Latest news with #HouseBill1365
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas lawmakers send bill eliminating racial, gender board quotas to governor
Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, speaks in opposition to House Bill 1365 from the Senate floor on April 15, 2025. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that would remove race and gender quotas and qualifications for a variety of state boards and commissions. The bill now awaits the governor's signature. Rep. Karilyn Brown, a Sherwood Republican and lead sponsor of House Bill 1365, told a House committee last month that requiring a minimum number of women and members from underrepresented groups to serve on the panels is unfair. Brown said 'diversity occurs naturally' and the state should not codify language that 'makes things more awkward or more difficult to fill positions.' HB 1365 advanced all the way to the Senate before being recalled to the House for an amendment that removed an entire section of the bill referencing the Arkansas Ethics Commission. Brown told the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committees on April 2 that the revision was needed because the commission was created through an initiated act and therefore that section of code needed 67 votes in the House to be amended. Panel OKs proposed removal of racial and gender quotas for Arkansas boards and commissions HB 1365 originally passed the House with 61 votes on March 5. The vote was later expunged and the House approved the amended bill with 60 votes on April 3. Upon its return to the Senate on Tuesday, no one spoke in favor of HB 1365, and Sen. Clarke Tucker was the sole lawmaker to speak against it. Of all the bills related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) during the last two sessions, Tucker called HB 1365 'the most harmful.' DEI-related bills approved by lawmakers during the 2025 legislative session include Act 112, which will 'prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment' by public entities and retention plans and reports from public school districts and higher education institutions, and Senate Bill 520, which would prohibit DEI policies and practices in local government. There's no advantage to serving in unpaid positions on boards and committees, Tucker said, but removing quotas eliminates the opportunity for some people to have a voice in policymaking. Among the panels affected by the proposed law, Tucker singled out the State Board of Education, whose membership would no longer be required to 'reflect the diversity in general education' under HB 1365. 'We are so afraid of diversity that we are eliminating that line from code; it doesn't even say what kind of diversity,' he said. Diversity is important, Clarke said, noting that the Senate's membership represents geographic diversity. 'We have lost all common sense when it comes to that word because of the politics of the time, and this bill goes too far,' he said. 'What it does again is eliminate the ability of populations who have been historically underrepresented or oppressed to even have a voice in their state government, and that is wrong and I hope we don't pass it this afternoon.' HB 1365 passed the Senate Tuesday with 24 yes votes; the body's six Democrats voted no. Republican Ronald Caldwell of Wynne, Jonathan Dismang of Searcy, Jim Dotson of Bentonville and John Payton of Wilburn did not vote, while Jim Petty of Fort Smith voted present. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Panel OKs proposed removal of racial and gender quotas for Arkansas boards and commissions
Laura D'Agostino (left), equality and opportunity attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, expresses support for House Bill 1365, sponsored by Rep. Karilyn Brown (right), R-Sherwood, before the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Monday, March 3, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) An Arkansas legislative panel revived a debate over whether government entities should consider race, gender or other characteristics or experiences before approving a previously failed bill Monday. House Bill 1365 would remove race and gender quotas and qualifications from a variety of state boards, councils and commissions, altering 22 sections of state law. Bill sponsor Rep. Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, and attorney Laura D'Agostino said current requirements to have minimum numbers of women and racial minorities on the panels are unfair. Boards, councils and commissions that would no longer be required to have Black, Hispanic, female or other historically underrepresented members include: The State Board of Education The Arkansas Ethics Commission The Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy The Commission on Closing the Achievement Gap in Arkansas The State Athletic Commission The Arkansas Financial Education Commission The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System Board of Trustees The Arkansas Tobacco Control Board D'Agostino, who is based in Virginia and works for the California law firm Pacific Legal Foundation, said Arkansas could be vulnerable to lawsuits for unequal treatment of its citizens as the law currently stands. 