A confusion in the vote~ SB183

There has been a brouhaha in the last 24 hrs over the Arkansas Senates' passage of SB183. 
This bill if passed into law with will double fees for car titles, for all Arkansans, to help increase funding for the Arkansas State Police retirement system. 

Here's a story in the Washington Examiner that explains in a little more detail...here

The bill passed the Senate 27-7.  I was surprised at some of the folks who appeared on the "YEA" list, the likes of Senators Cecile Bledsoe and Johnathan Dismang.  


I called Senator Bledsoe and asked why she voted for this increase in fees, she said there was a mistake in the roll call and she should have been marked as a no vote. As a matter of fact she filed this letter with the Secretary of the Senate office yesterday afternoon: 

February 8, 2011

Ms. Ann Cornwell, Director

Secretary of the Senate

State Capitol, Room 320

Little Rock, AR 72201

Dear Ms. Cornwell,

During session on Tuesday, February 08, 2011, Senate Bill No. 183 was brought up for 3^rd reading and vote.  I was recorded as voting for this bill but I should have been recorded as voting NO on this piece of legislation.  Please file this letter in the Senate Journal along with the roll call that was taken on Senate Bill No. 183.

Thank you,

Senator Cecile Bledsoe

District 8

I also talked to  Sen. Johnathan Dismang who was not on the Senate floor when the vote was taken, he should have been listed as a "not present" (a no vote). He has also filed a letter with the Secretary of the Senate.


Another great reason why citizens should be informed and engaged. 


UPDATE:
 this bill was pulled off the table in the House, here's the tweet: 


AFPArkansas9:50am via web

Rep Carnine pulls SB183 (the bill that would increase vehicle title fees) off the calendar! #ARLeg #AFPAR#AFPhq #afeeisatax

Morning Roll Call~ News You Need to Know

You ever had one of those days that you look up and it is 9:00 at night and you are not sure how you got there? That was yesterday for me.

There were some significant things that happened yesterday. For instance Governor Beebe signed into law 7 new bills. If I am not mistaken that is 15 new laws in the first month, and I am told it gets worse from here. There are now over 610 bills that have been filed for lawmakers to consider.


Here is today's schedule http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2011/2011R/Pages/Home.aspx. There three of the committee meetings you can watch live this morning at 10. Just go to http://www.arkansashouse.org/ and on the right hand side you will see the specific meeting listed and a link to live stream.






Windows Open to Unions? 

Along with HB1013 here are some bills to watch that look like they may be back doors for EFCA "union" bills~ 

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2011/2011R/Bills/HB1324.pdf

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2011/2011R/Pages/BillInformation.aspx?measureno=hb1325

From AP~ Ark. panel backs title fee hike for police pension

AR State Wire
ANDREW DeMILLO
Published: Yesterday
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Car buyers in Arkansas would have to pay twice as much in title and title application fees under a proposal advanced Monday by a legislative committee that is aimed at helping shore up the struggling Arkansas State Police pension system.

The Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs recommended passage of the proposal by Sen. Michael Lamoureux to double title and duplicate title fees from $1 to $2. The measure would also raise title application fees from $4 to $8. (Read more...)

From Talk Business~ 

7-6-5-4 AND COUNTING

Congressional redistricting looks to soon accelerate in the Arkansas legislature for a couple of reasons, and in the process, a number of interesting developments will unfold.

First, U.S. Census Bureau statistics detailing local level census data is expected to be delivered to state officials as early as Feb. 11 instead of Feb. 22 as previously reported. (Read more...)

Open Carry- Gun legislation heads before Ark. lawmakers

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Billboards here beckon people to gun shows and political candidates vie for the affection of the National Rifle Association like cheerleaders trying to impress a high school quarterback.

Yet, in Arkansas, where firearms are hardly foreign, a proposal to air gun culture out in the open is facing blowback from some lawmakers, police and even Gov. Mike Beebe, who scored the NRA's blessing. (Read more...)

