|
Notes from the Hill
Notes from the Hill - March 17, 2010
2010 Fiscal Session
"A penny saved is a penny earned." - Benjamin Franklin
The 87th Arkansas General Assembly has officially adjourned the first-ever fiscal session of the Arkansas legislature. Short work was made of this first Fiscal Session. They arrived on February 8th and left on February 25th, , 18 days in all. When you add in snow storms and minus meetings on Fridays, that leaves 8-9 days of actual work.
By virtually all accounts, the session went very smoothly. True to indication from leadership, the legislators kept to budget issues. That’s not to say that they didn’t try to include some non-budgetary items along with a little tom foolery in the Special Language Committee. Suffice to say, Governor Beebe and his Chief-of-Staff, Morril Harriman, kept the Assembly on track adjusting the budget once again, downward (this after trimming agency budgets $100 million in October) to account for the additional $106 million revenue short fall in early February. Legislators chose not to override a veto by Governor Beebe of a spending measure that would have taken $1.6 million from the Central Services Fund to pay for redistricting costs.
The next big hurdle for the state budget lies in the months ahead. The new Medicaid Director at DHS, Gene Gessow, has yet to produce his budget recommendations for the $100 million that must be cut from the Medicaid budget. This reduction really amounts to cutting the growth in Medicaid over the next year (which translates into $400 million with the 3 to 1 match). The howls of pain and gnashing of teeth have already begun over these pending cuts and you can expect them to increase throughout the spring and summer.
In summary, a balanced budget was enacted for general revenue of $4.48 billion for FY 2011. This is pretty flat growth from this fiscal year. Upon the official falling of the final gavel, Rep. Robert Moore (D-Arkansas City) was elected to serve as the next Speaker of the House. He will assume the duties at the beginning of the 88th General Assembly next January.
Now that the first budget session has concluded several observations come to mind. First, it appears to be beneficial to meet in an annual session to adjust the budget, particularly in a weak economy. Second, there is far less dissension and in fighting when there is no money to fight over (excluding GIF of course). Third, in an election year you can be sure that the legislators won’t dawdle long at the Capitol when demands of campaigning beckon. Finally, one is heartened to have Mike Beebe, et al, at the helm at a time when real, unflinching leadership is required.
Notes from the Hill - Fall 2009
It appears that the great recession of ’08-09 has finally reached the Arkansas economy. Just when it seemed that Arkansas would skirt the edges of the economic storm with only slight fiscal discomfort tax revenues fell. In early October it was announced that gross general revenues in September dropped by $76.5 million from the same month last year. This revenue decrease was the largest one month drop for the last 20 years. Budget Co-Chair, Representative Bruce Maloch, noted that there is likely more to come. In his unscientific research Maloch estimated that this downturn, except for a quarter or two in early 2000, is the first time in close to 40 years that the state economy has not expanded.
Governor Beebe moved to address the revenue loss by cutting the state’s budget by a little over $100 million. When one considers that 80-plus percent of our state budget is consumed by education, Department of Human Services and prisons it’s pretty clear where the cuts will come. Bear in mind that education, because of its constitutional mandate, cannot be cut. Already, it has been announced from the Department of Corrections that the new prison beds in Malvern will not be staffed until a later date. State Budget Director Michael Stormes has indicated that most state agencies are creating savings by not filling vacant positions and marginal reductions in operating expenses and travel. Director Stormes “[has] not seen any layoffs at all and don’t expect any.”
The lottery, whether you love it or hate it, has reached it stride. In its’ first five weeks, the lottery sold $48 million tickets and paid out $30 million in prizes. The lottery director, Ernie Passailaigue, projects that the lottery will generate $400 million in sales in the year ending September 27, 2010 which translates into roughly $102 million for college scholarships.
While our national leaders have dithered over health care and executive bonuses our state-wide legislators have been busy trying to raise money, gearing up for an election that is still over a year away. It’s never too early to begin raising money the reasoning goes….although I’m not sure lobbyists are buying into that philosophy. To assure full parity between challengers and incumbents the House recently changed its’ rules to allow fund raising right up to the beginning of a session and starting immediately after the session ends. You might recall that the old rules prohibit fund raising 30 days before, during and 30 days after a session. The Senate, in their typical fashion, has not weighed in on the issue. In other rule making efforts the House was unsuccessful in requiring all members to use the cheapest, most economical mode of transportation for reimbursement while on their travels. It seems like this looming and first ever budget session has spurred our seasonally dormant legislators to new heights of activity.
