Social issues share state legislative stage

Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, asks if any legislators would like to speak for or against a bill during the house session in March at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, asks if any legislators would like to speak for or against a bill during the house session in March at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

Arkansas' 94th General Assembly enacted education and public safety overhauls and income tax bills during its regular session, yet social issue bills overshadowed them at times.

The Republican dominated-Legislature recessed Friday, the 89th day of the regular session, and plans to adjourn May 1 or sooner.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Friday that the Legislature concluded "a historic session."

"Thank you," to Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, and House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, "who did a phenomenal job and the rest of the legislature for their partnership in helping deliver bold, transformational policy changes on behalf of the state of Arkansas," the Republican governor continued in her tweet.

Hester said Friday that he's pleased the Legislature accomplished its main goals and the campaign promises of the new governor in an expedited manner.

"The amount of days that we were here is not the shortest, but not near the longest," he said. "It is a relatively quick session."

Shepherd described the regular session as "a good session, a very productive session.

"Every session has kind of its own vibe," he said Friday.

"This one, obviously it was a little more back-end heavy just because of the fact we took a lot of time on the front end with the LEARNS bill," Shepherd said.

The LEARNS Act is the governor's signature educational overhaul law. LEARNS stands for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, networking and safety.

Rep. Denise Garner, D-Fayetteville, said Friday that she felt the session was rushed, and she would have appreciated more time to review the education overhaul, public safety overhaul and income tax cut bills, which were Sanders' top priorities for the session.

"My fear is all these bills are based on conservative ideology and not research," she said, noting that her primary concern with the LEARNS Act is with its voucher system.

Garner said there was an expansion in the types of social issues addressed during this year's regular session compared to previous sessions.

"That's frustrating to me," she said."We spent way too much time on issues that do not affect most Arkansans."

Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said Friday that "the war on the trans kids has got to stop.

"It is still breaking my heart," she said.

Hester said "there was a lot of focus on the culture war because we are living in a culture war.

"We believe in Arkansas 100% of people are equal regardless of your gender, regardless of your beliefs about sexuality," he said. "The problem is we push back when someone that believes differently than us says we should believe like they believe. I am comfortable with someone else disagreeing with me. The problem is they are not comfortable with me disagreeing with them."

SOCIAL ISSUES

On March 13, Sanders signed legislation that aims to allow a person injured by a "gender transition procedure" as a minor to sue the medical professional who performed the procedure.

Proponents of Senate 199 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, which is now Act 274, said it is needed to protect children. Opponents countered that the measure would restrict access to lifesaving care for transgender people, especially those with mental illnesses.

Act 274 would permit an injured minor or a representative for the minor to bring a lawsuit no later than 15 years after the minor turns 18 or would have turned 18 if the minor dies before turning 18. The current statute of limitations for most medical malpractice cases in Arkansas is two years, according to state law.

The "gender transition" procedures covered by Act 274 include puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery. These treatments are among those banned by the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act of 2021, which was blocked by a federal judge and is awaiting a ruling following a trial last year.

On March 21, Sanders signed into law Act 317 that would limit transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice at public schools.

Act 317, which is House Bill 1156 by Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, would require public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools to prohibit people from using a multiple-occupancy restroom that does not correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificate.

The measure also applies to places at schools where people "may be in various stages of undress" around others, which would include locker rooms, changing rooms and shower rooms. Students on overnight trips would have to either share sleeping quarters with one or multiple members of the same sex or be "provided single-occupancy sleeping quarters.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted to send to the governor Senate Bill 270 by Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, which aims to criminalize adults who knowingly enter or remain in a bathroom of the opposite sex to arouse or gratify a sexual desire while knowing a minor who is a member of the opposite sex is present.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted to send the governor a bill to require written permission from a parent before a public school employee may address students by their preferred pronoun or name.

Under House Bill 1468 by Rep. Wayne Long, R-Bradford, school officials will be prohibited from addressing students by a pronoun that is "inconsistent with the unemancipated minor's or student's biological sex" unless they have written permission from a parent or guardian. School officials also will be barred from calling students by a "name other than the name listed on the unemancipated minor's or student's birth certificate." Long said the bill would not apply to derivative names, such as "Bob" for "Robert."

