Latest news with #Bill426
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill adding harsher penalties to felonies committed by undocumented migrants passes Arkansas House
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (right) talks with state Rep. Frances Cavenaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, after Sanders announced the introduction of an immigration bill sponsored by Cavanaugh and Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs. (Photo by Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas House approved a bill Wednesday night establishing harsher penalties for undocumented migrants who commit violent felonies in the state. Senate Bill 426, known as the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, also mandates Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that deputizes them to help ICE apprehend and deport undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons. The Senate passed the bill 45-5 on April 2, with five of the chamber's six Democrats opposed. Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pinebluff, was absent. The House voted 73-20 with 2 voting present to pass SB 426 Wednesday night. The bill creates the following additional penalties depending on the type, or class, of felony: A person convicted of a Class D felony, or an unclassified felony with no more than six years of prison time, would get up to four years added to the sentence; A person convicted of a Class A, B or C felony, or an unclassified felony with a prison sentence between six and 30 years, would get up to 10 years added to the sentence; A person convicted of a Class Y felony, or an unclassified felony with a prison sentence of longer than 30 years or life, would get up to 20 years added to the sentence. In Wednesday's committee meeting, Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen, a first-term Democrat from Springdale, spoke against the bill, telling her colleagues that the legislation will destroy trust between the Latino community and law enforcement that has taken years to build. In the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, the bill's House sponsor Walnut Ridge Republican Frances Cavenaugh said the bill fulfills Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' promise to help make Arkansans safer. At a March 17 press conference announcing the legislation, Sanders said: 'The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act makes it clear: Arkansas will not tolerate violent, criminal illegals and will do our part to help the Trump administration keep our citizens safe.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act' passes Arkansas senate
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Arkansas Senate has passed a bill that increases penalties for illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the state. The bill, called the 'Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act,' now moves to the House for further consideration. Under Senate Bill 426, undocumented violent crime offenders would have their felony charge upgraded, adding 2 to 10 years to a sentence, depending on the crime's severity. It also expands the state's sanctuary city ban to cover unincorporated areas and counties and requires Arkansas law enforcement to join the 287(g) program, which allows local officers to work with federal immigration authorities. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's nomination as Israel ambassador approved by Senate committee, floor vote to follow 'The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act makes it clear: Arkansas will not tolerate violent, criminal illegals and will do our part to help the Trump administration keep our citizens safe,' Sanders said when she announced the bill. The bill was sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester and Rep. Frances Cavenaugh, with support from Rep. Rebecca Burkes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harsher punishments for crimes by undocumented immigrants will be reheard in Arkansas committee
Criminal defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig (left) speaks against the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester (right), R-Cave Springs, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, March 31, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) An Arkansas Senate committee approved a bill Monday that would impose harsher penalties on undocumented migrants who commit 'serious felony' crimes 'involving violence' in the state. But Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, primary sponsor of Senate Bill 426, or the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, will be considered a second time by the Senate Judiciary Committee after the Cave Springs Republican amended it later on Monday to change the schedule of penalties outlined in the bill. Under the version of SB 426 that passed committee Monday, undocumented migrants with initial charges of Class Y felonies — the most serious — would have faced two to 10 extra years of prison time. Felony charges under the lower four classes would have been upgraded one class. Some felonies also are unclassified. The amended bill would create the following penalties for people 'illegally or unlawfully in the United States' at the time of an offense: A person convicted of a Class D felony, or an unclassified felony with no more than six years of prison time, would get up to four years added to the sentence A person convicted of a Class A, B or C felony, or an unclassified felony with a prison sentence between six and 30 years, would get up to 10 years added to the sentence A person convicted of a Class Y felony, or an unclassified felony with a prison sentence of longer than 30 years or life, would get up to 20 years added to the sentence. SB426-S2 SB 426 includes a list of violent felonies that would precipitate enhanced penalties, including first-degree and second-degree murder, rape, arson, terroristic acts and threatening, first-degree battery and aggravated assault, among other things. The bill would also mandate that Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal program that deputizes them to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the apprehension and deportation of undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons. The 287(g) program, specifically the Warrant Service Officer Program, authorizes participating agencies to serve administrative warrants under federal immigration law. