The Arkansas Senate's eight-member committees will consist of at least five members of the majority Republican Party and no more than three members of the minority Democratic Party, senators decided Wednesday.
In a 26-7, mostly party-line vote with two abstentions, the Senate approved the rule change proposed by Senate Republican leader Jim Hendren of Sulphur Springs. It ensures that no committee will have a Democratic majority, as happened with one panel last week when the Arkansas House of Representatives met to decide its committees for the legislative session that starts Jan. 9.
In the Nov. 8 election, Republicans gained two more seats in the 35-member Senate to increase their numbers to 26 and cut the Democratic ranks to nine. New members start when the regular legislative session opens.
Hendren told senators that the proposed rule was an attempt "to accurately represent the elections of Arkansas in a fair way," but it's not a punitive way "to make it where the minority has no opportunity to participate."
But Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, called the amendment egregious and said it clears the way for "whatever" legislation "Democrats might have gotten in the way of" if four of them -- on the basis of seniority -- had gained seats on the Senate Education Committee.
"We don't have to do this [rule change]. We are doing it out of convenience as opposed to working with each other," she told colleagues.
Hendren, whose uncle is Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, told senators that it was more egregious for the rules effectively to limit Republicans to two members on each standing committee between 1997-2007 when Democrats were the majority party.
He said his rule change would give the Republican-controlled Legislature the ability to implement the agenda that it was elected to enact.
Hendren later told reporters that "education is something that we care [about] and we know they care about, but we have a majority so it's important for us to make sure the things that we care about go in a direction that is consistent with what the voters have told us to do."
The Senate's action came six days after House Democrats, on the basis of seniority, gained control of 11 seats on the 20-member House Revenue and Taxation Committee, despite their ranks dropping in the 100-member House from 34 to 26. The House Democrats' action led Republican Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin to tweet that it's "an affront to voters and outrageous. Unacceptable."
Hendren said Republican senators had been discussing changing the chamber's rules before the Democrats gained a majority on the House tax committee.
He said the Senate rule change isn't "a direct response" to Senate Democrats gaining four seats on the eight-member Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee two years ago. On the basis of seniority, Democrats obtained those seats, even while their party's ranks dipped from 13 to 11 in the 2014 election. Also, four Senate Democrats decided to serve on the eight-member Senate Judiciary Committee two years ago.
The Senate Democrats' action two years ago led Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, who unsuccessfully proposed an amendment to change the state's tort laws in 2013, to tweet: "So much for tort," and Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, to declare: "I have a better chance of winning a Brad Pitt lookalike contest than voter ID coming out of that committee."
Democratic Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, who was the only Democrat to vote for Hendren's proposal, was later re-elected by the Senate's Joint Budget Committee members as the Senate's chairman of that committee.
Griffin, who presides over the Senate, praised the rule change.
"This reform is long past due, and the Senate should be commended for not adhering to certain rules simply because they are the way things have always been done," he said in a written statement.
In another 26-7 vote, the Senate endorsed a proposed joint House and Senate rule change that would eliminate the Joint Committee on Constitutional Amendments to decide which proposed amendments should be sent to the House and Senate to consider referring to voters. The joint committee consists of members of the Senate and House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committees.
Instead, the House and Senate committees would meet separately and each recommend proposed amendments to their respective chambers, and the House and Senate would be allowed to refer one amendment apiece under the rule proposed by Williams, who is chairman of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. A two-thirds vote of the House and Senate would be required for the Legislature to consider voting on whether to refer a third proposed amendment to voters in a regular session.
In other action, the Senate re-elected Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, who has served in the post since November 2014. Dismang said he abstained from voting on Hendren's proposed rule change because he represents the whole Senate as president pro tempore and not any particular party. The other abstention was Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff.
As the Senate's leader, Dismang told reporters that "my goal has been really to let the members drive the policy, and it's not to say I won't be involved in that process, but I want that to be member-driven.
"My goal all along has been to make sure they have the right to make sure their constituents' voices are heard up here in the Senate, and I'm going to continue to press for that," he said.
Asked whether the 2017 Legislature will end up enacting "a cornucopia" of tax cuts, Dismang said, "That would not be my goal, and I think that's where I would be involved in the process."
Dismang, who will again serve on the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, chaired by Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, said, "It is my hope that we do not pass a bunch of small tax cuts that benefit few people or special interests in the state."
Asked whether that would include exempting military retirement benefits from state income taxes, Dismang said, "Obviously that's a significant population and one that we honor here in the state, and we'll see where that discussion goes."
Last week, Hutchinson presented lawmakers with his proposed general-revenue budget of $5.48 billion for fiscal 2018, a $153 million increase in which most of the additional money would go to the state Department of Human Services. Fiscal 2018 starts July 1, 2017.
Hutchinson also said he would ask the Legislature to enact a tax cut that would become effective in the last half of fiscal 2019. The tax cut, taking effect Jan. 1, 2019, would reduce general revenue by $25 million in fiscal 2019 and by $50 million after that. He said he prefers cutting income tax rates, but he hasn't made a decision on that.
The chairmen of the Senate's other committees include:
Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee: Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers.
Education Committee: Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock.
Judiciary Committee: Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock.
Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee: Sen. Ronald Caldwell, R-Wynne.
Insurance and Commerce Committee: Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow.
Transportation Technology and Legislative Affairs: Sen. Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs.
City, County and Local Committee: Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale.
Rules Committee: Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia.
Efficiency Committee: Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock.
Joint Performance Review Committee: Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View.
Joint Public Retirement Committee: Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs.
Joint Energy Committee: King.
Joint Children and Youth Committee: Flowers.
Joint Auditing Committee: Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana.
Legislative Council: Sample.
A Section on 11/17/2016