     

             FEED

ademillo7:33am via web

Today is also last day for legislators to file constitutional amendments. Expect to see some "shell" bills filed to be updated later. #ARLeg

RobyBrockFeb 06, 12:49pm via web

#ARLeg ICYMI How have Ark. Cong. Districts evolved over the last 70 yrs & what's on tap? Inc. video map of changes. http://bit.ly/hS4RoD

ademilloFeb 07, 7:09am via web

AP's @jeannienuss looks at the open carry legislation coming before the #ARLeg this week.http://tinyurl.com/4thfcgb

FamilyCouncilFeb 07, 9:19am via web

A Connection Between Gov. Beebe & the "Poison Pill" Amendment? http://tinyurl.com/4j3r8et#ARLeg (h/t @TolberReport for news tip)

TolbertReportFeb 07, 1:47pm via web

"Ethics bill" passes 96 to 2 - not sure who voted against #HB1284 #ARLeg

TolbertReportFeb 07, 1:49pm via web

Two no votes on "ethics bill" were Reps. Cowling (D) and King (R) - both term limited legislators who object to being "grandfathered" #ARLeg

DavidMeeksFeb 07, 2:04pm via TweetDeck

HB 1013 passes 54-39-2. #arleg

DavidMeeksFeb 07, 2:09pm via TweetDeck

HB1278 passes 96-0. Its regarding sex offender verification, email addresses, and internet identities. #arleg

DavidMeeksFeb 07, 2:09pm via TweetDeck

HB1278 passes 96-0. Its regarding sex offender verification, email addresses, and internet identities. #arleg

A Matter of Correction~ But the Plot Thickens

Yesterday in my post Has Arkansas Been "Kucinich'd"? I said that Arkansas Insurance Commissioner, Jay Bradford made an appearance, when in fact it was not him it was John Morris from that office. My apologizes.

Remember me mentioning that "informal survey" presented at the committee meeting, seems as though my Spidey senses were attuned to the survey shenanigans. Turns out that it was not only informal but pertnear non-existent. Jason Tolbert, of the Tolbert Report, called the Commissioners office and FOIA'd (read post here) the survey. But what to his wandering eyes should appear but a miniature survey and an embarrassed Commissionier, (sorry the snow has me back in Christmas mode.)

The survey was only returned by one insurance company, QualChoice, and here is the response as posted on Tolberts blog: 

QualChoice, the only respondant in this survey, sent a copy of its policy on abortion coverage attached to an email. In the email, a representative of QualChoice said that they do not provide coverage for elective abortion but do “provide coverage for an abortion in the event of rape or incest as long as documented by a police report.”

Jason also found out the the Commissioner himself, Jay Bradford, will be giving a "presentation to the House Public Health Committee on the health insurance exchanges this coming Tuesday." Awww the plot thickens... 

The point of all of this is even if there had been 400 companies answer the survey it has nothing to do with SB113. This bill addresses and takes advantage of the "opt out clause" of the new government healthcare plan and has nothing to do with private insurances.

I'm sure there will be more updates to this next week~ 

Roll Call~

PICTURE OF THE DAY!

FROM MY FRIEND TERESA OELKE
Excessive gov. spending is a lot like excessive drinking. Except we all share the hangover
I like my gov spending how I like my beer: cheap

Jobless Story


Today the National unemployment numbers came out and the number feel from 9.4% in December to 9.0% for January with 36,000 jobs having been created. But the story is a little different here in Arkansas. Talk Business reported that unemployment rates are rising in 75% of Arkansas Metro Areas (read more...)

Numbers Coming Out

Redistricting is a hot issue this year and will be tackled soon by our legislators. The US Census Bureau sent out a press release Wednesday, Census Bureau to Release Local 2010 Census Data for Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa and Maryland, saying our state numbers will be out next week. 

Let the gerrymandering  begin 

               FEED

TolbertReportFeb 03, 4:26pm via web

Power grab alert - Rep. Hall files HJR1002 to create special prosecutors that report directly to#ARLeg - http://bit.ly/eFk6ZN

ProgressiveARFeb 03, 3:56pm via web

Cliff Notes on yesterday's #ARLeg: Immigration, ethics, cell phones, & more. http://bit.ly/gzELl0

AFPArkansas

9:48am via web

Talk Business: #Unemployment Rates Rising in 75% of State Metro Areas http://bit.ly/ecoLZe#ARLeg #AFPAR #AFPhq

ProgressiveAR9:39am via TweetDeck

Going deeper into the 'ethics' bill, herbal snuff, start of school. Analysis from @ArkansasSenate:http://bit.ly/gbUet8 #ARLeg

RobyBrock9:16am via web

FYI - An #ARLeg prison reform primer. Where does the debate stand today? http://bit.ly/fz1V5G

aymond9:05am via HootSuite

RT @ARGOP: ICYMI: The "The Arkansas Financial Transparency Act" filed Thursday would track state spending online http://ow.ly/3PWJN #arleg#argop

ArkansasOnline10:17am via twitterfeed

Government in new dispute with tobacco companies: The Justice Department is in a new dispute with the tobacco in... http://bit.ly/hQJ1xj

RobyBrock7:00am via web

Tyson Foods profits nearly double in Q1 report.http://www.talkbusiness.net/article/TYSON-EARNINGS-RISE-85-/1459/

AFPArkansas9:12am via TweetDeck

Excessive gov. spending is a lot lk excessive drinking. Except we all share the hangoverhttp://yfrog.com/gyoytapj

AFPArkansas

9:13am via TweetDeck

I like my gov spending how I like my beer: cheap.http://bit.ly/d92aF7 #tcot #AFPAR

PAGING SENATOR DAVID JOHNSON~WHERE ARE YOU?

