Smoking ban expansion part of Capitol discussions

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected]

It was a busy day at the Arkansas Capitol, with discussions including possible smoking ban law changes, Constitutional status of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, judicial pay raises and a proposed change to the state’s motto.

Also, the House Agriculture and Economic Development Committee and House State Agencies Committee voted to allow for live-streaming of its meetings this session.  House Education Committee chair Rep. Eddie Cheatham has said his committee will live-stream its proceedings.

On Tuesday, the House Revenue and Tax Committee and House Public Health Committee voted to allow live-streaming. The House Judiciary Committee has yet to consider the matter.

SMOKING BAN EXPANSION?
This session, health advocates and lawmakers may seek to remove exemptions to the state’s clean indoor air act, which bans smoking in most workplaces.

Rep. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, who was the lead sponsor for the Clean Indoor Act of 2006 when he was in the State Senate, told Talk Business: "We are certainly looking at eliminating some exemptions, although nothing’s been finalized yet."

To date, no legislation has been filed on the issue in the 88th General Assembly.

The Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, which was passed during a special legislative session during Gov. Mike Huckabee’s tenure, went into effect July 21, 2006. It requires most workplaces to be smoke-free; however, a number of exceptions were placed in the law. They include:
• Bars and restaurants that exclude those under the age of 21
• Workplaces with fewer than 3 employees
• Gaming halls at Oaklawn and Southland racetracks
• Hotels and motels with less than 25 rooms
• Retail tobacco stores
• Designated areas for patients at long-term care facilities

"We want a more comprehensive and fair policy for all workers," Steele said.

State health officials have also indicated that enforcement of the smoking ban in places where exemptions exist has complicated efforts to comply with the law. A spokesperson for one of the key organizations that led the push for the 2006 law said her group encourages efforts to build on the measure.

"We feel all workers deserve clean air to breathe," said Barbara Kumpe, Arkansas governmental affairs director for the American Heart Association.

Kumpe added that her group, which was part of a broad coalition of health organizations that supported the Clean Indoor Air Act, has not made any final decisions on exemptions it would support.

GAME & FISH COMMISSION
A potential constitutional amendment could take away the independence of the Arkansas Highway Commission, Game and Fish Commission, institutions of higher education and provide more legislative control over the state lottery.

SJR2, filed by Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, would amend the Arkansas Constitution to make those changes. The resolution would have to be adopted as one of three legislature-referred proposed constitutional amendments for voters to consider in 2012. Lawmakers of the House and Senate State Agencies Committees will vote on possible referrals later in the session.

SJR2 would expand the size of the Game and Fish Commission from 7 appointees to 8. It would also designate an associate member to the commission "who is the head of the Department of Zoology at the University of Arkansas."

Legislative and public scrutiny has centered on the Game and Fish board, the highway panel and colleges and  universities, especially in the wake of the state employee car scandal of the last half of 2010. Game and Fish commissioners have also been sharply criticized for an aborted effort to skirt the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The Game and Fish Commission gained its constitutional independence in 1944, while the Highway Commission became an independent agency in 1953.

Hutchinson’s proposed amendment, if referred by the legislature and approved by voters, would become effective July 1, 2013.

In related news, the Game & Fish Commission on Wednesday recommended that Interim Director Loren Hitchcock be named the agency director. A commission vote is expected on Thursday (Jan. 20).

‘NATURAL STATE’ CHANGE?
Members of the House State Agencies Committee debated the state’s motto and whether or not to live-stream its meetings as two headline-garnering issues took center stage at the capitol.

Rep. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, introduced HB 1005, which would change the state’s nickname from "The Natural State" to "The Land of Opportunity." Sanders said his bill would be a throwback to a motto started by Gov. Francis Cherry in 1953.

Richard Davies, director of the Arkansas Parks and Tourism department, said his board opposed the change since millions of dollars have been invested in "The Natural State" motto.

"We have more brand equity in the ‘Natural State’ than almost any other state except ‘Virginia is for lovers’ and ‘I love New York,’" Davies said. "We think it [the motto] has served the state well. We think changing the state back to the ‘Land of Opportunity’ would be a step backwards.”

Sanders pulled his bill down for future consideration so that he could submit a fiscal impact statement to prove his point at the committee’s request.

NO PAY RAISES
Members of the legislative Joint Budget Committee voted to nix a 1.86% pay raise for all Arkansas judges and prosecutors this morning.

The House of Representatives rejected the pay hike in questioning late last week. Joint Budget Committee co-chair Rep. Kathy Webb had withdrawn the bill and re-referred it to committee.

The pay raise for judges and prosecuting attorneys, who asked for the cost of living adjustment to be removed, would have cost about $475,000.

Later in the session, lawmakers will consider a Governor-recommended 1.86% pay increase for state employees.  That cost of living adjustment would cost nearly $23 million.