SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas lawmakers settle into longer days as session end draws near
The countdown to the end of the 2025 legislative session is on. Following a weeklong recess, Arkansas lawmakers hit the ground running Monday as they returned to the state Capitol focused on wrapping up their work by April 16.
The 11th week of the session saw continued progress on Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' legislative priorities, including immigration. A Senate committee on Monday approved a bill to impose harsher penalties on undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes. The full Senate sent the bill to a House committee Wednesday.
On the other side of the Capitol, the House of Representatives approved legislation to overhaul the state employee pay plan, another Sanders priority. The bill was sent to the governor's desk for her signature.
Sanders this week unveiled two new bills aimed at expanding social media protections for children, which was a priority in the 2023 session. Wednesday's announcement came two days after a federal judge declared unconstitutional an Arkansas law requiring age verification for new social media accounts.
Beyond the governor's priorities, the subject matter of lawmakers' bills varied widely as they rushed to push their legislation through in the waning days of the session.
Proposals included potentially removing an environmental permit moratorium intended to protect the Buffalo River watershed, preventing pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from holding permits to operate drug stores, clarifying state public meetings law, adjusting asset limits for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries and prohibiting youth organizations that promote diversity initiatives from receiving certain state grants.
The third time was not the charm for a $750 million prison appropriation bill that was thrice rejected by the Arkansas Senate this week. Senate Bill 354 would support construction of a 3,000-bed Franklin County prison that supporters have said is needed to address overcrowding in county jails.
The project has caused controversy since local residents and elected officials said they were blindsided by the governor's announcement of the project in late October. Opponents, including state lawmakers, have fought against the proposal for months. Within the Senate this week, support for SB 354 fluctuated between 19 affirmative votes on Tuesday and Thursday, and 18 on Wednesday.
While that's a majority of the 35 senators, appropriation bills require 27 votes to advance out of the Senate. There is no limit to how many times lawmakers can vote on an appropriation bill, but they only have until the end of the session to send bills to the governor for final approval.
It's unclear if there's yet a clear path to securing the needed votes by the end of the session, but Corning Republican Sen. Blake Johnson asked his colleagues Wednesday to try and find consensus.
'I appreciate everybody's differences, but please let's try to work together for the safety of Arkansas citizens,' Johnson said.
Legislation that sponsors said aim to protect Arkansans' religious freedoms have been popping up on committee agendas in recent weeks.
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced House Bill 1615, which would 'prohibit the government from discriminating against certain individuals and organizations because of their beliefs regarding marriage or what it means to be female or male.' The House on Thursday approved the bill, which will next be considered by a Senate committee.
CONTACT US
House Bill 1669, which had similar language regarding the 'sincerely held religious beliefs' of parents seeking to foster or adopt children in Arkansas, failed in the Senate Monday. The bill's sponsors, Rep. Mary Bentley of Perryville and Sen. Alan Clark of Lonsdale, said it would protect parents who don't accept LGBTQ+ children's identities from not being allowed to foster or adopt.
Searcy Republican Jonathan Dismang, who noted Monday that not all 'sincerely held religious beliefs' are Christian, said HB 1669 would set a 'dangerous precedent' by shielding foster or adoptive parents from adverse government action if their faith-based actions harm children.
But the bill received enough support to pass the Senate on Thursday and was sent back to a House committee that will consider an amendment made in the Senate.
A bill to abolish the Arkansas State Library and its board advanced out of committee Tuesday before narrowly passing the Senate on Wednesday.
Jonesboro Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan has promised to dissolve the board for some time. With Senate Bill 536 he broadened his intention to eliminate the entire State Library after the board last month did not satisfy the conditions he gave them for its survival.
One of those requests was to detach from the American Library Association. Sullivan has criticized a section of the ALA's Library Bill of Rights that says access to libraries should not be restricted based on a person's age. Far-right conservatives who object to the public availability of certain content have claimed this proves ALA believes in forcing sexual activity and LGBTQ+ topics onto children.
While testifying against SB 536 in committee this week, Clare Graham, library director of the Mid-Arkansas Regional Library System, said the bill's 'one-size-fits-all approach' will stifle creativity and flexibility for local libraries.
'Local libraries are already governed by their local boards that know their communities best,' Graham said. 'This bill takes that away, replacing it with centralized oversight that doesn't understand the unique needs of each town and city.'
SB 536 will next be considered by a House committee.
Arkansas lawmakers filed about 150 new bills this week. Nearly half were filed Monday as legislators rushed to submit their proposals in what they hope is enough time to make it through the process to become law before their April 16 deadline. Those bills included:
Senate Bill 591 by Sen. Clint Penzo, R-Springdale, would prohibit a physician or other person from intentionally performing or attempting to perform an abortion with the knowledge that the pregnant woman is seeking the abortion solely based on race. Arkansas law already bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother.
