Arkansas lawmakers vote on school safety, license plate readers, gun laws

A new school safety bill was approved unanimously by a key House committee, while lawmakers debated everything from license plate readers to propane to concealed gun laws Thursday in Little Rock.

The House Education Committee approved House Bill 1653, sponsored by Rep. Scott Baltz, D-Pocahontas. The bill would allow school officials to protect schools in case of an emergency by using a panic button alert system. The system, connected to a cell phone app, would be used by teachers, principals, school and emergency personnel. By pressing a button, a 911 operator would be contacted immediately and people signed up for the system would get an alert within two seconds.

Baltz said officials have been working with a Massachusetts-based company, Rave Panic Button, on the system. The representative said he has worked on the bill for some time, in a way, to help schools statewide possibly avoid an unspeakable tragedy.

“It will give a level of safety and get help there so much quicker,” Baltz said.

According to the company’s website, the cell phone numbers that are signed up for the app are placed into a secure database. The program also allows school administrators to set up a profile everything from floor plans to where students are located to help police and other emergency personnel, the website noted. Baltz called the system a “game changer” in being able to protect students and school officials. The bill has 82 co-sponsors in the House and seven co-sponsors in the Senate.

As for funding, Baltz said it would cost about $950,000 the first year to implement the program statewide and $850,000 each year after that. Baltz said officials are looking for funding sources to help pay for the plan.

“It is less than $2 per child (in the state). It is $950,000 but that is not much in the grand scheme of things (in state government),” Baltz said. “Locked doors do save lives.”

Baltz said he will work hard to secure the funding before a Sept. 1, 2015 deadline to implement the program. The bill is expected to head to the House on Monday.

The committee also approved a bill to change the qualifications for the person serving as the state’s education commissioner. The Senate voted 24-6 Wednesday to approve Senate Bill 681, sponsored by Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale.

Critics have said the bill would remove a person with experience from serving as commissioner. However, Clark told senators Wednesday that his bill would keep requirements for the job in place and that a director or deputy director must have the qualifications.

The qualifications include being “a person of good moral character, recognized as a leader in the field of education and qualified technically and by experience to direct the work of the department.”

Under current law, the director must hold a master’s degree, have at least 10 years’ experience as a teacher, with five years in an administrative or supervisory positions. Former State Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, was recently appointed to the post by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The appointment is subject to the approval of a state education committee. The bill now goes to the House.

FLOOR ACTION
The House voted Thursday to approve two concealed carry related bills. Lawmakers approved House Bill 1505, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Gray, R-Melbourne, by a 68-9 vote, and House Bill 1626, sponsored by Rep. Tim Lemons, R-Cabot by an 80-4 margin.

Gray told lawmakers that her bill would clean up questions over where a weapon could be carried and whether or not there would be “technical violations” over carrying a weapon while driving near the Capitol, a school or other prohibited areas.

For instance, Gray, who told lawmakers she has a permit, told the House Judiciary Committee earlier this week that she has to leave her weapon at a family member’s home when she goes to pick up her children at school.

Rep. Mary Broadaway, D-Paragould, who spoke against the bill, said the bill would expand the number of places where a weapon could be carried. Broadaway cited Department of Human Services offices, where child custody and divorce cases are often handled as well as the capitol.

Broadaway said she has received threats in the past over votes she has taken and that she was afraid of someone having a weapon in the capitol. However, Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, who told lawmakers he has a permit, said a recent incident in downtown Little Rock showed the need for protection.

“I went recently to a drug store with a colleague to buy some candy,” Bell said. “Seven minutes later (after I left), it was robbed.”

The bill now heads to the Senate.

As for Lemons’ bill, he said it would allow countywide office holders including county judge, sheriff, county clerk, circuit clerk, treasurer, assessor and coroner, if the office holder has a concealed carry permit, to carry the weapon in the courthouse. Lemons also cited a Sept. 2011 shooting at the Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren as a reason for the bill.

One person was shot after James Ray Palmer walked into the building to visit a circuit judge who heard his divorce case, media reports at the time said. Palmer, who was shot and killed by police, fired at least 70 rounds into the building, Lemons said Thursday.

The bill moves to the Senate.

PROPANE, LICENSE READERS
The House voted 36-38, with two voting present, against a bill to create the Arkansas Propane Council. The bill, House Bill 1281, would have created a seven-member board appointed by the governor to “promote the growth and development of the propane industry in Arkansas by research, promotion and market development.”

Rep. Chris Richey, D-West Helena, who sponsored the bill, said the council would help publicize the industry, much like other industries including catfish, cotton and poultry.
However, Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, questioned the need for the council and its role in the state’s business climate.

A proposal to allow the Arkansas Highway Police to use an automatic license plate reader system was voted down by House members. The 48-29 vote, with three voting present (three votes short of passage), was on a bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville.

Douglas said the system would help truck drivers with electronically verifying their registration and logs with highway police at weigh in stations around the state. Douglas also said the information would only be used for survey and research purposes.

However, Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, who opposed the bill, said he had privacy concerns over the bill and the information that could be gleaned from the data.

OTHER LEGISLATION
• The Senate approved a bill that would allow a federal candidate to run for more than one federal office at the same time. The 32-1 vote on Senate Bill 803 came after debate Wednesday in the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee. Hester told the committee that he had considered Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., when thinking about the bill. However, Hester told the committee he did not consult with Cotton about the bill. The bill now heads to the House.

• A bill that would help to fund road and bridge repair projects around the state, through funding from the state’s severance tax on natural gas, was approved Thursday. The Senate voted 34-0 to approve House Bill 1436, sponsored by Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Rogers and Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs. The bill would take the first $675,000 collected from the tax and appropriate it to general revenue, with the rest being set aside in a “Road and Bridge Repair, Maintenance and Grants Fund.” The bill now goes back to the House.

• The Senate also voted 34-0 to approve a bill to study the realignment of higher education in Arkansas. The bill, House Bill 1581, was sponsored by House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia and Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale. The bill, which now heads back to the House for engrossing, would create a task force to study the issue. Gillam has said the idea for the task force was due to a changing educational debate in the state in the past several years including lawmakers studying workforce education. The task force has until Nov. 1, 2016 to come up with ideas on the issue.