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas opposes the bill because it 'would divert local resources from public safety to federal law enforcement' and 'prevents cities and counties from determining what is best' for their residents, policy director Sarah Everett told the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'We don't feel that bills like this really do anything to help public safety,' said Everett, one of two people to speak against the bill. 'I don't think most people are doing a whole lot of math when they're thinking about committing a crime. What we really need to be focusing on is preventing crime in the first place.' The sheriff's offices in Craighead and Benton counties already have 287(g) cooperation agreements, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements webpage. U.S. House Republicans have been vocally supportive of the program. Local law enforcement officers would not be required to participate in the program until after they have someone arrested and in custody, Hester said in response to questions from the committee. 'We do not want to make this a place where violent criminals come,' Hester said. 'We do not want to be a place where we're seeing all these gangs start to move to.' President Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court last week to allow the deportations of Venezuelans accused of gang ties to continue. Cracking down on illegal immigration, including with 'mass deportations,' was a primary talking point of Trump's reelection campaign last year. Even sanctuary policies can't stop ICE arrests Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was Trump's press secretary during part of his first term, held a press conference earlier this month expressing support for the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, which she previously named as a policy priority during her State of the State address. The bill would also expand the state's ban on sanctuary cities, which signify a lack of cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and prohibit all local governments from adopting such policies, even in unincorporated areas. The state would withhold discretionary grants or other funds from any 'local government that adopts or enacts a sanctuary policy' until the policy is repealed. Similarly, Trump signed an executive order Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House, saying the federal government must withhold funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. Sanctuary policies are largely symbolic and do not enable local officials to prevent ICE arrests, Stateline reported in February. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 426 with no audible dissent. The committee's sole Democrat, Sen. Clarke Tucker of Little Rock, was absent during the discussion and vote. Increasing the length of criminals' incarceration does not prevent crime, Everett said, and she questioned how much SB 426 would cost taxpayers since incarceration itself costs money. The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on a $750 million appropriation to begin construction of a new 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County that has generated frustration from lawmakers and Arkansans. The Sanders administration has said the prison is needed to address overcrowding in county jails. Everett said SB 426 will have 'unintended consequences.' Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said 'not controlling the border' between the U.S. and Mexico also has 'unintended consequences.' No members of the public spoke for the bill. Besides Everett, the other opponent of SB 426 was criminal defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, who said the bill lacks a strong enough definition of what makes an immigrant 'illegal.' The Trump administration has recently been canceling the visas and green cards of legal immigrants, Rosenzweig noted, and he said SB 426 could be improved by requiring authorities to provide notice to individuals whose legal status was revoked. 'You can be lawful one day and unlawful the next, depending on what some ICE agent or some Cabinet official or someone in between said,' Rosenzweig said. He also noted that everyone on U.S. soil, not just U.S. citizens, is subject to due process and a jury trial if they face criminal charges. Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, said he disagreed with Rosenzweig's suggestion to add a notification requirement to SB 426. 'It's their job [as immigrants] to know whether they're here legally or not,' Johnson said. The Senate Judiciary Committee's next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arkansas Legislature gears up for final weeks of 2025 session
House Speaker Brian Evans and Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge preside over a joint session of the Arkansas House and Senate on Jan. 14, 2025. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansas legislative leaders say they expect long days at the Capitol during the home stretch of the 2025 legislative session, which they anticipate ending by April 16. 'We're going to start earlier in the day and we're going to work late in the day' to move bills through committees and through the House and Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said in an interview Wednesday. For any Senate bills that don't pass Senate committees this week, 'it's going to be very, very difficult for them to move forward,' he said. House Speaker Rep. Brian Evans echoed those sentiments Friday, noting that Monday and Tuesday will likely be heavy bill filing days because waiting to file beyond that will make it really difficult for legislation to make it all the way through the process. Many bills already have been delayed due to drafting, amendments and last-minute changes, as well as waiting on fiscal impact statements, according to Evans, who said he wasn't aware of any urgent or controversial bills that have yet to be filed. The Cabot Republican said he's been speaking with House committee chairs about how to clear their calendars and ensure bills that will be heard are placed on the active agenda. The latter is important for transparency and ensuring constituents have time to make arrangements to speak for or against legislation, he said. In addition to finalizing the state's fiscal year 2026 budget, the Legislature is expected to consider some of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' policy