A bill creating the Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Veterans Affairs zipped through the Arkansas Senate on Wednesday.
The Senate voted 35-0 to send Senate Bill 4 by Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, to the House for further action.
It would create the 28-member task force to study Arkansas veterans' issues, including suicides. The task force would have 20 representatives and eight senators. The bill would allow the task force to establish an advisory board to help it accomplish its purposes.
The task force would file a report with the governor and legislative leaders by Dec. 1, 2020, and the task force would expire Dec. 31, 2020, under SB4.
-- Michael R. Wickline
[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of the Arkansas Legislature]