Guns-in-pews bill breezes to Beebe

House panel tables measure to ban abortion if heartbeat detected

— The Senate on Tuesday sent the governor a bill to end the state’s prohibition against concealed weapons in churches, and a House committee blocked legislation that would have barred most abortions in the state.

Legislation to increase penalties for human trafficking, strip custody rights from rapists in certain cases and allow family members of murder victims to attend executions advanced in the Legislature on Tuesday.

With Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, dissenting, the Senate voted 34-1 to send legislation to the governor that would allow congregations to determine who may carry a concealed handgun into their place of worship.

The legislation is Senate Bill 71, sponsored by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest.

Beebe will sign the legislation soon, but he’s reviewing the possible need for other legislation to clarify the liability of churches, said Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample. It takes effect the day that the governor signs it into law.

King has said that he wrote the bill because churches in the state have been the victims of break-ins, disturbances and other crimes. He wanted to give them the option of permitting concealed handguns because some houses of worship are in remote locations, far from police services, he said.

DeCample said the governor’s office and some lawmakers are looking at possible legislation “to address some concerns that we have heard from the faith community, particularly about liabil-ity worries.”

King said he told Beebe on Tuesday that he would try to address the issue, and he’s obtained information from the National Conference of State Legislatures about similar laws in other states.

But he said he doesn’t yet see a need for liability legislation; his legislation could lower risks, not raise them, he said.

“Now you could have a church that could possibly have protection from a retired law enforcement officer, an active or retirement military person [with a concealed weapon permit], so could you say maybe liability will go down,” King said.

FETAL HEARTBEAT

After a bill restricting abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected was held up in a House committee Tuesday, sponsor Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, said he plans to amend his bill to specify that the heartbeat should be found using an abdominal ultrasound, the traditional ultrasound most pregnant women undergo.

He said that ultrasound can detect a heartbeat about 10 or 12 weeks after conception.

The bill, Senate Bill 134, stalled in the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Tuesday morning over concerns that women seeking an abortion would have to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound, where a wandlike probe isinserted into the vagina to detect a heartbeat as early as six weeks.

Before debating the bill, the committee “tabled” Rapert’s bill.

When a bill is tabled incommittee it takes approval from a majority of the committee members in the room to bring the bill back up for consideration.

Most of the time a committee skips over bills that aren’t ready to be considered without taking a special vote to table the bill or to bring the bill back up for discussion.

Rapert said the move surprised him. By the end of the day, Rapert said he had worked with the committee chairman, Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison, to make the bill more acceptable to committee members.

Rapert said he expects the committee to consider the bill by the end of next week. The Senate voted 26-8 to approve the legislation Thursday.

Doctors who violate the law would be guilty of a Class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

“We want to save lives and we want to do it the right way and we want to do it rationally,” Rapert said. “We’re trying to strike a balance here.”

About 31 percent of the 4,033 abortions performed in Arkansas in 2011 occurred at 10 weeks or later, according to the Department of Health.

The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue if the bill becomes law, saying it unconstitutionally blocks abortions before the fetus is considered viable. In 1973, U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that states have an interest in restricting abortion once the fetus is viable, or can live outside the mother.

Gov. Mike Beebe and Attorney General Dustin Mc-Daniel have both said they have concerns about the constitutionality of the bill.

Burris said legislators can’t let the threat of a lawsuit determine what they pass, though he said he expects the amended bill would still draw a challenge.

“There’s probably a chance for litigation. When you start tampering in the first trimester is when you start striking to the heart of the ’73 decision,” he said. “If it’s a legitimate bill that I think needs to be litigated, you know, I’m OK with it. The threat of litigation is not a reason to not pass a bill.”

WITNESSING EXECUTIONS

The Senate voted 30-1 to approve a bill that would allow family members of murder victims to attend the killer’s execution.

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, the sponsor of Senate Bill 52, told senators that he proposed the legislation at the request of the parents of a girl who was killed.

They want a family member to attend the execution of the person who committed the crime

The bill would allow a spouse, any parent or stepparent, any adult sibling or stepsibling, and any adult child or stepchild who is related to a victim of a crime for which the person is being executed to attend the execution.

HOME-SCHOOLERS

The House Committee on Education rejected House Bill 1076 by Rep. James Ratliff, DImboden, which would allow school districts to count home-schooled students in their districts toward their average daily enrollment. The districts would not receive per-pupil state funding for the home-schooled students. Ratliff said the districts would have to raise that money themselves.

Rural superintendents spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would help them keep enrollment above 350 students.

School districts must voluntarily merge with another district or be subject to a state-ordered consolidation with other districts if their the average enrollment is fewer than 350 for more than two consecutive school years.

The attorney general’s office, the Arkansas Education Association and Departmentof Education Director Tom Kimbrell all said they are concerned the bill could lead to situations where districts won’t receive enough funding to provide an adequate education to those students who do attend public school.

RAPISTS’ CUSTODY RIGHTS

The House unanimously approved a bill that would strip rapists of any custody rights upon conviction when the rape results in a pregnancy.

House Bill 1002, proposed by Rep. John Edwards, DLittle Rock, would eliminate all rights to custody and visitation immediately after the father’s rape conviction. It passed 96-0.

Edwards said that he has amended the bill to allow a mother to petition the court to reinstate custody rights of the father or obtain child-support payments.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would increase the penalties for human trafficking and provide resources for victims.

House Bill 1203, proposed by Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway, would make trafficking a minor for labor or sex a Class Y felony. Human trafficking is currently a Class A felony.

The bill also creates defenses against charges of prostitution and sexual solicitation for victims of human trafficking and allows victims of human trafficking to bring civil action against former traffickers.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/06/2013

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