Procedural drama dominates legislative ‘circus’ in Day 2 of session return

While the Arkansas legislature was tasked with changing the state’s congressional districts, they spent most of Thursday (Sept. 30) debating procedures. The Arkansas Senate spent more than three hours debating whether they should hear the batch of COVID-19 bills on the floor or if they should be sent back to committee for public comment.

As reported Wednesday, the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee met to consider bills that include allowing exemptions for an employee not to be forced or coerced into taking a vaccine if an employer mandates it. No one was signed up to speak for or against the bills, so they sent them straight to the Senate floor.

On Thursday, Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, presented SB 732 – prohibiting coercion of persons to receive the vaccine or immunization for COVID-19 – with just a short debate occurring before motions were made. Sen. Jim Hendren, I-Gravette, objected to the hearing of Johnson’s bill and said it was not germane to Congressional redistricting efforts.

Lt. Governor Tim Griffin, who presides over the state Senate, ruled that COVID-19 related bills were germane citing case law and the specific language used in the resolution. A motion to overrule Griffin’s ruling failed with just 15 votes.

As the debate on Johnson’s bill began, lawmakers focused on whether public comment was allowed. Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, said he took many phone calls the previous night to discuss what happened yesterday.

“None of us in this room, minus the few that were privileged enough to be part of the drafting process, had seen any of the bills that we considered yesterday in public health. … The general public had 30 minutes notice, had no chance to read the bills, and we think that that’s okay? This is controversial,” Dismang said.

Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, questioned if sending the bills back was just a reason to stall them.

“Are we going to have that meeting and then are we going to come back and hear these bills or is this just a circus to keep from hearing the bills?” he asked.

“What I told you has nothing to do with creating a circus – I’m going to tell you, I didn’t like the circus as a kid, and I don’t like the circus in this room right now,” Dismang replied.

Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, motioned to send the batch of bills back to the public health committee. She cited the lack of time given to the public to review and comment.

Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, said she was fine with it going back to the committee she chairs, but added legislators would now need another day of the session.

Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, presented a substitute motion to Irvin’s motion asking his colleagues to allow SB 739 and SB 731 to be heard on the floor and send the remaining bills back to committee.

Sen. Bob Ballinger, R-Ozark, is the sponsor of SB 731, which seeks remedies for workers who want to opt out of an employer’s vaccine requirement. He argued his bill had already been debated earlier this session and should stay on the Senate floor.

“Has the public been able to read a bill or decide what it’s about or hear any testimony for or against? Have I been able to do that?” Irvin questioned. “We have all been able to give suggestions on language, but we get new information all the time that changes the way that we proceed and how we write things. That’s what real policy makers do.”

Sen. Bob Ballinger, R-Ozark, responded to Irvin, “You’ve had hours where you could have been reading it.”

Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, requested that his bill – SB 739 – be sent back to committee to allow public comment. He said he wanted everyone to be held responsible for their own actions. SB 739 seeks exemptions to a federal executive order mandating vaccines for certain worker groups and would provide unemployment funds for terminated workers.

Garner then substituted his own substitution and removed Hammer’s bill from being exempted. Garner’s substitute motion failed with just 14 votes.

Irvin’s motion passed 19 to 14 and all bills were sent back to the committee. The Senate Public Health committee meets Friday morning at 8:30 a.m.

CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING EFFORTS
On Thursday afternoon, the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee met and adopted an amendment to HB 1971, the Congressional redistricting map drafted by Rep. Nelda Speaks, R-Mountain Home.

“I took Madison County and I put it back into the Third district and the only other thing we’ve done was take a little bit out of Pulaski County – leaving the cities whole – and moving that down into the Fourth district to help with moving that other out. There is no split counties except that one,” Speaks said.

The committee adjourned without taking further action but is expected to meet again on Friday upon the call of the chair.

State senators have not adopted a proposal but are discussing a version of Congressional redistricting that appears to be different than Speaks’ measure.

The actions on Thursday leave completion of the session by Friday in limbo. With no consensus or votes on Congressional maps and uncertainty regarding the fate of multiple COVID-19 bills, lawmakers are not expected to finish their business in three days.

Editor’s note: Marine Glisovic is a senior political reporter for KATV News and a contributor to Talk Business & Politics.