Legislature adjourns sine die without Game and Fish appropriation; Rep. Evans voted Speaker-designate

The Arkansas House adjourned sine die Thursday (May 9) – without approving an appropriation for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission – while selecting the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The State Senate delayed adjournment hoping for a resolution to the Game & Fish matter, but with the House adjourned, the effort may be moot. Senate leaders said the House can’t adjourn without agreement from the Senate – and vice versa – which led to a closed door meeting between leadership from both chambers.

Lawmakers have wrestled for weeks with SB 21, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission’s spending bill, mainly over a request to raise the salary of the executive director.

Agency officials had originally proposed an increase in pay for the executive director from $152,638 to $190,000. That request was pared back to $170,000 on Thursday, but it was still not enough to win the 75 votes needed in the House for passage. The bill failed 62-21 with 17 representatives either not voting or voting present.

In the Senate, SB 21 was amended to leave the maximum pay for the executive director at $157,216. Senators passed the measure after the House adjourned sine die and immediately proceeded to a private meeting with the House to discuss options.

While some lawmakers criticized the tardiness of the changes and conveyed feeling pressured to approve a spending bill they didn’t like, other legislators noted they had held up the budget process for approving the bill in order to find a compromise. They contended their efforts to resolve the matter dragged the bill into the 11th hour.

The Game & Fish Commission will have authority to spend money until the fiscal year ends on June 30, 2024. If the legislature officially adjourned with the appropriation bill not approved to begin July 1, passage of a measure in a special session will be the only route to resolve the dispute and allow the agency to spend its monies legally. Gov. Sarah Sanders would have to call the special session before July 1 to keep the agency operational.

If the rules or state law allow the House to withdraw its sine die motion due to lack of coordination with the Senate, the House may be able to reconvene and make another attempt to pass SB 21 with no changes to the executive director’s salary.

In other news, the House of Representatives selected Rep. Brian Evans, R-Cabot, to be the next Speaker of the House. He will succeed Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, who has served an unprecedented three full terms as Speaker.

Evans defeated Rep. Johnny Rye, R-Trumann, for the position with 91 of the 100 House votes. Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro, withdrew from the race earlier this week. Evans must be officially elected and sworn in as Speaker in January when the 95th General Assembly convenes.

Talk Business & Politics will continue to update this story today.