Gov. Mike Beebe has made it clear that legislators should stick to budget matters for the session. “It’s what the voters passed, and as the first session of its kind, it will set the precedent for future fiscal sessions, so it would be wise to adhere to the original intent,” said Matt DeCample, Beebe’s spokesman. Lottery legislation is one nonfiscal matter that the governor would consider, DeCample said.
The Joint Budget Committee’s budget hearings before the fiscal session are to begin on Jan. 12 and end on Jan. 29. The period for filing appropriation bills and resolutions for the Legislature to authorize the introduction of non-appropriation bills begins on Jan. 11. Massanelli said a joint resolution will likely be proposed for the Legislature to recess on the 24th day of the session, which would be March 3. If the governor vetoed any bills, the Legislature could return and vote on overriding them before adjournment on the 45th day, which would be March 24.
What will legislators who aren’t involved in budget issues do? Legislative leaders said they would like lawmakers not on the Joint Budget Committee to attend that committee’s meetings anyway. Wills said House committees could work on interim studies of possible future legislation.
House Speaker Wills said House leaders have proposed that the Joint Budget Committee meet five days a week, and the House plans to meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the fiscal session. Sen. Faris said Senate leaders haven’t yet decided what days the Senate will meet during the fiscal session nor whether the Joint Budget Committee will meet five days a week.
“We think most of the battles, if there are any, will be in the budget hearings and the process across the floor will just be rhythmic and methodical,” said House Parliamentarian Tim Massanelli. “It is brand-new for all of us, so we are just out there kind of groping in the dark.”
Besides fund raising most of our state leaders are fussing over football, deer and ducks. I suspect by the time December rolls around the House and Senate will begin in earnest to figure out where the budget adjustments (read cuts) will be made and whose ox (read constituents) will be gored. I expect to see a line of Legislators forming outside the Governor’s office some time in late 2009 and early 2010 to lobby Governor Beebe to keep his budget knife off their pet pork. The good legislators have already started reaching out to the Governor.
Notes from the Hill - April 3, 2009
“A government with the policy to rob Peter to pay Paul can be assured of the support of Paul.” George Bernard Shaw.
The final days of any legislative session are similar and marked by many of the same issues. Tempers are short and committee meetings are long; bills that have lingered in committee, by coincidence or design, are being heard and voted or removed from the schedule altogether; a number of bills are placed into interim study; the House sessions run longer and the Senate is meeting on Fridays for the first time in the session; everybody, legislators, staff and lobbyists, are exhausted and running on fumes; and wherever you turn one senses a steely determination by all involved to get this thing concluded.
APA along with the Pharmacy and Medical Boards as well as the Medical Society has been working to clarify scope of practice for acupuncturists. SB 402 by Percy Malone declares acupunctures do not have the right to prescribe legend drugs or designate themselves as DOM (Doctor of Oriental Medicine). This heated debate lasted until near 7 P.M. Monday evening in the Senate. SB 402 passed the Senate and continued to pass out of House Public Health Thursday afternoon. It is expected to easily pass the House floor next Monday.
At the start of the week, legislators began to bear down on some of the final pieces of the legislative puzzle. Joint State Agencies Committee began the final culling of their 3 allowed constitutional amendments. It looks like the SJR3, by Senator Farris, to assure the constitutional right to hunt, fish, trap and harvest wildlife, will be one of them. Most Arkansans consider the right to hunt as a God given right. Frankly anyone stupid enough to try to take that right away in Arkansas would do so at the peril of their own life. A second constitutional amendment, HJR 1007, by Speaker Wills, would change Amendment 82 to allow the General Assembly to set the criteria for issuing the bonds for economic development. The original Amendment 82 only allows bonds to be issued in amounts up to 5% of the general revenue produced by sales and income tax. Will’s amendment would allow the General Assembly to issue the bonds on a case by case basis. It was not by coincidence or for moral support that Speaker Wills and Senate Pro Tem Johnson attended the meeting. A third constitutional amendment has yet to be selected but be assured that will be remedied by next Monday at the latest.
