Senate approves Hutchinson’s tax cut plan, bill moves to the House

A key part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s tax-cutting legislative agenda moved from one end of the capitol to the other Thursday as plans for a House committee hearing are being ironed out.

The tax cut proposal by Hutchinson will now make its way to the House after the state Senate overwhelmingly approved the plan Thursday. The state Senate voted 30-3 Thursday morning to approve Senate Bill 6, cosponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy and House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia.

The bill, which passed the Senate Revenue and Taxation committee Wednesday by voice vote, is geared toward middle-class taxpayers.

Under the bill, the plan would immediately cut taxes by 0.1% in 2015 for people making $4,300 to $20,999. Next year, the rate for people making between $21,000 and $35,099 would go from six percent to 5%; while people making $35,100 to $75,000 would go from 7% to 6%.

The bill also included an amendment by Sen. Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs that would change the exemption rate on capital gains from 50% to 30%.

The bill drew support from 22 Republicans and eight Democrats, while three Democrats voted no.

Voting in favor of the bill were Dismang, Sample and Republicans Cecile Bledsoe, Ron Caldwell, Alan Clark, Linda Collins-Smith, John Cooper, Jane English, Jake Files, Scott Flippo, Jim Hendren, Jimmy Hickey, Jeremy Hutchinson, Missy Irvin, Blake Johnson, Jason Rapert, Terry Rice, David Sanders, Gary Stubblefield, Eddie Joe Williams and Jon Woods.

Democrats voting in favor of the bill were David Burnett, Eddie Cheatham, Stephanie Flowers, Keith Ingram, Uvalde Lindsey, Bruce Maloch, Bobby Pierce and Larry Teague. Voting against the bill were Democrats Linda Chesterfield, Joyce Elliott and David Johnson.

The bill now goes to the House.

Late Thursday, the bill was forwarded to the House Revenue and Taxation committee, where the chairman of that committee, Rep. Joe Jett, D-Success, said it could be taken up next week.

FLOOR ACTION
The state House voted 93-0, with Rep. Vivian Flowers, D-Pine Bluff voting present, to approve House Bill 1013.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, would amend state law involving commissioners appointed to sell property under judicial decrees. Bell told the House that a 2013 law barred circuit clerks from the sales. The bill would seek to include county clerks in the law.

“If the county clerk’s office is appointed as commissioner for a sale of real or personal property under judicial decree, the fee awarded to the county clerk’s office under this section shall be collected by the county clerk and paid into the county treasury to the credit of a fund to be known as the ‘county clerk commissioner’s fee fund,’” the law reads.

Under the bill, the money collected would be used to offset administrative costs “associated with the performance of the commissioner’s duties and for general operational expenses of the office of county clerk.”

While not naming any names, Bell said he had heard of county clerks in the state profiting from the sales and wanted to extend the law to county clerks.

BILLS INTRODUCED
The following major bills were introduced Thursday in the Arkansas General Assembly:
• House Bill 1133 (Rep. Scott Baltz, D-Pocahontas) – To create a program for licensure of community paramedics.

• Senate Bill 95 (Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale) – To create a sales and use tax exemption for certain service organizations.

• House Bill 1127 (Rep. Scott Baltz, D-Pocahontas) – To extend the Legislative Arkansas Blue Ribbon Committee on Local 911 Systems until 2017, and to declare an emergency.

• Senate Bill 91 (Joint Budget Committee) – An act for the State Crime Laboratory appropriation for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

• Senate Bill 88 (Joint Budget Committee) – An act for the Office of Medicaid Inspector General appropriation for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

• House Bill 1135 (Joint Budget Committee) – An act for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock appropriation for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

• House Bill 1136 (Rep. Stephen Magie, D-Conway) – To amend the prescriptive authority of advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants; to extend prescriptive authority to Hydrocodone combination products if expressly authorized by a physician.

BACK NEXT WEEK
The House and Senate will be off Friday and will reconvene at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

However, the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development committee will meet at 9 a.m. Friday in Room 138 in the capitol.

The committee is supposed to take up House Bill 1111, sponsored by Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock. The bill would create the Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act and regulate public-private partnerships for public facilities and infrastructure.