'People are so complex and different that it's extremely demeaning to say, 'Well, if you're of this racial perspective or if you're a woman, you're automatically going to bring a diverse perspective,'' D'Agostino said. '…The government should not be in a position to use racial classifications to either think that it knows better than its own people or to tell people that it's being culturally responsive because it's assuming that people [in the same group] have the same perspectives.' Brown and D'Agostino repeatedly said passing HB 1365 will increase, not decrease, opportunities for all Arkansans. Their arguments were similar to those of the sponsors of Act 116 of 2025, originally Senate Bill 3, which became law in February after much debate in both chambers. Act 116 will 'prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment' by public entities and eliminate required minority recruitment and retention plans and reports from public school districts and higher education institutions. The law's Republican sponsors, Rep. Mary Bentley of Perryville and Sen. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro, said it will prioritize merit over demographics. HB 1365 'seems much more straightforward and narrowly tailored than SB 3,' said Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle. Ray was one of 13 of the 20 members of the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs who voted for HB 1365, while the panel's three Democrats were the only members to vote against it. The committee failed to pass the bill when it was first heard Feb. 12, since several members were absent, and the bill received nine votes for it when at least 11 were needed. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is responsible for appointing people to most boards and commissions, and D'Agostino and Ray both said any governor who does not consider a range of experiences among Arkansans when making appointments will be accountable to the voters. No members of the public spoke for or against HB 1365 Monday, but committee discussion lasted more than an hour before the vote. House Minority Leader Andrew Collins, D-Little Rock, noted that the Arkansas House in decades past was entirely composed of white men. 'I think that the Legislatures of the past, who realized the errors we made in over-erring on the the side of letting the old boys' network run its course, realized that there's value in having people who look different and have different backgrounds in the room making decisions, especially when we're talking about things like minority health [and] closing the achievement gap,' Collins said. Rep. Denise Ennett, also a Little Rock Democrat, said her constituents who are racial minorities have told her for years that they've had trouble being appointed to state boards and commissions on which they want to serve. She said this highlighted the need to keep the racial quotas as they are. Brown insisted that 'diversity occurs naturally' and the state should not codify language that 'makes things more awkward or more difficult to fill positions.' 'With all due respect, I think this language came about because diversity wasn't happening naturally,' said Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville. Clowney repeated her statement from the committee's Act 116 debate that she had yet to hear concrete examples of harm resulting from the state's current laws focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. D'Agostino said Pacific Legal Foundation once represented a white man in Arkansas who sought appointment to the state Social Work Licensing Board but could not be appointed because of the requirement for minority members. She said the lawsuit became moot after Sanders signed Act 254 of 2023, which removed the board's requirement that at least two of its nine members be African American. Act 254 passed both chambers of the Legislature with solely Republican support. HB 1365 will next go to the full House for consideration.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida bill makes it harder to find homeless population during annual count, experts say
Rhoshanda Jones crawled through the brush on the outskirts of Vero Beach until she met the entrance to a homeless camp; the town of tarps was fitted with organized trash bins, a makeshift fence and a listless American flag. After years in the field and her own experience being homeless, Jones could spot the cluster of blue tarps behind a thicket of woods while driving by at 40 mph. 'Hello, I'm with Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council. I have supplies,' Jones called. 'I've been there. I'm here to help.' No one appeared to be home. This was one of the challenges of conducting the annual point-in-time count, a single day when local housing-service providers set out to tally their communities' homeless population. Dozens of people from the Homeless Services Council, United Way and other organizations embarked across the Treasure Coast in bright yellow "volunteer" shirts from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday. The count will be released April 17. But this year was different; homeless camps and gathering spots seemed to be evacuated. After the first camp, Jones and other outreach workers tried another off Oslo Road where they'd seen people gathering just days prior. They walked among the silhouettes of human habitation: crumpled tents, discarded cans and an old bicycle — but no life. 'This is really unusual,' Jones said. 