House Bill 1909 by Rep. Wayne Long, R-Bradford, would require state agencies to verify that adults who apply for federal, state or local public benefits are U.S. citizens who reside in Arkansas, except if prohibited by federal law.
House Bill 1980 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway, R-Paragould, would create the Technology and Energy for Sustainable Logistics Act (TESLA), and add electric vehicle charging stations to the definition of critical infrastructure.
House Bill 1985 by Rep. Denise Garner, D-Fayetteville, would create the Arkansas Renter Refund Act, and provide a $500 income tax credit for certain renters.
Despite the deadline pressure, lawmakers are taking Friday off. When they return to the Capitol early Monday morning, they'll have roughly seven working days to finish their work. Meeting schedules, agendas and livestreams are available on the Arkansas Legislature's website.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Sales tax hike dumped in favor of 1% grocery tax by Naperville council
The Naperville City Council reversed course Tuesday on how it would replace the lost income from the soon-to-be-defunct state grocery tax, abandoning plans to increase the city's home rule tax in favor of a local 1% grocery tax. Councilman Benny White, who previously supported increasing the home rule sales tax to compensate for the $6.5 million loss in state grocery tax money, said he had a change of heart after concluding a hike in the sales tax would place a heavier burden on local business owners and those struggling to afford items like diapers and basic cleaning supplies. 'In my opinion, the grocery tax, by keeping it where it is … I think it doesn't affect our residents,' White said. 'I think they're used to paying that particular tax so to have our businesses pick up the slack, I'm struggling with that.' The council had been scheduled to take a final vote on escalating the city's sales tax before a motion was made to swap it with the local grocery tax. Last month, the council voted 5-4 to raise the city's sales tax by 0.25%, which it can do without voter approval because it is a home rule municipality. The tax increase would have applied to restaurant meals and store purchases, including clothing, electronics and personal care products. By increasing the home rule sales tax, the city also would have been required to decrease the downtown food and beverage tax by the same percentage, per a city ordinance. Naperville's current downtown food and beverage tax is 1.75%. Gov. JB Pritzker repealed Illinois' 1% grocery tax last year, saying it hit poorer families harder than others. However, because revenue from the tax goes directly to municipal governments rather than to the state government, towns were granted the ability to levy their own 1% tax on groceries by Oct. 1. Many communities in Illinois have already opted to implement a local grocery tax. Finding a replacement for the state-wide grocery tax is crucial for Naperville, which collects $6.5 million annually from the income source. Naperville Finance Director Raymond Munch said at a previous council meeting that the grocery tax and the home rule sales tax currently bring in about the same amount of revenue, but the local grocery tax is a more stable form of revenue. The vote on reinstating the local grocery tax was 5-4, with Mayor Scott Wehrli and council members Josh McBroom, Nate Wilson and Allison Longenbaugh joining White in voting yes. Council members Ian Holzhauer, Ashfaq Syed, Mary Gibson and Patrick Kelly voted against it. Holzhauer reiterated the same points he made at last month's council meeting, emphasizing that a grocery tax combined with cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) under President Trump's tax bill could harm people who are already struggling. City staff previously noted that SNAP recipients would not feel the effects of the grocery tax, but would see the impact of a home rule sales tax increase. 'There is only so far that we can push that social safety net before it breaks,' Holzhauer said. 'If we have the opportunity to take a vote to make food more affordable for people whose lives just got a lot harder, I think we need to do that.' McBroom, however, argued that the volatility of the home rule sales tax could put people at risk by impacting essential city services should it bring in less money than expected. 'If we're worried about vulnerable people, vulnerable people need police, vulnerable people need fire departments to come to their neighborhood,' McBroom said. 'We are going to have an economic contraction at some point, and that's going to put a future city council in an impossible political position to raise property taxes to pay for our essential services.' McBroom also serves as the liaison to the Naperville Financial Advisory Board, which voted 5-1 in May to recommend the adoption of the grocery tax over increasing the home rule sales tax.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump's DC takeover is just Step 1 — dysfunctional capital needs a bigger fix
Last week President Donald Trump declared war on crime in Washington, DC, when he sent in the National Guard and federalized the district's police force for the 30-day period allowable under the DC Home Rule Act. Trump's motives were good: He's right that it's shameful our national capital has become one of our most dangerous cities. He's also right that DC's crime epidemic hurts America's competitiveness and prestige. But the president's month-long law enforcement takeover won't fix that problem — because the problem is not, at its core, bad law enforcement. It's the fact that DC's government has for decades now shown itself incapable of even the most basic level of public administration. Blame it, too, on Congress, which transferred control over the district to the city's own elected government in the Home Rule Act of 1973 — but has refused to admit its mistake and reverse course. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives remain aloof from the problems they created, even as federal staffers, visitors and on occasion their own members are routinely harassed and attacked by criminals on the streets and in their homes. But the US Constitution stipulates that DC is a national public resource, not a self-governing city like any other. Under the Constitution, it is Congress's responsibility to competently administrate it — and Congress has abdicated that responsibility. When the 30-day takeover period is up (assuming Congress does not renew his privileges), Trump will turn the keys back over to a capital city government that can't staff a police force, can't keep young violent offenders off the streets and can't run a functioning crime lab. District officials can't claim to have reduced crime without cooking the books, and can't protect visiting diplomats from being shot And they're not just failing at law enforcement: DC can't keep its public schools out of the basement of national performance rankings, and can't prevent huge homeless encampments from forming while thousands of district-owned public housing units go unoccupied. The only possible solution to such a crisis of mismanagement is to overturn the law that gave home rule to DC and start over from scratch. And if President Trump is serious about tackling the district's dysfunction, he should do just that. First, the president should build up some goodwill by ending his police federalization and troop occupation, preferably earlier than planned. No need to make excuses; he can simply explain that he's come to realize DC's dysfunction runs far deeper than anything a few extra officers on the streets can solve. Then he and Republican leadership should begin meeting with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to generate support for Home Rule repeal. While Trump seems to think the entire district is dead set against him, this is incorrect: Many residents, while no fans of the president, are fed up with not being able to safely walk their dogs at night. Longtime Democratic members of Congress have personally experienced the city's dangers for many years, and they all know the ordeal of their colleague Angie Craig (D-Minn.), who was assaulted in her apartment building's elevator just two years ago. If Trump were to approach this issue firmly but collaboratively, he would find the water warmer than he thinks. Legally, the argument is not a hard sell. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution says that Congress shall have 'exclusive legislation in all Cases whatsoever' over the federal district. Congress has given a 50-year trial to the notion of delegating its power to the people of DC, and that trial has unequivocally failed to produce a district that serves the interests of the federal government, the American people, or the residents themselves. Therefore, we should return to rule by Congress, as the Constitution mandates. Doing so would require a simple act of Congress, passed by both parties, that overturns the 1973 law and dismisses DC's elected representatives. A third section of the new law should establish a congressional committee to appoint exemplary city managers from cities around United States to reconstitute a competent DC government. In many American cities, like Madison, Wis., Phoenix, Ariz., and Wichita, Kan., elected officials appoint professional administrators to oversee day-to-day municipal operations. Washington, DC, should do the same — with Congress taking ultimate responsibility. Some on the left will bemoan the reversal of Home Rule as yet another federal assault on our democracy. But the District of Columbia was never intended by the Founders to be a self-governing state. It was intended to serve the interests of the country as a whole, by providing a safe and orderly place for public administration. Returning DC's governing prerogative to the people of America, not the district itself, will take us one step closer to being the republic the Founders envisioned. John Masko is a journalist specializing in business and international politics.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Texas House advances GOP-friendly map after weeks of Dem resistance
The Texas state House passed a new set of GOP-friendly congressional lines in a key preliminary vote on Wednesday, putting the party one step closer toward adopting a new map that sparked a redistricting arms race across the country. The lower chamber approved the new maps on party lines, 88-52, in the first of two key votes. The final passage of the map in the House is expected to take place later on Wednesday. Its likely passage marks a key victory for Republicans, who were called into a second special session by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) after efforts to pass their House map stalled during their first 30-day session when Democrats fled the state in protest. The state Senate will next need to pass the map before it heads to Abbott's desk for his signature. Republicans faced pressure from the White House earlier this year to do mid-decade redistricting as the party braces for a challenging political environment next year. The president's party traditionally faces headwinds during midterm cycles. President Trump on Tuesday urged Texas Republicans to move swiftly and pass the new congressional lines. Redistricting, which was not initially included on Abbott's call for a special session, was later added. Republicans sought to quickly pass a new map during their first special session, but Democrats fled the state to block the GOP from having a quorum — or the minimum number of lawmakers needed in order to do business. Texas Democrats rallied in California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts, drawing national attention over the issue and drawing criticism from Republicans who argued Democrats were being hypocritical about gerrymandering given several of those states also have gerrymandered maps. The redistricting battle prompted California to move forward with introducing their own set of gerrymandered congressional lines in an effort to neutralize expected gains out of Texas with their anticipated new map. A number of red and blue states could also see new House maps, too, including Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and New York. 2024 Election Coverage Earlier this week, Democrats returned to Texas during the second special session, where the passage of a new House map was all but inevitable. Democratic-aligned and civil rights groups are already getting ready to challenge Texas' maps, while Republicans are seeking to stop California from passing a new House map through a ballot initiative in November. Republicans currently hold 25 House seats in the Lone Star State, while Democrats hold 12, with one seat vacant after the late Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) died in March. The new map would give the GOP the opportunity to increase their congressional delegation to 30.