(This was originally posted to the American Majority Blog page)

Kudos to Senator David Johnson (D, Little Rock) who received ZERO dollars in per diem, mileage and expense money for 2010, according to an admirable enterprise story by Michael Wickline in Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Going back to 2009, during a regular session as is 2011’s session, Mr. Johnson received only $1081.

I recognize Mr. Johnson is at an advantage over the majority of Arkansas legislators because he lives in Little Rock. Yet so does Senator Joyce Elliott who in 2010 received $25,979 in expenses along with Representatives Greenberg ($31,826), Allen ($31,332), Webb ($29,754), Adcock($28,2 00), D. Williams ($27,976), J. Edwards ($26,500) and A. Kerr($24,600). These 8 legislators alone were reimbursed tens of thousands of dollars, all in addition to their regular salaries of $15,869.

The closest example to Mr. Johnson’s fiscal restraint in 2009 was Representative James Word, (D-Pine Bluff) who received $24,600. And the totals soar from there, reaching a maximum collected of $60,092 by Senator Jimmy Jeffress (D,Crossett, appoximately 150 miles from the Capitol)…YES~I just wrote 60 thousand dollars in expenses reimbursements. This year, Sen. Jeffress cut back a bit after receiving some backlash over his steep expenses during 2009, and only collected $52,427.

We should give Rep. Nate Steel recognition, too, because in 2010 he only received $3,833, and he lives in Nashville, which is some 150 miles from the Capitol. Third runner-up for most fiscally responsible legislator is Rep. Steve Cole (D-Lockesburg) who rang in at $13,647 for 2010 (much less than his figure in 2009 of $35,468). Lockesburg is also right around 150 miles from the capitol.

Wonder why there is such a HUGE discrepancy in the amount of money reimbursed for basically the same travel? I understand that different legislators are on different committees and have different responsibilities but a $60,000.00 annual difference is a pretty big difference…

Wickline’s article points out that the first time an Arkansas legislator collected more than $50,000 in a single year was in 2007. Since then: In 2008 four lawmakers collected in excess of $50 thousand and in 2009 a whopping TWENTY legislators joined the crowd. The word obviously got around.

Those in the Top 20 during 2009 and what they collected from taxpayers for expenses (again, not including their salaries)

Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett $60,092
Rep. Bill Abernathy, D-Mena $56,592
Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro $56,366
Rep. Mark Martin, R-Prairie Grove $56,290
Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne $54,892
Rep. Buddy Lovell, D-Marked Tree $53,998
Sen. Gene Jeffress, D-Louann $53,949
Rep. Billy Gaskill, D-Paragould $53,524
Rep. Mike Patterson, D-Piggott $52,588
Rep. Monty Davenport, D-Yellville $52,047
Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale $51,949
Rep. Gregg Reep, D-Warren $51,898
Rep. Tommy Baker, D-Osceola $51,641
Rep. Curren Everett, D-Salem $51,492
Rep. George Overbey, D-Lamar $51,452
Rep. Nathan George, D-Dardanelle $50,860
Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City $50,603
Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette $50,522
Sen. Steve Bryles, D-Blytheville $50,442
Rep. Allen Maxwell, D-Monticello $50,087

And then there were 8 lawmakers collecting over 50 thousand dollars in 2010:

Sen Laverty, D-Jasper $59,745
Rep. Kidd, D-Jonesboro $54,064
Sen. J Jeffress, D-Crossett $52,427
Rep. T. Baker, D-Osceola $52,199
Rep. Gaskill, D- Paragould $52,100
Rep. Patterson, D-Piggott $51,814
Rep. Woods, R- Springdale $51,467
Rep. Davenport, D-Yellville $51,186

Senator Laverty was the only one of the 2010 big expense collectors not to also reach the $50K mark in 2009, although he was just shy at $43,966.
These numbers are stunning to me, especially since I spent 2010 continuously traveling Arkansas from corner to corner and back again. Kerry Baldwin and I held 41 trainings, over a dozen events and a handful of speaking engagements from Texarkana to Mt. Home to Jonesboro and over to Fort Smith.

I traveled over 100 days and sometimes hit four cities encompassing 400 miles over a two-day period and never submitted a travel reimbursement voucher for more than $1000 in any single month.