On March 30, Sanders signed Senate Bill 81 by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, which intends to create a criminal offense for "furnishing a harmful item to a minor" and establish a process for challenging books available to children in public and school libraries.

The bill, which also would strike a defense from state law intended to protect librarians from criminal prosecution under obscenity laws, is now Act 372.

On Feb. 24, Sanders signed Senate Bill 43, by Stubblefield, which aims to restrict "adult-oriented performances." The measure, now Act 131, originally attempted to regulate drag performances.

In its final form, the act defines an "adult-oriented performance" as a show "intended to appeal to the prurient interest and that features a person who appears in a state of nudity or is semi-nude; the purposeful exposure, whether complete or partial, of a specific anatomical area, or prosthetic genitalia or breasts; or a specific sexual activity."

The Senate voted Thursday to send a bill that would require age verification for new social media users and parental permission for those younger than 18. The bill is Senate Bill 396 by Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs.

EDUCATION

On March 8, Sanders signed Senate Bill 294 by Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, calling it "the largest overhaul of the state's education system in Arkansas history." It's now Act 237.

Her father, Mike Huckabee, was the Republican governor during a 60-day special session in 2003-2004 in which the public schools were overhauled.

The LEARNS Act aims to increase the starting annual teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000 and give teachers making above the minimum a $2,000 raise.

The law also creates a voucher program, known as Education Freedom Accounts, for students to attend a private or parochial school or home school. The vouchers will be worth 90% of the per-pupil funding schools receive from the state.

The LEARNS Act also sets a higher literacy standard for elementary school students and authorizes 120 reading coaches, grants and tutors. The law also requires the Arkansas Department of Education to review policies and materials that "promote teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory."

The law also requires high schools to offer a "career ready" pathway as an alternative way for students to earn a diploma in technical education programs.

The Senate voted Thursday to send the governor a bill that would increase the per-pupil funding for public schools from $7,413 this school year to $7,618 for the 2023-2024 school year and to $7,771 for the 2024-2025 school year. The legislation aims to increase spending by $75 million for fiscal year 2024 and $132 million for fiscal year 2025.

House Bill 1688 by Rep. Brian Evans, R-Cabot, is part of a yearlong undertaking that state legislators refer to as the "educational adequacy process," which dates to the Arkansas Supreme Court's decision in Lakeview School District v. Huckabee that ruled the state's funding for education was inadequate and unconstitutional.

This year, lawmakers earmarked $2-an-hour raises for classified school staff, which includes bus drivers, custodians and special education paraprofessionals, and cost-of-living raises for teachers. However, schools have wide discretion in how they spend state funds.

Senate Bill 262 by Payton that would no longer require the state Board of Education to consolidate school districts with fewer than 350 students is now Act 461.

A 2004 state law required school districts with fewer than 350 students to be consolidated into another district. Huckabee let that measure go into law without signature.

A 2015 law passed by the General Assembly allows school districts with fewer than 350 students but are not in financial or academic distress to apply for a waiver from the Department of Education to avoid consolidation.

The House voted Thursday to send to the governor Senate Bill 473 by Sen. Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers, that would prohibit schools from deducting dues on behalf of unions and other professional organizations from employees' wages.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The Arkansas Senate on Friday voted to send Sanders a sweeping public safety bill intended to overhaul the state's parole system and require people convicted of serious crimes to serve most if not all of their sentences in prison.

The bill is Senate Bill 495 by Sen. Ben Gilmore, R-Crossett.

The measure would establish the Protect Arkansas Act and is part of a wide-ranging criminal justice package backed by Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin.

Beyond restructuring the parole system, the 131-page bill features other provisions, including supporting child victims of crimes, preparing incarcerated people to enter the workforce and suspending court fines for incarcerated defendants for 120 days after they are released from custody.

Under SB495, people convicted of 18 of the most violent felonies in state code, including rape and capital murder, would have to serve the entirety of their sentences in prison. SB495 would require courts to add a period of post-release supervision in these cases if defendants are not already sentenced to the statutory maximum for their offense.

