Wine, liquor, bonds and health care focus of newly filed legislative bills

Bills filed Wednesday (Jan. 21) in the 87th General Assembly include the following:

HB 1134
Entitled as an act “to improve accessibility to health care in Arkansas,” the proposed bill would make it easier for advanced practice nurses to issue prescriptions and allow advanced practice nurses to serve as “licensed independent practitioners and primary care providers.”

The bill was filed by Rep. Clark Hall, D-Marvell. The language in Hall’s bill suggests that “the elimination of practice barriers affecting advanced practice nurses will provide increases accessibility to health care that will be able to better address and serve the health care needs of individual Arkansans and the state as a whole.”

SB 105
The proposed bill, filed by Sen. Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville, would reduce fees for certain sales of wine in Arkansas.

SB 121
Increasing permit fees, rules on Sunday sale of liquor, changes to penalties for selling alcohol to minors and other alcohol-related rules changes are proposed in this bill filed by Sen. Robert Thompson, D-Paragould.

HB 1142
This bill, sponsored by the House Joint Budget Committee, appropriates fiscal year 2009-2010 funding for the Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission. The appropriation is set at $4.08 million in the proposed bill, enough to support a maximum of 39 commission employees. The appropriation also allows for $500,000 for refund expenses and $750,000 for well-plugging expenses.

SB 104
This proposed bill would extend from 2013 to 2015 the final year that the Arkansas Transportation & Highway Department can issue bonds supported by the federal Grant Anticipation Revenue program.

These proposed bills were among 39 posted on the Arkansas Legislature Web site as of 515 p.m.

Link here for more information from Roby Brock’s "The Political Buzz" about recent activity at the General Assembly.