A so-called class protection bill being pushed by legislative leaders in lieu of a bill targeting hate crimes was sent to the House floor Thursday, though opponents complained that a procedural call by one of the bill's sponsors helped get it there.
Senate Bill 622 has prompted opposition from traditional proponents of hate crimes legislation who say the bill fails to specifically address those most frequently targeted in attacks, such as racial minority and LGBTQ groups.
The Republican sponsors of SB622 have described it as an effective compromise after nearly two decades of failed attempts to pass a hate crimes bill.
After more than an hour of debate Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee voted on the bill. Committee Chairwoman Carol Dalby, R-Texarkana -- also a bill sponsor -- called the divided voice vote in favor of the bill.
Dalby then immediately adjourned the meeting, even as several members -- including the vice chairman, Rep. Brandt Smith, R- Jonesboro -- called for a roll call vote.
Democrats have nine members on the 20-person committee and can block legislation from passing if a single Republican joins them.
"I think it's unfortunate that people don't get to see what the votes were," said Rep. Vivian Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, who voted no. "If the votes were there I don't think there would have been a quick adjournment."
Neither Dalby nor Smith responded to requests for comment.
SB622 now goes to the House, where Democrats control less than a quarter of the seats.
"Obviously that's where we had the best shot if nine of us stick together," said House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough, D-Little Rock, who called Thursday's committee vote "extremely close."
SB622 has also faced opposition from the Family Council, a conservative, faith-based advocacy group that has likened the bill to other hate crimes legislation it has opposed over the years.
Jerry Cox, the president of the Family Council, told the committee Thursday that he feared passing the bill would lead to policing of people's thoughts, political beliefs and religious affiliations.
"Once this is passed, it will be a double-edged sword," Cox said. "It can go to the right, to the left, it can go anywhere the prosecutors and law enforcement want to take it."
After the vote Thursday, Cox called the move to immediately adjourn the committee before a roll call "highly inappropriate."
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Under SB622, prosecutors could seek to limit parole eligibility, and thus ensure a longer prison term, for people convicted of certain violent crimes and who target their victims based on "mental, physical, biological, cultural, political, or religious beliefs or characteristics."
House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, who sponsored the bill along with Dalby and leaders in the Senate, said it would apply more broadly than hate crimes laws in other states that specify protection for certain groups, such as race, sex, and sexual orientation. Protections for gender identity, which are included in some state's laws, were unlikely to be even considered by lawmakers 20 years ago, Shepherd said.
"No matter what comes up in the future, 20 years from now if some group or class is being targeted, this bill provides that protection," Shepherd said.
The bill has been denounced as a "sham" by several groups that have advocated for Arkansas to adopt hate crimes legislation, including the Urban League of Arkansas, the Anti-Defamation League and the Human Rights Campaign.
Arkansas is one of just three states without tougher penalties on hate crimes, along with South Carolina and Wyoming.
The bill has the support of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who began calling on the Legislature to pass a hate crimes bill last year. The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce has also called for lawmakers to pass the bill, with President Randy Zook telling the committee Thursday, "I can't recall an issue in 13 years in this business that has created such intense interest and such intense support."
Opponents of the bill, however, accused the sponsors and members of the business community of attempting to get rid of Arkansas' distinction of lacking a hate crimes law, without actually addressing the issue of hate crimes.
"We don't want something where Arkansas gets to check the box and move on," said Kymara Seals, the policy director at the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.
No representative of a racial minority group or member of the LGBTQ community has spoken in favor of SB622 during either of the public hearings on the bill. Shepherd said Thursday that discussions when drafting the bill were limited to other lawmakers.
In a statement Thursday, the Democratic Party of Arkansas said that Dalby's actions at the end of the meeting were a "parliamentary trick ... used to dismiss minority voices." The statement also said the move was done with "the blessing" of Shepherd. Shepherd did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.