Early in this year’s legislative session, Rep. David Hillman wanted to set the record straight on one of his votes — even though he couldn’t change what the record said.
The Republican from Almyra was recorded Jan. 31 as voting for legislation to require voters to present photo identification in order to cast ballots. But Hillman said he had planned to vote against the bill.
So he submitted a letter that day to House Chief Clerk Sherri Stacks that said “it was my intention to vote no” on House Bill 1047 by Rep Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle. The bill is now Act 633.
Hillman is among eight representatives and four senators who’ve submitted letters to either Stacks or Secretary of the Senate Ann Cornwell to explain how they planned to vote or would have voted on bills, covering issues such as guns and charter schools, during this year’s regular session, which began Jan. 9.
The letters don’t change the outcomes or alter the vote tallies. But they are designed to correct the record, to respond to criticism or to deflect future political attacks.
Statehouse veterans said mistakes can happen in a regular legislative session, in which lawmakers generally file more than 2,000 bills of varying lengths with differing levels of complexity.
Hillman declined to provide details last week about the glitch that led him to be recorded as voting for HB1047. He is one of three former Democrats who joined the House Republican Caucus after the November general election. The two others are Reps. Joe Jett, R-Success, and Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage.
Hillman, a farmer, said he intended to vote against the bill because he wants to make it easy for as many registered voters as possible to cast ballots.
“The voter IDs are an issue in search of a problem that doesn’t exist,” he said. “If it makes it more difficult to vote, I’m going to vote against it as a matter of principle.”
Proponents of voter-identification laws say they see the increased requirements as a way to prevent impersonation and fraud. But opponents counter that there is little fraud, and they say such laws unduly restrict the right to vote.
Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, was the only House Republican recorded as voting against HB1047 when it cleared the chamber in a 74-21 vote Jan. 31.
When asked about that, Hillman said: “I’m not most Republicans, and I’m not most Democrats. If it’s good for my district, I’ll vote for it. If it’s not good for my district, I’m probably going to be against.”
Hillman said he voted to concur with Senate-approved amendments to HB1047 on March 20 because “I thought they made it better.” Wardlaw was the only House Republican to vote against the amendments, which allow a voter without photo identification to sign a sworn statement attesting to his identity and his voter registration and which outline follow-up verification.
On Feb. 17, Rep. John Payton, R-Wilburn, was recorded as the only representative voting against Senate Bill 271 by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View.
The legislation, which is now Act 209, adds human-trafficking definitions of abuse and sexual abuse into the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989 and the Child Maltreatment Act.
Payton subsequently submitted a letter dated that day to Stacks declaring that “it was my intention to vote yes.”
Payton said in an interview that he stepped out of the House chamber for a meeting with an aide to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Bill Gossage, and that there was some confusion after the House skipped over a bill.
Payton said Rep. Mike Holcomb, R-Pine Bluff, pushed the button to record a “no” vote on SB271 for Payton, and that “it should have been a ‘yes,’ so I had to submit the letter to correct the vote.”
He said Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, unsuccessfully tried to get Holcomb’s attention “to fix” Payton’s vote before it was recorded, and the incident caused a lot of laughter in the House chamber.
“I came back and was oblivious to the fact I voted no on a bill carried by my state senator, Missy Irvin,” Payton said. “It was one of those careless mistakes.”
On March 16, Rep. Johnny Rye, R-Trumann, was recorded as not voting on House Bill 1902, which allows a public charter school to be designated as a school for agricultural studies. It’s now Act 742.
He later submitted a letter dated March 16 to Stacks that said, “Please record my vote as yes in the journal.”
Rye said he wanted to vote for the charter school bill but “missed the vote on that” because he was out of the House chamber on a telephone call.
“I wanted to be on record as voting for that because the Weiner School District in Poinsett County is trying to be an agri school, and I felt we needed to help them as much as we could,” he said.
Rep. Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, said she spoke for an amendment to House Bill 1249 by Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, on March 15, but that “either I didn’t press the button or my vote didn’t register.”
So she submitted a letter dated March 16 that said, “My intention was to vote for the amendment.”
Brown said she wants people to know she planned to vote for the amendment to HB1249, which will allow concealed-carry permit holders with up to eight hours of additional training to carry their guns on college campuses and many public places, including the state Capitol. The bill is now Act 562, although it has been amended by a subsequent law to omit locations that host collegiate sporting events, as well as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the State Hospital.
Rep. Les Warren, R-Hot Springs, said he mistakenly voted March 20 against expunging the House’s vote on House Bill 1726 by Rep. Don Douglas, R-Bentonville. Warren said he thought the House was considering another bill. The House’s 61-24 vote to expunge the initial vote on HB1726 fell six votes short of the 67 required to pass in the 100-member House.
The bill would have put a 20-year highway bond issue before the voters in the next general election.
“I caught heck on that. I died. I died,” he said.
Warren said he tried to call Highway and Transportation Department Director Scott Bennett to tell him about his mistake. Warren said he ran into Bennett the next day and explained what happened.
Warren submitted a letter dated March 23 to Stacks that said he had intended to vote to expunge the vote on HB1726.
He voted to expunge the House vote by which HB1726 failed in a second try March 27, but the 63-19 outcome was four votes short.
The eight letters filed in the House and four filed in the Senate during this year’s regular session are fewer than what were submitted in 2015, when 16 letters were filed in the House and eight in the Senate. In the 2013 regular session, 17 such letters were filed in the House and 26 in the Senate, House and Senate officials said.
The number of letters filed in the Senate has declined significantly since a voting screen was installed after the 2013 regular session so senators can see how their voice votes are recorded, Senate staff members said. The number filed in the House may have dropped because representatives are better informed about which bills are coming up for votes, House staff members said.
The regular sessions in 2015 and this year were shorter than the 2013 regular session. The 2015 session was 82 days, compared with 101 days in 2013.
So far, this year’s regular session has lasted 85 days, and it will run 86 days if the Legislature that’s now in recess returns to Little Rock and adjourns May 1.
Republicans have controlled the House and Senate since 2013, and they regained control of the governor’s office in 2015.
The total number of bills has declined from 2,492 in the 2013 regular session to 2,062 in 2015 and 2,069 this year. That invariably means fewer votes cast and could mean fewer mistakes made.