Arkansas State Capitol news in brief: Senate panel advances bill to reduce time allowed on unemployment

Sen. Bryan King (left), R-Green Forest, whispers to Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Mountain Home, during the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor hearing Wednesday at the state Capitol in Little Rock.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Sen. Bryan King (left), R-Green Forest, whispers to Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Mountain Home, during the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor hearing Wednesday at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)


Jobless benefits, tax bill advances

A bill aimed at reducing the amount of time a person may receive unemployment insurance from four months to three cleared an Arkansas Senate committee Wednesday.

The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee sent House Bill 1430 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R- Elm Springs, to the full Senate.

The legislation would drop the state's new employer tax from 2.9% to 1.9%. It also would cut the unemployment tax stabilization rate from 0.20% to 0.125% in fiscal 2024. In fiscal year 2025, the stabilization rate would drop to 0.1%.

The bill also would reduce the assessed penalty rate on employers who fail to make unemployment-related payments on time from 14% to 10%.

Arkansas unemployment insurance tax rates range from 0.1% to 5%, plus the stabilization rate in effect for the current year. The tax is computed on the wages paid to each employee on a calendar quarter basis, according to the Division of Workforce Services website.

The measure would represent a tax cut of $31 million, and the state's unemployment insurance trust fund has a balance of more than $900 million, Lundstrum said.

-- Michael R. Wickline and Will Langhorne

Bill repeals work permit for minors

The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that would repeal a state work permit requirement for children younger than 16 seeking employment.

In a 5-2 vote, the committee endorsed House Bill 1410 by Rep. Rebecca Burkes, R-Lowell.

The bill would ax the state law that bars a person, firm or corporation from employing or permitting any children younger than 16 to work in or in connection with any establishment or occupation until the person, firm or corporation employing the child procures and keeps on file an employment certificate, accessible to the state Division of Labor, and the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education or local school officials.

HB1410 also would eliminate the state law that requires the employment certificate to be issued by the Division of Labor director, and the application for the employment certificate to include a proof of age, a description of the work and work schedule, and written consent from the parent or guardian.

Burkes told the committee the state work permit is required for 14- and 15-year-olds before they can a get a job, and children younger than 14 in Arkansas generally cannot work unless they are working for family businesses or similar reasons.

"This bill came to me from the Foundation for Government Accountability," he said. "It truly is just paperwork that is a barrier for a 14- or 15-year-old to get a job."

Committee Chairwoman Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, who voted against the bill, said afterward that "The perception this creates isn't worth the elimination of a simple process.

"It's a simple step in creating a legal protection for kids and for their parents from potentially abusive or unsafe situations."

-- Michael R.Wickline

Senate panel OKs Vincent Parks Act

The Senate Public, Health Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday endorsed a bill that would require state physical fitness instructors to complete training on how to recognize and respond to certain health conditions.

The committee advanced to the Senate House Bill 1458 by Rep. Frances Cavenaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, which would create the Vincent Parks Act if enacted. The bill is intended to honor Parks, a Jonesboro police officer who died after training in extreme heat in July at the state police academy.

The bill would require physical fitness instructors responsible for training law enforcement officers, firefighters and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officers to receive certification on recognizing and managing dehydration and concussions. Instructors also would have to complete training on environmental issues that could threaten the health or safety of a person by causing heat exhaustion or sudden cardiac arrest.

It also would require physical fitness instructors to remove any cadet or officer who faints, loses consciousness or exhibits warning signs of cardiac arrest from training. A cadet or officer would be barred from returning to training until cleared in writing by a licensed physician.

An instructor acting in good faith would not be liable for any act or omission under the bill unless the fault is intentional, reckless or grossly negligent.

-- Michael R. Wickline

Senate OKs bill on ballot title review

The Arkansas Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would transfer the authority for considering and certifying the popular name and ballot title of proposed ballot measures from the state Board of Election Commissioners to the attorney general.

The Senate voted 35-0 to send House Bill 1320 by Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle, to the governor.

Act 376 of 2019 shifted the responsibility of certifying a proposed ballot measure's popular name and ballot title from the attorney general to the state Board of Election Commissioners. Then-Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who is now the state's lieutenant governor, supported the 2019 measure.

Certification of the ballot title and popular name is one of the two requirements under state law for a proposal to get on the general election ballot. The other requirement is for the secretary of state to certify that the sponsor has submitted the required number of valid signatures of registered voters on petitions.