By Wednesday of this week it appeared that the Governor and leadership on both ends had reached an amicable solution on the use of the General Improvement Funds. With the funds topping out at around $310 million there should be enough to go around for everyone’s take home pork, the spreading recession notwithstanding. Beebe agreed to $60 million for the Assembly to split, $100 million for plugging the holes in the 2010 budget, $65 million for his, the Governor’s, pet projects and another $50 million for the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund. By my ciphering that leaves about $35 million in the surplus. It also looks like out of the $310 million Governor Beebe will control about 69% of it and the Legislature will control roughly 19% of it. The Governor’s generosity came with a warning. He said that the $60 million for the Legislature was acceptable to him as long as they honored their commitment to higher education. The implication being that they may very well be back down in Little Rock trying to figure out how to raise some money for higher education if state revenues begin to fall. It is telling that the Governor orchestrated this usually contentious GIF division with nary a dissenting voice. To the Legislature’s credit they have agreed to budget only 75% of their $60 million for the 2010 budget just in case of a shortfall in revenues.
By Friday of this week the Budget Committee heard and voted on the GIF spending plan as well as the general revenue budget. The budget was pared down by $100 million to $4.44 billion in anticipation of a weakening state economy.
As noted above the lengthy House and Senate calendars continued to grow all week. The House calendar had grown to 10 pages or so by Thursday with a majority of them dedicated to budget bills. We can honestly report that the Budget Committee has been deliberate and thorough in committee this session but once those bills reach the House or Senate floor it is another story. At the end of each regular calendar session the House or Senate will take up budget bills. The Chairman will take to the podium, announce that a block of say 40 budget bills are under consideration for their vote and the committee recommended a due pass. If there is no discussion or objection, which rarely happens, the Speaker calls the roll and the bills are passed. After watching enough of this you wish you had spent more time in the Budget Committee.
Barring any major dustups or surprises the Arkansas General Assembly should be cruising to the finish by next Thursday with visions of turkey hunting (a God given and soon to be constitutionally allowed right) and Oaklawn’s Derby Day dancing through their heads. AMEN and on to Sine Die.
Notes from the Hill- March 30, 2009
“The trouble with a budget is that it’s hard to fill up one hole without digging another.”- Dan Bennett
Speaker Wills compared the legislative process to an airport this week when he spoke to a group of lobbyists. Bills, he noted, were various sized planes all attempting to land and he and the leadership were manning the tower, coordinating to get the planes down safely, their cargo intact. The big planes, the 747s, Health Care Program, Tobacco Tax, and Lottery all have landed safely. Numerous smaller planes such as our PBM Bill, the reduction in the sales tax on food and utilities for manufactures and the provider assessment bill have landed between the bigger planes. The Revenue Stabilization Act, the last jumbo jet to get down, awaits the budget committee’s and Governor’s last tweaking before it lands. We learned by mid week that the committee would take up the RSA bill on or before April 7th. The Speaker noted that numerous ultra lights continue to buzz about looking for a landing spot without much success. After the talk the Speaker was asked when he was closing the airport. He noted that March 9th would be the likely date for adjournment.
Since last week we had heard rumblings that all may not be accurate with the projected revenues from the recently passed tobacco tax. Sure enough, in a Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday Department of Finance and Administration Director Richard Weiss reported the bad news. The new tax would generate only $71 million instead of the projected $87 million. It seems that the Department did not take into account the full impact of the recent federal tobacco tax that went into effect in February. You might recall that the projected cost of the recently passed Health Care Package settled around the $87 million range. That leaves the state $15 million or so short. After much grousing by members, notably Senators Terry Smith and Jimmy Jeffress, about how the Department should have factored in the lower revenues Mr. Weiss confessed that he did not have a good answer. The shortfall and likely shifts in revenues to account for it sent minor shock waves through other state interests such as higher education and the Department of Corrections. Beebe calmed the waters later in the day at the Lottery bill signing photo op. Pressed by reporters the Governor noted that not all of the health related programs would be fully funded. Moreover some of the shortfall would be made up from the budget surplus. The administration now wants $100 million from the surplus instead of the $60 million it had indicated back in January.
Attorney General McDaniel’s ethics bills, SB 883, by Senator Gilbert Baker, and SB 867, by Senator Steve Farris, got mixed reviews in the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee this week. SB 883, would have required a one year cooling off period for legislators, constitutional officers and their chief staffers and agency heads between their ends of state employment and becoming lobbyists. The bill would have also outlawed “absentee lobbying.” This term refers to the practice in which a legislator goes to some venue for food, drink or entertainment without the lobbyist but the lobbyist arranges to pick up the tab. The bill failed in committee.