People convicted of 53 lesser violent felonies such as second-degree murder, battery in the first degree or sexual indecency with a child would have to serve 85% of their sentence before being eligible for release with supervision.

Those convicted of felonies not addressed in the bill could be eligible to serve 50% or 25% of their sentence depending on a seriousness grid or table established by the Arkansas Sentencing Commission and approved by the Legislative Council.

To become eligible for early release under the bill, offenders would have to earn credits by participating in programs in prison. The bill would require the state Board of Corrections to develop rules setting guidelines for the accrual of earned release credits for work practices, job responsibilities, good behavior and involvement in rehabilitative activities.

An impact statement prepared by the Arkansas Sentencing Commission estimated the bill could result in more than $163.8 million in costs over the next 10 years associated with providing additional care to inmates.

TAX CUTS

The House voted Wednesday to send the governor a bill that would cut the state's top individual income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7% and the state's top corporate income tax rate from 5.3% to 5.1%, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023.

The measure is Senate Bill 549 by Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy. About 1.1 million individual taxpayers would receive a tax reduction under the bill, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.

The top individual income tax rate of 4.7% would apply to Arkansans having more than $87,000 in net income and to their income of more than $8,800 for tax years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023, under SB549. That top rate also would apply to Arkansans having net income up to $87,000 and their income of $24,300 to $87,000 for tax years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023.

The top corporate income tax rate of 5.1% would apply to net income of corporations exceeding $25,000 for tax years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023.

The bill is projected by the state finance department to reduce state general revenue by $186 million in fiscal 2024 and $124 million in fiscal 2025. The department said the revenue impact assumes that employee withholding would be adjusted by employers on or after June 1, 2023.

The Senate voted Thursday to send the governor House Bill 1045 by Rep. Howard Beaty, R-Crossett, that would gradually phase out the "throwback rule" on income of multistate corporations over a seven-year period, starting in the tax year starting on or after Jan. 1, 2024, and be complete in tax year 2030.

The bill is projected by the finance department to reduce general revenue by $10.6 million in fiscal year 2024 and ultimately reduce general revenue by $74 million a year in fiscal year 2030 and thereafter.

BUDGET

The Arkansas Senate and House of Representatives voted Friday to send the governor identical versions of the state's Revenue Stabilization Act that would boost the state's general revenue budget by $177.7 million to $6.2 billion in the coming fiscal year.

House Bill 1833 and Senate Bill 569 would increase the state's general revenue budget by about 2.95% over the budget in fiscal 2023. The Revenue Stabilization Act prioritizes the distribution of state general revenue to state-supported programs.

The general revenue allocation to the state's public school fund would increase by $118.7 million to $2.4 billion in fiscal 2024 under the measures. General revenue totaling $31.7 million would be allocated for Educational Freedom Accounts to help pay for students to attend private, parochial or home schools.

The state Department of Education has projected Sanders' education overhaul law, Act 237 of 2023, will cost $297.5 million, including $150 million in "new money," in fiscal 2024.

The state's Division of Correction would get a $55.3 million increase in general revenue to $434.3 million, the state Division of Community Correction would get a $7 million increase in general revenue to $104.7 million, and the Arkansas State Police would get a $10.5 million increase in general revenue to $88.6 million in fiscal 2024 under the proposed Revenue Stabilization Act.

The House voted Thursday to send the governor Senate Bill 578 by Dismang that would authorize the transfers of $1.4 billion in unallocated and unobligated state funds, including $1.3 billion from the general revenue allotment reserve balance, and up to $380.6 million in surplus funds in fiscal 2023 largely to set-aside accounts in the restricted reserve fund for nearly 30 projects.

Among other things, SB578 would create a $500 million set-aside account in the restricted reserve fund for public school academic facilities, an up-to-$330 million set-aside for the correctional facilities, an up-to-$200 million set-aside for the new state Crime Laboratory building, and the transfer of $200 million from the general revenue allotment reserve fund to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set-aside for state matching funds for the federal infrastructure grants.

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