Bills making their way through legislature

Bills making their way through legislature

Lawmakers considering slate of proposals

ralphhardin@gmail.com With hundreds of bills already filed, the General Assembly is in full swing, tackling a number of proposed changes to Arkansas law. Here are a few that have been formally introduced on the House or Senate floor.

• HB 1002 — Sponsored by Rep. Dan Douglas (R) — Requires out-of-state sellers to collect and remit Arkansas sales tax when their gross revenue derived from sales that are subject to the tax exceeds $100,000. The bill was prefiled back on Nov. 15. It has been introduced and referred to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

• HB 1004 — Sponsored by Rep. Charles Blake (D) — Creates the Voter Integrity and Security Act, requiring automatic voter registration and establishing systems of outreach and voter education; amends Arkansas Constitution Amendment 51 and prohibits voter intimidation.

The bill was pre-filed on Nov. 16. It has been introduced and referred to the House State Agencies Committee.

• HB 1005 — Sponsored by Rep. Andy Davis (R) — Clarifies the application of sales and use taxes on candy and soft drinks requiring the Director of the Department of Finance and Administration to either provide relevant product definitions or provide exemptions to sellers.

The bill was pre-filed on Nov. 21. It has been introduced and referred to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

• HB 1024 — Sponsored by Rep. Johnny Rye (R) — Reallocates tax revenues collected on the sales of new and used motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers, providing that the first $150,000,000 be distributed under the Arkansas Highway Distribution Law, remainder to be deposited in State Treasury. The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 6. It has been introduced and referred to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

• HB 1025 — Sponsored by Rep. Johnny Rye (R) — Amends the law regarding the number of voting centers for city council elections in cities of the second class by striking provisions that each ward have at least one voting precinct and that each city have one place only for holding elections.

The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 6. It has been introduced and referred to the House City, County and Local Affairs Committee.

• HB 1027 — Sponsored by Rep. Johnny Rye (R) — Requires an insurer writing motor vehicle insurance to provide liability coverage on any rental car reimbursement until the insured person’s damaged vehicle is repaired. The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 6. It has been introduced and referred to the House Insurance and Commerce Committee.

• HB 1028 — Sponsored by Rep. Johnny Rye (R) — Creates a private cause of action against public social media websites that delete religious or political speech, with a minimum of $75,000 in damages per instance of censorship. Prohibits websites from using the actual speech as a defense at trial. The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 6. It was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. On Jan. 15, it was withdrawn from further consideration.

• HB 1029 — Sponsored by Rep. Johnny Rye (R) — Creates a Class D felony for the removal or alteration of historical and military monuments on public property without first obtaining a waiver from the Arkansas History Commission. The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 6. It was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

• HB 1033 — Sponsored by Rep. Johnny Rye (R) — Permits the use of city jails to incarcerate persons sentenced to state or county confinement when the Governor declares a state of emergency or if state or regional correctional facilities or county jails are unavailable. The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 13. It was introduced and referred to the House City, County and Local Affairs Committee.

• HB 1041 — Co-sponsored by Rep. Jack Ladyman and Rep. Lance Eads — Raises the threshold for requiring municipalities to invite competitive bidding for projects from $20,000 to $50,000 and provides that a governing body can waive the requirement by resolution in exceptional situations. The bill was prefiled on Dec. 19. It was introduced and referred to the House City, County and Local Affairs Committee

• HB 1073 — Sponsored by Rep. Brandt Smith — Authorizes the issuance of certificates of title for former military vehicles that meet safety and equipment standards required by law and satisfy application requirements of the issuing office. The bill was prefiled on Dec. 21. It was introduced and referred to the House Public Transportation Committee.

• HB 1104 — Sponsored by Rep. Mark Lowery — Reschedules the date on which runoff general elections will be held from four weeks following the date of the general election to three weeks following the date of the general election. The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 21. It was introduced and referred to the House City, County and Local Affairs Committee. On Jan.

17, the bill was withdrawn from further consideration.

By Ralph Hardin