'There are always people out here.' When they got back in their car, Jones got a phone call from another outreach worker and she put it on speaker: Indian River County sheriff's deputies told them they were 'moving people along.' This was the first point-in-time count after Florida enacted a law that bans sleeping on public property. House Bill 1365, titled Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping, ramps up pressure on local governments to get people off the streets, even if their shelters are full. One provision allows residents, business owners and the state to sue local governments if they see people sleeping outside. The law has led to more encounters with law enforcement, homeless people and their advocates told TCPalm. Matthew Craig, 51, waited at a bus stop off Oslo Road headed toward Lakewood Park. Craig, who is disabled and has been homeless for 10 years, said he's afraid to stop to rest anymore. Even though Craig has aching feet and suffered fourth-stage renal failure, he still feels the need to climb a fence or hide in the woods every time he has to sit. 'The governor is always hard on us,' Craig said. 'I feel like we don't have a voice.' Sheriff's spokesperson Capt. Joseph Abollo said there have been no changes to the agency's interactions with homeless people. But even the fear of arrest can cause more people to hide or 'double up' with friends, said Rayme Knuckles, the Homeless Services Council's visionary leader. 'The bill is really impacting the count this year. We've obviously seen a decrease,' Knuckles said. 'In Martin and Indian River counties, we anticipate our count will be underrepresented due to increased law enforcement activity, likely linked to the bill.' The Homeless Services Council reported similar encounters with Martin County sheriff's deputies: Volunteers told Knuckles homeless people were being told to clear the streets in Martin County too. Suspicion of law enforcement has made people harder to find, said Gail Harvey, president of Tent City Helpers. 'The police are trespassing people left and right,' Harvey said. 'They're putting more pressure on people to go somewhere when they have nowhere to go.' Sheriff's deputies assist with the count, but usually as security. The Sheriff's Office has not changed its operations regarding its interactions with homeless people, said Sgt. Joseph Angelico, supervisor of the Community Policing Unit. When deputies tell homeless people to leave a public area, it's usually because a resident complained, Angelico said. Because sleeping on public property is illegal and can now expose the county to lawsuits, deputies are obligated to ask them to leave. 'It's not just, 'Hey you can't be here, get lost,' " he said. "It's not a crime to be homeless.' Instead, Angelico and his team try to connect people with resources or bus tickets to be with family, he said. Angelico said he noticed fewer people were counted this year than last. One reason is more people are living in their cars, he said. "I don't think the point-in-time count illustrates there's a decline because we didn't find so many people," he said. "I think they're hiding and afraid, or they're in cars." As with most counties, people living in homeless camps are often told to leave, only to return to the same bridge underside or patch of forest. That was the case for Marielena Diles, 43, who first became homeless in September 2023 and has gone back and forth between two camps in northern Fort Pierce. Diles has epilepsy and said people often take advantage of her when she has seizures. 'I don't have a phone, because when I'm having a seizure, people take my stuff,' she said. Her condition makes her wary about where she lays her head, especially in light of the change in law. The Department of Housing and Urban Development uses point-in-time count data to determine how much aid a community needs to house people. The results of the count are presented to Congress to inform decisions about homelessness funding, policy and research. Similar to a census, the point-in-time count assesses a community's needs and level of federal support. But the count is more limited and comes with unique challenges. For example, the definition of 'homeless' is nuanced, and it's often challenging to find people who might not want to be found. Only people living in places 'not meant for human habitation' are considered homeless, such as those sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings or on the street. Someone staying in a hotel or on a friend's couch, however, is considered housed and cannot be counted. Handling homelessness: Three approaches to enforcing the anti-public sleeping bill Last year's count: Latest count of homeless people on the Treasure Coast could be an undercount, critic says 'This is the problem with doing the count on one day: Numbers could vary, people move,' Knuckles said. Communities usually have to conduct their count on one of the last 10 days of January. But due to Florida's back-to-back hurricanes in October, many communities were given a reprieve to do it in February. The 2024 count showed homelessness decreased on the Treasure Coast, as compared to elsewhere in the state and nation. The Treasure Coast recorded fewer homeless people compared to 2023, from 925 to 700 — with about 300 in St. Lucie County and 200 each in Martin and Indian River counties. However, homelessness increased by 11% in the U.S. and 19% in Florida in 2023, according to state data and the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. Florida's rate increased by another 2% in 2024. Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council conducts point-in-time count
