Daily Legislative Update

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
51^stDay of the 87^th General Assembly

*   *   *   CALL TO ACTION   *   *   *

MANUFACTURERS SALES TAX EXEMPTION FOR ENERGY USAGE

HB 1624 by Rep. David Dunn would provide a sales tax exemption for all fuel and energy used by businesses in the manufacturing process. PLEASE CONTINUE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO SUPPORT A REDUCTION IN THE SALES TAXES PAID BY MANUFACTURERS ON THEIR ENERGY COSTS.

TODAY AT THE CAPITOL

House convenes at 1:30 p.m.

Senate convenes at 1:30 p.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 151	REVENUE & TAXATION- HOUSE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	Room 149	JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	Room 428	PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION- HOUSE	Agenda

 

SENATE

	10:00 AM	Room 171	INSURANCE & COMMERCE - SENATE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	ROOM 207	AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - 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
	Upon Adjournment	Room 171	JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE	Agenda

ISSUES

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

HB 1279 by Rep. Keith Ingram would authorize the Workforce Services Department to disclose certain information about employers that are classified in the Standard Industrial Classification Code to the Environmental Quality Department. It passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of 33-0 and will now go to the Governor for his signature. 

HB 1478 by Rep. Mike Patterson was amended yesterday and is on this morning’s House Revenue and Taxation Committee agenda. It would authorize certain information to be shared between the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) and the Department of Finance and Administration.

SB 429 by Sen. Tracy Steele addresses the fact that the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund will run out of money in the immediate future. Also, the state will have to borrow funds from the federal government.  We have agreed to an increase in the taxable wage base and labor has agreed to a change in how quits and discharges are treated.

All three of these bills have been approved by the Department of Workforce Services’ ESD Advisory Council, which includes five members of the State Chamber/AIA, five members of the AFL-CIO and three consumer representatives.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

HB 1362, the agreed workers’ compensation bill between the State Chamber/AIA and the AFL-CIO, is on this morning’s Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee agenda. However, it likely will not be heard until the committee completes the consideration of the PBM bill, SB 460.

HB 1403 by Rep. John Edwards has become a part of the agreement between the AFL-CIO and the State Chamber/AIA. It would create the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act allowing volunteer health practitioners registered and in good standing in their state to practice in Arkansas during an emergency proclamation. The bill would make the volunteer health practitioners state employees and extend state workers’ compensation benefits to the volunteer health practitioners. This bill was put forward by the Uniform Laws Committee of the Bar Association, the state workers’ comp trust agreed to the declaration of the volunteers as state employees. The AFL-CIO and State Chamber/AIA agreed that this bill was worthy of support. It is on this morning’s agenda in the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.

POPULAR VOTE FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

HB 1339 by Rep. Eddie Cooper and Sen. Terry Smith is on today’s Senate State Agencies Committee agenda. This bill would require Arkansas ’s delegation of presidential electors in a presidential election to be appointed based on the nationwide popular vote total, rather than the popular vote in Arkansas . We believe that the loss of the electoral voting system would greatly reduce Arkansas ’s significance in electing the President of the United States . Our population would be too small to matter to the campaigns, which would focus on the large population centers across the country. We believe our nation’s founders provided small population states like Arkansas a relevant and necessary voice in the presidential elections when they created the Electoral College. The State Chamber/AIA opposes this bill. 

PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGEMENT (PBM)

SB 460 by Sen. Percy Malone and HB 1601 by Rep. Allen Maxwell are identical bills that require entities that are managers of pharmacy benefits plans for insurers, employers and certain other health care entities or health plans to itemize individual claims, disclosing the amount paid to a pharmacist, the identity of the pharmacist and the prescription number when the PBM seeks reimbursement or payment for services provided by the pharmacists. It also provides that a violation constitutes a deceptive and unconscionable trade practice under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

SB 460 was presented last week in the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee, but the committee ran out of time and did not vote on the bill. Consideration of the bill is expected to continue this morning. HB 1601 is on the House Insurance and Commerce Committee’s agenda. 

EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

HJR 1014 by Rep. Lindsley Smith and SJR 12 by Sen. Sue Madison would ratify the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution guaranteeing equality of rights to women and authorize Congress to enforce by legislation those provisions. There is a debate over whether the time has passed to adopt ERA at the federal level. It is our understanding at this time that this is subject to legal interpretation. We are also curious about potential applications in the workplace. HJR 1014 awaits consideration in the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee and SJR 12 is on today’s agenda in the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.

WORKPLACE

HB 1552 by Rep. Lindsley Smith provides that employers shall provide unpaid break time each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her child in order to maintain milk supply, and to make a reasonable effort to provide a private and sanitary room for her to do so. This bill is on today’s House Public Health, Welfare & Labor Committee agenda.

GRADUATED DRIVERS LICENSES

SB 309 by Sen. J. Jeffress and Rep. Shelby is scheduled for a Special Order of Business in the House Public Transportation Committee this morning. It would prohibit the use of a cellular phone or other interactive device while operating a motor vehicle by a driver with a learners' driver's license or intermediate driver's license. It would also place restrictions on driving hours for those with intermediate driver's licenses unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old, driving to or from school, driving to a church-related activity, driving to a job or driving due to an emergency and would restrict passengers to not more than one unrelated passenger unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old and in the front passenger seat. Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for teens from 1999 to 2005, causing 78 percent of all Arkansas teen fatalities during that time period. Studies estimate a crash reduction of 20 to 30 percent in states with strong graduated drivers’ licensing laws. The State Chamber/AIA supports this provision to reduce trauma in Arkansas .

CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION

SB 584 by Sen. Shane Broadway authorizes the Development Finance Authority to issue the Energy Cost Savings Projects General Obligation Bonds, not to exceed $300,000,000, to finance energy cost savings contracts by state agencies for improvements to state buildings. It is on today’s Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee agenda.

HB 1663 by Rep. Kathy Webb would provide for the building and renovation of buildings owned by the state or institutions of higher education through sustainable, energy efficient methods. It is on the agenda for tomorrow’s Joint Energy Committee.

SSTP

SB 322 by Sen. Larry Teague is on this morning’s House Revenue and Tax Committee agenda. The bill amends sales tax provisions to be consistent with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement and provides that sales tax is levied on the withdrawal of goods from the stock of an established business.

FOOD TAX

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. 

TRAUMA SYSTEM

SB 315 by Sen. Tracy Steele and Rep. Gene Shelby is the legislation to set up a statewide trauma system. The bill would authorize the Department of Health to grant funds to emergency medical care providers, ambulance providers, trauma rehabilitation service, and to hospitals to assist qualification as trauma centers; to create a communication network; and more. It is on this morning’s House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee agenda.

STATE CHAMBER/AIA BILL TRACKING 

To date, the House has filed 829 bills and the Senate has filed 764 bills.

The State Chamber/AIA is tracking 296 bills and resolutions. 

Yesterday was the deadline for appropriations bills and almost 250 bills and resolutions were filed. The deadline for regular bill filings is Monday, March 9.

New bills added to the State Chamber/AIA tracking today: 

	HB 1746	Edwards Johnson, B.	Prohibits surface discharges from wastewater treatment plants and similar facilities in the watershed of 30 named water source lakes and reservoirs.
	HB 1748	Breedlove	Creates an income tax deduction for the cost of purchasing solar energy systems.
	HB 1786	Breedlove	Exempts pole trailers and certain cargo vehicles under 10 feet in length from the trailer registration requirements of the Uniform Motor Vehicle Administration, Certificate of Title, and Antitheft Act.
	HB 1790	Rogers, T.	To enhance the development of alternative fuels. (incomplete bill)
	HB 1796	Allen	Creates the Alternative Energy Commission to study bio-energy, ethanol, solar and wind power, and other energy sources identified by the commission.
	HB 1797	English	To create the Twenty-First Century Workforce System Task Force (incomplete bill).
	HB 1802	Burris, M.	Exempts from sales tax the entire purchase price (previously the first $50,000) of equipment and machinery used to harvest timber.
	SB 631	Faris	Provides subpoena for a witness shall be issued at the request of any member of the House or Senate with the majority support of the member's house.
	SB 640	Jeffress, G.	Provides an income tax credit for qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures.
	SB 663	Horn Rainey	Provides a procedure for rural electric cooperatives to modify rates and charges within certain limits without a public hearing, with notice to the Public Service Commission and the Attorney General; rates still subject to review by the PSC.
	SB 734	Laverty	Requires geographic consideration for students enrolled in certified isolated school districts.
	SB 735	Laverty	Requires humane consideration for students in certified isolated school districts.
	SB 736	Laverty	Requires humane considerations for students enrolled in certified isolated school districts with special geographic circumstances.
	SB 740	Laverty	Provides that isolated schools will continue to receive special needs funding after consolidation or annexation, with the funding paid to the receiving school district and used only for transportation cost for students at the isolated school.

 

 

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 Wednesday, March 4, 2009

JOINT

	8:00 AM	Room 272	JBC-SPECIAL LANGUAGE
	9:00 AM	Room 171	JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE
	Upon Adjournment of Both Chambers	Room 171	ENERGY - JOINT	Agenda

HOUSE

	10:00 AM	ROOM 309	AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT- HOUSE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	ROOM 428	CITY, COUNTY & LOCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE- HOUSE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	Room 149	INSURANCE & COMMERCE- HOUSE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	130	AGING, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LEGISLATIVE & MILITARY AFFAIRS- HOUSE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	151	STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS- HOUSE	Agenda
	12:00 PM	428	HOUSE RULES	Agenda

SENATE

	10:00 AM	Room 272	PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	Room OSC	REVENUE & TAX - SENATE	Agenda
	10:00 AM	ROOM 207	EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE	Agenda

ISSUES

MINIMUM WAGE

HB 1464 by Rep. Jim Nickels has been referred to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. This bill would make Arkansas ’s minimum wage law match the federal government. The State Chamber/AIA does not have a position on this bill.

YESTERDAY AT THE CAPITOL

ISSUES

SESSION EXTENSION

HCR 1012 by Rep. Robert Moore authorizes an extension of the session to April 10, which is an increase from the authorized 60-day session to a 90-day session. It passed the Senate yesterday. It is possible the session could end before April 10.  

SCRAP METAL

HB 1479 by Rep. Darrin Williams passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of 33-0. It must now go back to the House to concur in a Senate amendment. HB 1479 would create a Class D felony for the offense of damaging wires and other fixtures of telephone, cable and electric power companies or any line that could result in physical injury. It also adds new restrictions and requirements on scrap metal dealers. This is an agreed bill by the parties in interest. The State Chamber/AIA supports this bill.

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