The Arkansas Senate on Thursday rejected House Speaker Jeremy Gillam's proposed legislation that would create exemptions to the gifts that state elected officials are barred from accepting under ethics law.
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In a 9-12 vote with 13 senators not voting, the Senate defeated House Bill 1401 by Gillam, a Republican from Judsonia. The Senate later expunged the vote to clear the way for another vote.
"I think it just needs a little more time and some clarifications to get the appropriate votes," Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said afterward.
Hester told senators that the legislation would clarify many concerns raised about Amendment 94 to the Arkansas Constitution, which bars state elected officials from receiving certain gifts from lobbyists, including one-on-one meals and drinks.
That prompted Sen. Will Bond, D-Little Rock, to ask whether he would be able to get a ride to a wine tourism facility in western Arkansas under the proposed legislation.
Hester replied, "It is possible, but a lobbyist couldn't pay for it."
No senator spoke against the bill before the vote.
Gillam said last week that no particular trip that a foreign government wanted to finance led him to introduce his bill, although some lawmakers have asked whether nations, such as China, Israel or the United Kingdom, should be allowed to pay for lawmakers to visit their countries to expand Arkansas' trade relationships.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, said Thursday that he is unaware of any particular trip planned by a lawmaker that triggered the legislation.
"I do know that Taiwan has lobbyists [and] that made that an issue. The trip was taken in the past," Dismang said in an interview. "I don't know that members were trying to go or anything like that,"
Gillam told the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday that his proposed exemptions to the ethics laws are meant to be narrowly tailored to allow state officials to accept expense-paid travel for in-state tours and foreign-trade missions.
Under the original bill passed by the House on Monday, HB1401 would have allowed lobbyists to pay for "transportation for tours or briefings" to inform a state elected or appointed official regarding his duties or "furthering the person's understanding of issues affecting the people of the state of Arkansas."
The bill was amended to clarify that officials could only receive such trips within Arkansas.
The amended bill also would specify that trips abroad can be paid for by foreign governments "or a representative or affiliate of a foreign nation." The previous language simply said such trips could be paid for if they were arranged by foreign nations.
The third change in the bill would clarify that gifts received at an inaugural event or party be given to everyone attending.
Gillam said what he had in mind was lawmakers and legislative committees having transportation provided to visit sites such as the Big River Steel plant in Osceola. However, he also said the original language could have provided for out-of-state trips like the ones lawmakers could take before the passage of Amendment 94 in 2014.
A Section on 02/10/2017