priorities for the session that have not yet become law. Two such bills are sponsored by Hester: Senate Bill 377, which would eliminate the state's 0.125% grocery sales tax, and Senate Bill 426, the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act. The latter would mandate that Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal program that deputizes them to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the apprehension and deportation of undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons. Hester said he hopes to present SB 426 for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. SB 377 is on Monday's Senate Revenue and Tax Committee agenda. Regulating minors' access to cellphones and social media has also been a priority for Sanders. Two bills modeled after federal legislation passed the House with bipartisan support this month: House Bill 1717 is the Arkansas Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, and House Bill 1726 is the Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Arkansas panel advances children's online safety and privacy bills modeled after federal efforts Senate committees will make time to consider both bills even if special orders of business are necessary, Hester said. A special order of business compels consideration before other items on a committee agenda. Sanders said in January, during her State of the State address, that the Legislature should amend the Social Media Safety Act of 2023 'so that it's no longer held up in court and can begin to be enforced.' The enjoined law would have been the first in the nation to require minors to receive parental permission before signing up for a social media account. So far no such amendments to the law have been proposed, but Hester said he expects it to 'happen one way or another' since the governor said it is important to her. 'It may be something we don't have to handle because it's getting handled in other ways,' Hester said. 'Maybe we're confident that we're going to end up winning in court. Maybe we're confident that… President [Donald] Trump's executive orders will handle it or something that they're doing on the federal level.' The Senate is set to take up a proposed revamp of the state employee pay plan Monday, which passed the Joint Budget Committee on March 20. Sanders announced the plan in November and said it should make most state employees' salaries competitive with the private sector and improve recruitment and retention. Arkansas lawmakers advance $750 million appropriation bill for prison construction The pay plan has not been controversial, unlike Sanders' plan to build a 3,000-bed prison on 815 acres the state purchased in Franklin County. Earlier this month, the Joint Budget Committee approved a $750 million appropriation for the project, which has sparked frustration from some lawmakers and Franklin County residents. Evans said he anticipates the prison appropriation legislation, Senate Bill 354, will continue generating discussion and could take a couple of tries to meet the required vote threshold in the House. Most bills need a simple majority of lawmakers' support to pass, but budget-related bills need three-fourths of the support of each chamber, or 76 House votes and 27 Senate votes. 'When you're talking about 100 members, it's a lot of different opinions, a lot of different ideas, last-minute questions that come up,' he said. 'Maybe there'll be some folks not vote for it the first time just so that they get some extra time, make sure they have all their questions answered.' Hester said he expects the bill to come before the full Senate on Tuesday. He said he could not predict how the Senate will vote; there is no limit on how many votes an appropriation bill receives before it reaches the three-fourths vote threshold. Sanders urged passage of the appropriation in an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette op-ed Friday and called on state lawmakers to '[r]eject the tired excuses of politicians who don't want criminals behind bars. Fund the prison, public safety, and a better future for all Arkansans.' Sanders has also expressed support for a package of bills that will ban certain interactions between state entities and the Chinese government. She and other Republicans have criticized China's activities in the state, including its past ownership of farmland in Craighead County. Only one of the six bills has been signed into law and the rest are at various stages of the legislative process, but Hester said there is 'nothing more popular with constituents than pushing back on China and what they're doing to us.' Arkansas governor unveils anti-China legislation package Prior to last week's recess, the House State Agencies Committee spent three weeks considering 20 proposed constitutional amendments. Evans anticipates the committee will begin ranking the proposals this week and likely send the top five to the House for further consideration. The Senate has 24 proposals to consider. The Arkansas Legislature can refer three proposed constitutional amendments to voters during a legislation session, with each chamber generally selecting one and jointly selecting a third, Evans said. However, it's not a requirement that lawmakers always refer three amendments, he said. 'I think it's really, really important to understand that just because we can do three, does not mean that we have to do three,' he said. 'But also with the understanding that if we are going to present something forward, refer something out to the public to vote, I think it needs to be something that is really important statewide.' Also this week, Evans said he anticipates Rep. Keith Brooks, a Little Rock Republican who succeeded him as chair of the House Education Committee this year, will run the biannual public school funding bill, which dictates per-student funding. House Bill 1312 was expected to be considered prior to the break, but was held up because it was awaiting a fiscal impact statement, Evans said. Fiscal impact statements explain how much money a bill would cost to implement, and they are compiled by either the Bureau of Legislative Research or the Department of Finance and Administration. The per-pupil funding amount for the current school year is $7,771. If lawmakers approve HB 1312, the amount would increase to $8,162 for the 2025-2026 school year and $8,371 for the following academic year. New bill would dissolve Arkansas State Library and its board, set new library funding criteria Overall, the session has been 'very smooth,' according to Evans, who said he's noticed 'a different feel, a camaraderie in the House' when it comes to 'good policy for all Arkansans.' 