Lieutenant governor signs gun-privacy law

Out-of-state Beebe wasn’t going to sign; bill deserved signature, Darr says

While acting as governor Friday, Lt. Gov. Mark Darr signed a bill exempting all information about holders of concealed-weapon permits from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act.
While acting as governor Friday, Lt. Gov. Mark Darr signed a bill exempting all information about holders of concealed-weapon permits from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act.

— While acting as governor Friday, Lt. Gov. Mark Darr signed a bill exempting all information about holders of concealed-weapon permits from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act.

The bill became law on the 40th day of the legislative session as members also discussed making elections for prosecutors nonpartisan and establishing guidelines for public-private partnerships.

Senate Bill 131 by Sen. Bruce Holland, R-Greenwood, makes secret the names of concealed-handgun licensees and their ZIP codes. It is now Act 145.

Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, is attending the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C. He returns Monday afternoon.

The governor announced Thursday that he would not veto the bill. It would have become law without Beebe’s signature Monday.

Darr, a Republican, said his office contacted the governor’s office Friday morning to get the bill after speaking with Holland.

“He [Beebe] didn’t want his signature on there; it’s not on there,” Darr said. “I think it deserves a signature.”

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor is worried about the precedent of the lieutenant governor signing bills in his absence.

“The governor does not condone the signing. Of course, we are always worried about the precedent,” DeCample said. “The governor also recognized the unique set of circumstances with this bill. So we’re not going to raise any objections.”

Darr said he doesn’t think his action sets a precedent that the Republican lieutenant governor will sign conservative legislation when the Democratic governor is out of state.

Although Darr has announced he won’t run for governor in 2014, his name has been mentioned for other races, including U.S. Senate.

He said Friday’s signing was not a political move. The press release announcing he had signed the bill included photos of Darr with the House and Senate sponsors of the bill.

The legislation passed 84-3 in the House and 24-9 in the Senate.

“I felt that the members who voted for it deserved that respect to have the signature on it and for it to go into effect immediately,” Darr said.

The Arkansas State Police maintains the list of concealed-handgun permit holders.

State police spokesman Bill Sadler said he filled 15 or 20 requests for the information this week from news outlets and citizens.

“We did see a spike in public interest in the list over the last three to four days, especially since the bill went to the governor’s office,” he said.

Sadler said the last 10 pending requests were filled Friday morning before the bill was signed.

A bill that bans abortion after 20 weeks is also on the governor’s desk, but Darr said he wouldn’t sign it unless the sponsor, Rep. Andy Mayberry, R-Hensley, asked him to.

“I would have loved to have signed it,” he said.

Mayberry said he wants Beebe to have the opportunity to sign the bill. Beebe has said he is concerned whether the abortion ban is constitutional. The governor has not announced whether he will sign the bill.

“I want to work through the system,” Mayberry said. “Typically speaking, the elected governor of the state would have the opportunity. Out of respect for the governor, I don’t want to sidestep Gov. Beebe and his role in this process.”

PROSECUTOR ELECTIONS

In other legislative business, a bill that would make elections for prosecutors nonpartisan narrowly passed a House committee after members raised questions about the reason for the measure and objected to moving the election’s runoff vote to June.

Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, told members of the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs that House Bill 1412 would add prosecutors to the list of nonpartisan elected positions, which already includes Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals, circuit and district judges.

In 2000, voters approved a constitutional amendment that made judicial elections nonpartisan.

“Ultimately, prosecutors have the charge to enforce the laws. They, in essence, are not policymakers where partisan identification might be helpful. There should really be no difference between a Republican prosecutor versus a Democrat prosecutor versus a Green Party prosecutor,” Shepherd said.

Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, said he supported adding prosecutors to the list of nonpartisan officials but took issue with a section of the bill that moves nonpartisan runoff elections to June from November.

“The policy behind having the runoff for judicial elections in November was to have as many folks as possible available to vote,” Nickels said.

Shepherd said that prosecutors need time before taking office because they need to wrap up existing cases in their law practices and prepare for their new job, which the earlier date would allow.

Nickels motioned to table the bill, but the motion failed and the committee passed the bill on a voice vote.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

The House voted 61-19 to approve a bill that would regulate partnerships between public and private entities.

Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock, said House Bill 1251 would establish guidelines by which public entities would do business with private entities and encourage transparency and accountability.

Projects under the bill would include any project “that meets a public purpose and has previously been identified as serving a public need by the elected or appointed leader of a public entity.”

One such project, the Arcade Building under construction in Little Rock’s River Market District, is the result of a public-private partnership between the Central Arkansas Library System and Moses Tucker Real Estate. The three-story, mixed-use building will be used to host the Little Rock Film Festival and special events for the library.

Under the agreement, the library will use 52.5 percent of the building and Moses Tucker will lease out 47.5 percent.

In Texas, the state and a private consortium have teamed to build a high-speed toll road between Georgetown and the Austin suburbs.

SB1251 would require public entities to make certain information available to the public before accepting proposals for certain projects. That information would include a cost-benefit analysis of the project, criteria for choosing among proposals and a financial review of the “life cycle” costs of the project.

Sabin said 34 other states currently have public-private partnership legislation on the books.

VETERANS HOME

In other business, the House approved 95-0 an amendment to House Bill 1013 that would allow the state Department of Veterans Affairs director to select the location for a new veterans home within put from the Arkansas Veterans’ Commission and a new 22-member Arkansas Veterans Home Task Force.

The task force didn’t exist when HB1013 was drafted; the amendment, which was added by the Senate, ensures that the new advisory group will be consulted.

Rep. John Edwards, D-Little Rock, sponsored the legislation, which awaits the governor’s signature.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/23/2013

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