How this Report Works:
Conduit will publish our weekly Legislative Report highlighting upcoming bills which affect the economic freedom of all Arkansans.
Similar to 2019, these bills will be considered for inclusion in the annual Conduit for Commerce, Inc. (CFC) Legislative Scorecard published after the Session. This scorecard reviews the Session votes of all 135 legislators. As in prior years, Conduit uses its flag-ship Economic Freedom Filter to determine which bills are appropriate for scoring and whether votes cast are “correct” or “incorrect.”
Each week this Legislative Report will be released to the public and sent individually to all 135 state legislators. It will include new bills and updates on previously reported bills. It is intended as a tool for a better understanding of a bill–what it does, its historical context, its real-world impact, as well as any carefully crafted language used to confuse.
If a legislator reviews these weekly reports before voting, they will learn our analysis and position on these economic bills and whether it: (1) Grows or shrinks government; (2) Increases or decreases dependency on government; and/or (3) Spends money the state does not have. Conduit will also evaluate bills that support or diminish government transparency.
Starting in 2020, “Present” or “Not Voting” votes cast by a legislator may be scored by CFC as an incorrect vote. (This will also be the position of the nation organization, Club for Growth [i], for its 2020 state scorecard.) We strongly encourage legislators to take all opportunities to cast a “yes” or a “no” vote and resist the weaker “less colleague-contentious path” of voting “Present’ or “Not Voting.”
Week 2 Summary of CFA Bill Analysis (see Details below):
OPPOSE
HB1139 – FOIA Exemption for Funeral Home Investigations – OPPOSE
SB132 – Corporate Welfare Appropriation of $75 Million – OPPOSE
SUPPORT
HB1112 – Voter Integrity in Provisional Ballots – SUPPORT
HB1157 – Increased Deduction for Teacher Expenses – SUPPORT
HB1160 – Sales Tax Exemption for Used Cars Increased – SUPPORT
HB1189 – No Special Interest Pay for Government Workers – SUPPORT
HB1190 – Cost of Living Adjustments for Standard Deduction – SUPPORT
HB1191 – Increase of Standard Deduction – SUPPORT
HB1198 – Amending Supervision Requirements for Nurse Anesthetists – SUPPORT
SB117 – Hybrid Car $100 Fee Removed – SUPPORT
Bill Details:
HB1112 – Voter Integrity in Provisional Ballots – SUPPORT
By: Rep. Mark Lowery (R – Maumelle)
This bill addresses election integrity in provisional balloting. In several places in the Arkansas code a provisional ballot is allowed to be cast and counted simply by a person swearing, under penalty of perjury, that they are in fact a legal voter. Someone can simply lie and still be able to illegally vote without there being an investigation into each and every individual provisional ballot voter. It is also a way to get around voter ID laws which otherwise require a person to show ID to vote. The change would also remove the requirement that people be notified of the option to cast a provisional ballot. This bill would improve voter election integrity, reduce voter suppression, and ensure that only legal votes are cast and counted. It is a fundamental function of government to ensure we have fair elections and this bill works towards that.
HB1139 – FOIA Exemption for Funeral Home Investigations – OPPOSE
By: Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R – Horatio)
This bill would provide an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act materials and working papers related to an investigation, audit, or inspection into a funeral home that are in the possession of a state actor. FOIA exemptions are generally never good ideas as it means less transparency and information available to the public. Conduit consistently opposes exemptions to the FOIA law.
HB1157 – Increased Deduction for Teacher Expenses – SUPPORT
By: Rep. David Tollet (R – Lexa)
This bill would increase the tax deduction for teachers who spend their own money for their classrooms/students. It would double the deduction from $250 to $500. This is important to support the teachers, would reduce the revenue flowing to the state, and provide additional support to teachers who are also having to change routines due to COVID19. This is a way to support teachers without raising taxes or spending money we do not have.
HB1160 – Sales Tax Exemption for Used Cars Increased – SUPPORT
By: Rep. John Payton (R – Wilburn)
This bill would remove the sales tax for used vehicles purchased for less than $7,500 first then for used vehicles less than $10,000 after two years. Most Arkansas workers commute to work by private vehicle. With the current used cars sales tax, Arkansans are being subjected to double taxation. Currently any used cars over $4,000 are subject to the state’s 6.5 percent sales tax, in addition to local sales taxes. Low-income workers, in particular, may be able to finance a used vehicle but unable to pay up front significant (often unexpected) sales taxes. Arkansas already charges sales tax on new vehicles, so used vehicles that get resold—or resold multiple times—are being taxed repeatedly. This bill reduces double taxation and provides more economic freedom for Arkansans to buy a used vehicle; get to work, school, church; and boosts the local economy.