'Where things tend to get difficult is when you start looking at policy that's more culture-driven,' he said. 'So while we've had a few of those things that have crept up this session, there hasn't seemed to have been as many. And so the body has really been able to just focus more on policy and members representing their districts, and how that policy's going to affect their district rather than the culture of the district.' One such 'culture-driven' bill is Senate Bill 536, which Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, filed March 20. It would dissolve the Arkansas State Library and its board after the board did not take what Sullivan said were appropriate actions to keep 'age-inappropriate' materials away from minors. Hester supports SB 536 and has expressed support for Sullivan's past promises to abolish the library board, which has repeatedly refused to divest from the American Library Association and to withhold funding from libraries where 'sexually explicit' materials are within children's reach. 'I don't know how clear we could have been with the library board that they need to take stances to not provide pornography to kids, and they are insistent on it,' Hester said Friday. The General Assembly resumes its work Monday morning. Meeting schedules, agendas and livestreams are available on the Arkansas Legislature's website. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas lawmakers approve higher ed, energy bills ahead of spring break
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, asks a question about an amendment to the Arkansas State Library's fiscal year 2026 appropriation bill during the Joint Budget Committee's Special Language subcommittee on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansas lawmakers spent long hours at the state Capitol during the tenth week of the legislative session as they worked to clear agendas ahead of their weeklong spring break. On Monday, legislators sent Arkansas ACCESS, two identical higher education overhaul bills, to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who signed them into law Tuesday. The General Assembly also advanced the governor's new state employee pay plan and approved legislation that sponsors said will help mitigate a sharp increase in energy bills for Arkansans as the state generates new power to meet expected demand. Sanders signed the latter into law Thursday. The governor this week also unveiled legislation that would impose harsher penalties on undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in the state. An amended version of Senate Bill 426 will be considered after legislators return to Little Rock on Mar. 31 and make a final push to conclude their business by Apr. 16. Some legislation faced challenges this week. A bill mandating citizen-led ballot measures be written at an 8th-grade or lower reading level cleared the House of Representatives Wednesday, but it took three tries to garner enough votes to support an emergency clause that will allow the law to go into effect immediately upon the governor's signature. The House on Thursday rejected legislation that would have placed restrictions on noncitizens attempting to vote or register to vote, just one day after the bill narrowly passed out of committee. Noncitizen voting is already illegal on the federal level. Another bill that would create a civil liability for adults who assist transgender minors' transitions didn't make it out of the starting blocks after the attorney general's office said it couldn't defend House Bill 1668 because it wasn't legally sound. Lead sponsor Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, said she would amend her bill. State lawmakers approved a $750 million appropriation bill Thursday for the construction of a 3,000-bed prison in western Arkansas. Funds won't be disbursed until formal requests are approved by the Legislature, but that didn't stop members of the Joint Budget Committee from venting about plans to place the prison in rural Franklin County in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in county jails. Several lawmakers who've been critical of the project argued that local residents don't want the prison in their community, costs will be higher than estimated and staffing the facility will be difficult. The debate is expected to continue throughout the project, which one of Sanders' advisers said could take until 2029 to complete. After a subcommittee on Tuesday rejected his proposed ban on the Arkansas State Library funding public libraries affiliated with the Arkansas Library Association, Jonesboro Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan filed legislation Thursday to abolish the State Library and its board. Sullivan has vowed to eliminate the State Library Board, which refused last month and again last week to disavow the ALA. Sullivan has repeatedly criticized a portion of the ALA's Library Bill of Rights that states access to libraries should not be restricted based on a person's age. Far-right conservatives who object to the availability of certain content have said this is proof the ALA is forcing content about sexual activity and LGBTQ+ topics onto children. Lawmakers filed more than 180 bills by Friday afternoon, including: SB520 by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, would prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion offices, officers, policies or practices in local government. HB1836 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, would require all public entities to post video recordings of public meetings, and require that all public meetings be recorded in video format. HB1866 by Rep. Keith Brooks, R-Little Rock, would require each public school to install an audio recording device in each locker room and dressing room on a public school campus. HB1881 by Rep. Denise Ennett, D-Little Rock, would add menstrual discharge collection devices to the list of items exempt from sales and use tax during the state's sales tax holiday. A proposed ballot measure to create a sales tax exemption for these items failed to qualify for the 2024 general election. Meeting schedules, agendas and livestreams are available on the Arkansas Legislature's website. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
