, February 19, 2009
39th Day of the 87th General
Assembly
* * * CALLS TO ACTION * * *
MANUFACTURERS SALES TAX EXEMPTION FOR UTILITY USAGE
We encourage all manufacturers to calculate the amount of sales taxes paid on their energy costs and evaluate how those funds might be used to enhance the operation, save or increase jobs, improve competition, etc., if a full or partial exemption was passed and communicate this information to your legislators.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
HB 1362, the agreed bill between the State Chamber/AIA and the AFL-CIO, is on Friday’s agenda in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee. Please encourage your legislators to honor this important workers’ comp agreement by passing HB 1362 as soon as possible.
TODAY AT THE CAPITOL
House convenes at
Senate convenes at 11:00 a.m.
Committee Meetings:
JOINT
8:00 AM |
Room 151 |
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9:00 AM |
Room 171 |
HOUSE
10:00 AM |
Room 130 |
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10:00 AM |
Room 138 |
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10:00 AM |
Room 151 |
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10:00 AM |
Room 428 |
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10:00 AM |
Room 149 |
SENATE
10:00 AM |
Room 171 |
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10:00 AM |
OSC |
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10:00 AM |
ROOM 309 |
STATE CHAMBER/AIA BILL TRACKING
To date, the House has filed 542 bills and the Senate has filed 425 bills.
The State Chamber/AIA is tracking 220 bills and resolutions.
New bills added to the State Chamber/AIA tracking today:
Increases from $20,000 to $30,000 the cost of a commercial or residential construction job that requires a licensed contractor. |
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Makes various technical changes and corrections to Arkansas Code - Title 15 (Natural Resources and Economic Development). |
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Makes various technical changes and corrections to Arkansas Code - Title 18 (Property). |
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Makes various technical changes and corrections to Arkansas Code - Title 27 (Transportation). |
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.
ISSUES
SCRAP METAL
HB 1479 by Rep.
Darrin Williams is on today’s House Judiciary Committee agenda. It
would create a Class D felony for the offense of damaging wires and other
fixtures of telephone, cable and electric power companies and add new
restrictions and requirements on scrap metal dealers. This bill, which has
been the subject of negotiations over the past few weeks, was filed as an
agreed bill by the parties in interest. The State Chamber/AIA supports this
bill to reduce the outbreak of copper theft in
SB 88 by Sen. Bobby Glover would reduce the sales tax on food and food ingredients by 1 percent. This is a priority item for Governor Beebe. The bill remains on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee agenda.
TOMORROW AT THE CAPITOL
Committee Meetings for Friday, February 20, 2009
9:00 AM |
ROOM 138 |
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9:00 AM |
Room 149 |
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9:00 AM |
130 |
AGING, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LEGISLATIVE & MILITARY AFFAIRS- HOUSE |
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9:00 AM |
Room 151 |
SENATE
None listed.
ISSUES
NURSING HOMES
HB 1232 by Rep. George Overbey and Sen. Barbara Horn received a Do Pass recommendation from the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee yesterday and is on today’s Senate floor calendar. This bill contains an agreement negotiated between the trial lawyers and nursing homes.
YESTERDAY AT THE CAPITOL
ISSUES
LOTTERY
Now that the tobacco tax has been signed into law, the next big issue under consideration by the legislature is the implementation of the state lottery approved in the November election. Leadership in the House and Senate appointed study groups to make recommendations and reports from these groups surfaced this week. Yesterday, a rare joint meeting of the House and Senate Rules Committees and State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committees was held to discuss the lottery issues.
The Arkansas News Bureau is reporting that a group of state lawmakers released a draft bill yesterday, which did not include rules for the awarding of scholarships. In the story here, they quote the lead sponsor of the legislation, House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway, who said lawmakers are working on a plan to create a sliding scale in which the amount of scholarship money awarded would depend on the amount of money the lottery collects. “The last thing we want to do is promise more than we can deliver,” Wills said at a meeting of the Political Animals Club of Northwest Arkansas held at the Governor’s Mansion.
The story also quotes Sen. Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs, who said day-to-day operations of the lottery would be under the control of a nine-member commission that would operate like a private business. “We have tried to design this, and I think we’ve accomplished that, so they can change with market conditions and make changes quickly,” Smith said.
The Arkansas News story also reports that three members of the commission would be appointed by the governor, three by the House speaker and three by the Senate president pro tem, according to the draft bill. The committee would be overseen by a new legislative committee, the Arkansas Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight Committee, but Wills said the Legislature would not have any influence in decisions such as selecting vendors. Commission members and lottery employees would be prohibited from receiving a gift of any value from a lottery vendor. They also could not engage in lobbying on any lottery-related issue for a period of two years after they quit. The commission would be subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Video lottery terminals would not be allowed, but the draft bill would allow scratch-off games, draw games and multi-state games. Knowingly selling a lottery ticket to a person under 18 would be a Class A misdemeanor.
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@arkansasstatec hamber.com
State Chamber/AIA
phone: (501) 372-2222
State Chamber/AIA web site: www.arkansasstatechamber.com