It’s my understanding that legislators who live within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a flat fee” per diem of somewhere between $2,000 to $2,200, never having to even fill out an expense report. Those living more than 50 miles away receive $.51 per mile, round trip, and $149 a day per diem, with no expense report required.

As a business owner, I can’t turn those kinds of records into the IRS. Could you? I mean, can we talk some common sense here? And as a person who works for an organization that reimburses my proven travel expenses, I have to turn in a detailed expense report every two weeks with receipts attached. That’s if I expect to receive reimbursement. So someone tell me why should our public servants be any different?

Today (Jan 31, 2011), and not a moment too soon, Arkansas legislators introduced SB194. A bipartisan “Ethics Bill”. Please read this bill (it’s only 2 pages) and let me know if you think this will alleviate the obvious problem of paid officials continually soaking the taxpayers?

In 2010 $4.7 million was paid to 135 part-time legislators, most of whom have other vocations outside of their public service. I don’t think there’s a constituent in our state that would expect or want our law makers to absorb personal costs for officially tending to the affairs of our State. Yet I believe – and am convinced- that the sizes of these “expense” numbers as reported by Mr. Wickline are questionable.

I’d also encourage each of you to contact legislators in your area and make a habit of regularly submitting FOIA requests for their expense records. Show them you care and are watching our business as closely as any newspaper reporter. Itemized accountability has a way of curbing anyone’s desire to “inflate” numbers in the private or public sector.

Roll Call

Promise of Transparency on it's Way
Kudos to Sen. Jonathan Dismang, (R-Beebe), who today  filed Senate Bill 221 titled “The Arkansas Financial Transparency Act. Rep. James McLean, D-Batesville, is a co-sponsor.


Dismang filed the bill for Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, who campaigned last year on a pledge to put all state spending online for the public to view. 






Lt. Gov. Darr released this statement today:

"I am pleased that The Arkansas Financial Transparency Act has been filed. I believe it is a solid piece of legislation that will greatly enhance transparency in government for the citizens of Arkansas.

"I am glad that this bill has bipartisan support. I want to personally thank Senator Jonathan Dismang for being the lead sponsor of this bill in the Senate. I also want to thank Representative James McLean for being the lead sponsor in the House. 

"The taxpayers have a right to know how and where their money is being spent and I believe this bill represents a strong step toward providing that for the people of Arkansas."

From Talk Business~


REVENUE REPORT SHOWS POSITIVES, BUT WARNINGS STILL ABOUND 
Boosted by growth in personal income taxes, Arkansas January revenue report continued to show marginal improvements for collections despite setbacks in consumer spending and corporate taxes.

Seven months into the state's fiscal year, year-to-date net available general revenues topped $2.72 billion, up 1.4% from last year and 0.3% above forecast. For the year, individual income taxes and gross receipts are boosting the improved numbers. (Read more...)




From Tolbert Report~  


Speaker Moore Admits Public Desires Tougher Ethics


House Speaker Robert Moore presented HB 1284 – the “ethics bill” – this afternoon to the House Rules Committee where it passed with no objections. Moore discussed the provision of the bill and the process of the bipartisan working group that led to its passage but he did admit that the public would like to see the bill go further. (Read more...)

  

        FEED

TolbertReportFeb 02, 7:10pm via web

Barnett (R-Siloam Springs) files HJR1001 - shell bill for a prop const amend to "raise revenues" for highways - http://bit.ly/h1jxWV #ARLeg

DuncanBairdFeb 02, 2:00pm via web

The House just passed HB1009 by Rep. Woods, which will strengthen the laws regarding identification of sex offenders who move to Arkansas.

DuncanBairdFeb 02, 2:08pm via web

Earlier today the House Rules committee passed the legislative ethics bill, which I am co-sponsoring. HB1284: http://bit.ly/fG78F7

DuncanBairdFeb 02, 6:24pm via web

An Amendment (SJR3) was filed today to "require the General Assembly to pass a balanced budget" each fiscal year: http://bit.ly/e5Cz7A

dismang2:57pm via web

Proud to have filed SB221 today - Lt. Governor Darr's "AR Financial Transparency Act"http://tinyurl.com/4nw5mwz

RobyBrock

1:48pm via Web

2 steps backward, 1 step forward: Unemployment rates rise in 6 of 8 metro areas in Ark. as year ends. 2010 analysis: http://bit.ly/fyvDDu

TolbertReport4:26pm via Web

Power grab alert - Rep. Hall files HJR1002 to create special prosecutors that report directly to#ARLeg - http://bit.ly/eFk6ZN