Aside from the surreal moment when Gov. Mike Beebe walked into a House chamber comprised mostly of Republicans to open the 89th General Assembly, the 2013 Arkansas legislative session’s first week was light. The real heavy lifting is likely to begin next week.
To recap: Arkansas voters gave the GOP slim majorities in both chambers in November, and the state has a Republican-controlled legislature for the first time in almost 150 years. Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, remains as popular as ever.
Both sides promised to try and get along in a session that will, among other things, decide the state’s role in federally mandated Medicaid expansion and the state’s $138 million Medicaid shortfall, rewrite the state’s execution laws, debate the extent of proposed tax cuts and address school choice and abortion issues.
Highlights from the 89th General Assembly, week 1, included :
- On the Medicaid front, Beebe showed willingness to bend by announcing his intention to seek out permission from the feds for the state to craft a partial expansion. Meanwhile, GOP leaders said they preferred to wait and see how much flexibility would be afforded the state before moving forward.
- Republicans introduced legislation to cap state government growth by either 3 percent or the three-year average increase in thge state’s GDP, whichever is less.
- Se. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Benton, filed a tort reform bill that would curb frivolous civil lawsuits and redefine expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases.
- Hutchinson wasn’t idle this week, also filing a bill that would require anyone applying for unemployment benefits to take a drug test.
- Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, filed a bill that would loosen the transfer rules for public school students, a response to the state’s school choice law being struck down.
- Still on schools, Rep. Mark Biavano, R-Searcy, introduced a bill that would create an independent commission to oversee charter schools and authorize new ones.
- Beebe told a Little Rock political club that he’d sign legislation repealing the death penalty in the state if he had the chance. Republican leaders acknowledged the need to address the state’s execution law in lieu of its being struck down by the state’s Supreme Court. Lo and behold, it didn’t take long for legislation to hit the Capitol halls. Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, introduced bills that would change the way the state administers lethal injections and allow certain relatives of dealth-penalty crime victims to be present for executions.
- Some bills did actually see some movement in the opening week. Sen. Jane English’s bill creating a state veterans’ home task force was passed out of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. The North Little Rock Republican’s bill would create a 22-member grouped charged with replacing the state veteran’s home, which was closed last year.
- Republicans filed measures to allow concealed handguns at churches that OK it, and to allow faculty and staff at colleges and universities to carry on-campus.
- House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, introduced new House rules including one that would increase to two days the waiting period for the full House to vote on measures passed out of committee. Previously, the waiting period was one day. The rules package passed out of committee and awaits a full House vote next week.
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