Funding bills advance, maternity leave, gun, drone bills filed

Cold, wintry weather didn’t freeze legislators from taking action on Monday. The House approved a bill that was voted down last week, while $10 million in funding for state inmates in county jails passed another hurdle in the Senate.

Meanwhile, state employees may be eligible for paid maternity leave under a bill filed Monday.

The House reversed course Monday, voting 60-21, in favor of House Bill 1242 to modify the requirements of a school district to detach territory from an existing school district. Rep. Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, asked the House to reconsider a 49-25 vote Feb. 17 against the bill. Brown said the bill would not have any impact on any state or federal court ruling on the issue.

“An existing school district shall not be reduced by means of detachment to an area with fewer than 2,500 students in average daily membership,” according to the bill.

A school district created by detachment could only be made up of students from one existing school district, while the bill would apply to schools between 5,000 and 20,000 students or schools with a 450-square-mile radius, the bill noted.

Opponents of the bill have argued it would open up the state to additional legal issues involving the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts. The districts have been involved in legal action for many years after federal judges ruled the districts must work to integrate schools. During the Feb. 17 debate, supporters said the bill would help school districts to set boundaries while opponents said the bill would hurt racial progress. The debate continued Monday.

Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, said the bill would give school districts an opportunity to exercise local control. However, Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, said the bill would hurt districts with minority populations.

The House voted 65-19, with one present, to reconsider the issue. The bill now heads to the Senate.

The House also voted Monday to send two bills back to committee for review. The bills are House Bill 1372, sponsored by Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway; and House Bill 1376, sponsored by Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena.

Meeks’ bill involved the carrying of a concealed handgun on the property of a private school by a concealed permit holder, while Bell’s bill would seek to add more protections for unborn children involving assault cases. Both men told the House they wanted to amend the bills before bringing them back to the House.

A bill that would allow a person who uses an unmanned vehicle or aircraft to videotape someone else to be charged with voyeurism passed the House. The House voted 85-2 to approve House Bill 1349, sponsored by Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork. The bill now heads to the Senate.

SENATE
The Senate voted 34-0 to approve a series of funding bills Monday, including one that would pay for state inmates in county jails. The bill (House Bill 1316), approved by a 95-0 margin Feb. 12 in the House, would pay counties $10 million for housing state inmates in county jails.

The issue has been discussed for several months, with county judges and sheriffs asking for more funding.

The Senate also voted to approve the bills to fund the budgets for the Arkansas State University system and the University of Central Arkansas. The $237.1 million budget for ASU under Senate Bill 107 would fund operations of the Jonesboro-based university, as well as 2,251 full-time and 2,064 part-time or temporary employees from July 1, 2015 until June 30, 2016.

In Senate Bill 104, the UCA budget appropriates $394.5 million for the Conway university in the new fiscal year, including 2,251 full-time and 1,600 part-time or temporary employees.

The Senate also approved two bills to provide capital and general improvement funding for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Senators voted 34-0 to approve Senate Bill 303 and Senate Bill 353. Senate Bill 303 would appropriate up to $250,000 for grants to cities, counties and planning and development districts, while Senate Bill 353 would set aside $250,000 for capital improvement projects and $250,000 for health related facilities and hospital projects.

NEW BILLS
A state employee could receive paid maternity for up to six weeks under a bill filed Monday. Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, filed House Bill 1426, which would allow a full-time employee who has worked for the state for more than a year to receive the benefit.

The benefit would be awarded to employees who work for a state agency, as well as the “General Assembly, Bureau of Legislative Research, Division of Legislative Audit, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals or a state constitutional officer.”

Under the bill, the person must also apply for the benefit in writing.

“An employee who is granted maternity leave under this section shall be paid his or her salary in an amount up to $500 each week for six consecutive weeks of maternity leave,” the bill reads. “If paid maternity leave is granted to an employee under this section, the employee shall use the paid maternity leave before the employee uses the following – unpaid maternity leave, earned sick leave, earned annual leave, earned compensatory leave, catastrophic leave and leave without pay.”

However, an employee eligible for leave may choose not to use it and may use other leave that the person is eligible for, Tucker’s bill noted.

A pair of bills involving the state’s concealed carry law were also filed Monday. Sen. Jimmy Hickey Jr., R-Texarkana, filed Senate Bill 492. The bill would allow a concealed carry permit holder to keep a handgun in a locked private vehicle in their employer’s parking lot. The bill would amend current state law on the issue.

“A private employer shall not prohibit any employee who is a licensee from possessing any legally owned handgun when the handgun is (1) lawfully possessed; (2) is locked inside a private motor vehicle in the private employer’s parking lot; (3) is locked inside a personal handgun storage container that is designed for the safe storage of a handgun; and the employee has in his or her possession the key to the personal handgun storage container as required by … law, if the personal handgun storage container requires a key,” Hickey’s bill noted.

Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, D-Warren, also filed House Bill 1432, a one-page bill that would repeal state law against a person carrying a concealed handgun into a polling place.

None of the bills have been sent to a committee as of Monday.