In September, the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a decision by the state Board of Election Commissioners not to certify the ballot title and popular name of a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana and cleared the way for votes to be counted on the proposed constitutional amendment.

-- Michael R. Wickline

Bill governs loan to Henderson State

A legislative panel on Wednesday voted to endorse a proposal that would require Henderson State University make loan repayments of $958,333.33 a year in six installments, starting Dec. 1, 2024, and ending on Dec. 1, 2029, to the state.

Henderson State University received a $6 million loan from the state's Budget Stabilization Fund in fiscal 2020 and currently owes that fund about $5.75 million, said Sen. Jim Hickey, R-Texarkana, who proposed an amendment to House Bill 1270 that the Joint Budget Committee's Special Language Subcommittee approved.

Under Hickey's amendment, the annual loan repayments from Henderson State University may be modified by the Legislative Council, or if the General Assembly is in session, the Joint Budget Committee based upon its review of the status of the loan received from the Budget Stabilization Trust Fund. The modification of the loan repayments may include the amount of one or more loan payments and the timing of one or more loan repayments..

The bill is Henderson State University's appropriation for fiscal 2024, which starts July 1, 2023, and ends June 30, 2024.

-- Michael R. Wickline

Human trafficking bill gets panel OK

A bill intended to allow victims of human trafficking to sue their abusers without having to meet criminal law standards advanced from a Senate committee Wednesday.

Senate Bill 282 by Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, passed the Committee on Judiciary in a voice vote without audible dissent. The panel's endorsement sends the bill to the full Senate for further consideration.

The bill permits a human trafficking victim to bring a civil case in state court against a person or entity who knew "or should have known that the individual was or would be subjected to any form of trafficking." The person or entity would have also had to have caused, been responsible for, benefited financially from or received something of value from the human trafficking incident.

Irvin said her bill mirrors standards used in federal anti-trafficking laws. The legislation would not prevent prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges against entities accused of human trafficking, she said.

The legislation would protect hotels and motels against insurance policy coverage exclusion based on intentional conduct. Irvin said her bill would apply the general negligence standard of "knew or should have known," which hotels and motels use for insuring against other risks, to trafficking.

The bill includes language specifying the fault of "a victim of human trafficking shall not be apportioned against the victim of human trafficking" in a civil case.

-- Will Langhorne

Concealed carry bill OK'd in House

The Arkansas House on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow the concealed carry of handguns in Arkansas Department of Transportation buildings and on adjacent grounds.

Senate Bill 211, by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, advanced to the governor's desk with a vote of 78-15.

RJ Hawk, R-Bryant, the House sponsor of the bill, said the measure would allow people with enhanced concealed carry permits to bring firearms into buildings administered by the department.

When enhanced concealed carry permits were established, holders were barred from carrying in several locations, including in courthouses, schools, law enforcement offices and state Department of Transportation buildings. Permit holders are currently allowed to carry on grounds administered by certain other state agencies.

The bill would not allow people to carry concealed handguns in areas administered by the Arkansas Highway Police, Hawk said. The Arkansas Highway Police is a division within the state Department of Transportation.

Officials with the Department of Transportation are in favor of the measure, Hawk told the House. He said the bill would allow employees who may carry weapons while out in the field to bring their firearms into administrative offices.

-- Will Langhorne

Teachers allowed to attend hearing

Star City Superintendent Jordan Frizzell has responded to a claim made by Sen. Breanne Davis that his decision to give two teachers a personal day to speak on the LEARNS Act violated Department of Education policy.

"Nice to have the Star City School District teachers & admin with us today to witness successful passage of #SB294," Davis tweeted Feb. 22, after the bill's hearing in the Senate Education Committee. "That does not excuse the fact that the superintendent allowed for blatant violation of its policy. @ArkEducation must investigate & hold leadership accountable."

The policy Davis referred to bars schools from using school time, property, personnel or equipment from "furthering the interests of any political party, the campaign of any political candidate or the advocacy of any political issue or ballot issue whether partisan or non-partisan."

Frizzell said in a Feb. 27 letter responding to Davis that he allowed two teachers from the school district professional leave to attend the hearing, and that was consistent with district policy that allows for professional leave for "meetings and conferences related to education."

"Since the Senate Education Committee was directly related to education, and a significant piece of legislation that impacts teachers, this was absolutely an appropriate use of professional leave under our policy," Frizzell wrote. "Had Senator Davis contacted me with her concerns, I would have been pleased to share our District policy and the rationale for my decision."

-- Neal Earley


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