HB1189 – No Special Interest Pay for Government Workers – SUPPORT
By: Rep. Frances Cavenaugh (R – Walnut Ridge)
This bill would prohibit cabinet level secretaries from accepting pay from private entities and other government entities and only receive pay from their actual employer – the state of Arkansas. This bill is likely targeted specifically towards the “Mike Preston Situation” where the Arkansas Secretary of Commerce is paid an annual bonus exceeding $50,000 by a private nonprofit organization to supplement his $182,000 per year annual state salary. Where this money comes from no one truly knows. Are these special interests’ groups who make this bonus payment? Maybe the Chinese Communist Party is finding ways to funnel cash to Preston in return for steering Arkansas taxpayer money and tax breaks for Chinese companies? The fact that the bonus is paid by a private organization, seals it from the Freedom of Information Act. This is a good bill that would provide transparency and accountability in our government knowing that the Secretary of Commerce is answerable to the Governor, Legislature, and the people, and not to an unknown group paying him a bonus. As it applies to all department level secretaries, it will prevent more Mike Preston situations moving forward.
HB1190 – Cost of Living Adjustments for Standard Deduction – SUPPORT
By: Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle)
This bill would increase the standard deduction taxpayers can take each year on their personal state income tax return by adding a cost-of-living increase to raise the standard deduction. This would prevent a stealth tax increase as inflation and the increase in the cost of living cause more money to go to the government when the value of the standard deduction decreases by staying stagnant. The bill will mean more money in people’s pockets as things get more expensive.
HB1191 – Increase of Standard Deduction – SUPPORT
By: Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle)
This bill would increase the standard deduction for income tax filers from $2,200 to $4,400 beginning with the 2021 tax year. This increase will mean more money in the pockets of Arkansans and less flowing to government. This is an effective tax cut for all Arkansans (rich and poor) rather than something like an EITC welfare scheme.
HB1198 – Amending Supervision Requirements for Nurse Anesthetists – SUPPORT
This bill would shift “supervision” requirements to “consultation” requirements for nurse anesthetists. CRNA’s in Arkansas are registered nurses with a master’s degree, and soon doctorate degrees, who administer and oversee anesthesia during surgeries, in delivery rooms, at critical access hospitals, dentist offices, and U.S. military and veterans’ affairs facilities. Current Arkansas law requires a CRNA to practice under the supervision of a licensed physician. Practically, many CRNA’s work autonomously in coordination with a physician. Many rural or smaller healthcare providers may be unable to hire more expensive anesthesiologists but could hire a CRNA. According to the Research Triangle Institute, there is a 0% difference in safety between CRNAs and anesthesiologists and the Institute for Medicine reports that anesthesia is 50 times safer today than in the 1980s. CRNA services provide a cost-effective alternative while maintaining quality of care. The rigid supervision requirement prevents flexibility for CRNA’s to provide critical healthcare services for patients, especially in poor and rural areas. In 2001, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services changed federal physician supervision rules for CRNAs to allow opt-outs with 17 states so far choosing to do so. This bill would correctly change supervision requirements to consultation requirements to maintain patient safety while ensuring CRNA’s can practice to the full scope of their education and training.
SB132 – Corporate Welfare Appropriation of $75 Million – OPPOSE
By: Joint Budget Committee
Section 19 of the appropriation bill for the Department of Commerce includes a $75 million appropriation for the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund. This fund continues to operate with little to show for the huge investments of taxpayer money. The fund allows the Governor to dole out taxpayer “grants” to the businesses he chooses for purposes that can be nearly anything. It is estimated there have been zero jobs created from this funded while over $185 million has been appropriated to the fund.
SB117 – Hybrid Car $100 Fee Removed – SUPPORT
By: Sen. Mark Johnson (R – Little Rock)
Previously the state legislature, as a way to increase revenue for roads, created a new $100 annual fee that hybrid vehicle owners must pay. Electric vehicle owners pay $200 per year. While electric vehicles do not pay gas taxes (which go to support the roads), hybrid vehicles do. Therefore this $100 fee is a form of double taxation. This bill removes that double taxation, keeping more money in the pocketbooks of Arkansans who own hybrid vehicles.
