House passes bill to shift '16 primary

Measure now headed to Hutchinson; critics leery of year-long campaigning

Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, introduces a bill Thursday in the House to shift the state’s primaries from May to March.
Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, introduces a bill Thursday in the House to shift the state’s primaries from May to March.

The Arkansas House passed a bill shifting the state's 2016 primary elections from May 24 to March 1 after the chamber suspended a rule that would have delayed a decision on the legislation.

The measure, which has been contentious during this special session, has been sent to Gov. Asa Hutchinson for his signature.

Supporters say the earlier election would help create an "SEC Primary" with other Southern states, bolstering the role of the state in the presidential primary process. The SEC is the Southeastern Conference, an athletic conference that covers much of the South.

Hutchinson is backing former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 after losing a similar bid in 2008. Former Arkansas first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who also ran for president in 2008, is seeking the Democratic nomination in 2016.

Opponents to the change said it would create a year-long campaign season, with candidates starting in November 2015 and not wrapping up until Nov. 8, 2016.

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday evening to move the primary after lawmakers agreed to revert to the later date after 2016.

During the regular session, a similar bill died in a House committee after passing the Senate. It would have moved the presidential primary, but not the primaries for other offices. Holding separate primaries on separate dates would have cost an additional $2 million, state officials said.

And on Thursday, House members opposed to the change took steps to delay the bill's passage.

Rep. Camille Bennett, D-Lonoke, asked Thursday morning for a fiscal-impact statement during the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs.

"Repeatedly we keep being told, this costs nothing, this costs nothing," Bennett said. "We have to notify the public of this change. We have to change everything that's printed. We have to let the election commission change everything. There has to be some fiscal impact for making these changes and I just think it's irresponsible of us not to consider that."

House rules state that the cost analysis, if requested, must be made available to the committee 24 hours before consideration of the bill, said Nate Bell, R-Mena, the committee's chairman.

But Kelley Linck, R-Flippin, said it's typical to suspend rules during a special session to move the process along.

"I feel like this is maybe not being done because we truly want to see a fiscal impact," he said. "I feel like we're maybe trying to stall things out."

After the committee meeting, the House reconvened and voted 64-20 to suspend the rule so that no delay would be required. A two-thirds majority is required to suspend rules.

With the rule suspended, the bill went back to the committee. Hutchinson was seen outside the room, talking to members before the meeting.

And during the meeting, a statement was provided by the Bureau of Legislative Research that said there would be no fiscal impact.

Still, Bell made a plea for legislators to think carefully about their vote.

"I've taken a strong stand in this session because there's a principle at stake here. We're taking and making a significant change to our state laws," he said. "We're doing it on the basis of a bill that you all first saw Thursday."

"This is not the way we should do this business. This is not the way we should do the people's business. This is a serious business that we're engaged in here."

Bell had also argued against the change Wednesday on the House floor.

The House later voted 67-16 to pass the bill.

In addition to changing the primary date, the bill also would shift the one-week party filing period for candidates from the last week in February 2016 to the beginning of November 2015.

In conjunction with the primary bill, the House voted 73-11 to require the Legislature to meet in a fiscal session starting on the second Wednesday in April rather than the second Monday in February in 2016.

The move will free up lawmakers to campaign in their districts in February instead of spending the time at the Capitol.

A Section on 05/29/2015

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