The other bill, SB 867, allows an elected official to keep twice his annual salary in campaign funds. It also permits the use of campaign funds for meals, travel and lodging associated with their office. The bill also increases the fines on lobbyists for failure to register. You guessed it, this bill passed. The Arkansas Society for Professional Lobbyist opted to stay neutral on the bills but a high percentage favored both bills. It should come as no surprise that the legislature voted down HB 883, the bill that would have restricted them. It should also come as no surprise that most lobbyists supported that bill.
The Senate approved Concurrent Resolution 13 that would extend the session to March 9th. The Senate also approved HB 1906 by Cowling to designate the pecan as the state’s official nut. The bill awaits the Governor's signature.
With a date set for adjournment one can expect a race to the finish line with final battles over General Improvement Funds and picking the 3 constitutional amendments that the Legislature can refer to the voters in the 2010 election. You can bet there will be more than enough vote trading to go around as the last of the “ultra lights” attempt a landing before the airport closes.
Notes from the Hill: March 23, 2009
“Politics is not an exact science…but an art.” Otto Von
The past two weeks saw the major pieces of legislation successfully continue their course through the legislature. SB 460, the APA PBM bill, has been amended to apply to state dollars only. The PBM’s have grudgingly agreed to support this legislation. It breezed through the Senate and awaits presentation in the House committee on Wednesday. This is a triumph for pharmacists. Thanks for all you did to help make it happen.
The grocery tax reduction bill, SB 88, cleared the House by a vote of 99-0 led by Representative Rick Saunders, D-Hot Springs. The bill now heads back to the Senate for them to concur in the House amended version. The amendment places all 100 House members on the bill as co-sponsors. Never let it be said that an Arkansas politician doesn’t know a good bill, with large constituent dividends, when they see one. And it never hurts that the bill is a major piece of the Governor’s legislative package. Governor Beebe signed the bill into law on Wednesday afternoon with a host of recently added sponsors in attendance.
The long awaited lottery bills, HB 1002, by Representative Wills and SB 26, by Senator Smith, began slogging through their respective committees on either end of the Capitol. The identical bills are the product of many months of research and back room wrangling. As I speculated earlier in the session the use of the lottery revenues for scholarships presented the final hurtle for House and Senate leadership. That issue appears to have been resolved at least for everyone but Lt. Governor Halter. In a masterful presentation in the House Rules Committee Mr. Wills ran down the key elements of the bill: expanded achievement based scholarships; an independent lottery commission; a ban on lawmakers and family members from serving on the commission; a ban on gifts from lottery vendors; a legislative oversight committee; and complete transparency throughout.
After it is all said and done with kudos all around, it is clear that Speaker Robbie Wills spent most of the time, study, leadership and political capitol on the creation of this lottery plan. Most lottery experts agree that the Arkansas lottery will likely become the gold standard for state run lotteries.
Lieutenant Governor Halter got his photo op at the witness table speaking FOR the bill. After congratulating the Speaker for a job well done he proceeded to point out that the bill had room for improvement in several areas. Halter focused on three main points: bigger scholarships, tighter ethics and a simpler process. His testimony provided the best political humor of the week. After spending most of his time pointing out the problems with the bill one clever committee member, Rep. Fred Allen, asked Halter if he was speaking FOR or AGAINST the bill. At another point in his testimony Halter said he based his assumption (incorrect as it turns out) of the potential $500,000. salary for the lottery director on his reading of the Speaker’s blog. Another committee member corrected him and said, “You do know the blog has nothing to do with the bill?” One could almost make out the beginnings of Halter’s next election stump speech in his testimony. It must be said however that Halter is one of the principal reasons that Arkansas has a lottery.
Speaking of blogs, this session will go down as the bloggingest session yet. Both Speaker Robbie Wills and House Majority leader Rep. Steve Harrelson have their own blogs. Harrelson started his blog last session. The Senate has yet to create a blogger but it’s only a matter of time. We can remember a time back in the mid ‘90s when neither the House nor the Senate had computers much less blogs. Now it is hard to imagine how the legislature could function without computers, blackberrys and cell phones.
The bills to decrease the sales tax on energy used by manufacturers, HB 1624, Rep. Dunn, and SB 875, Sen. Horn, made their ways to the other end of the Capitol this week. The bills are identical and will end up on Governor Beebe’s desk for his signature this week.
It looks as if things are finally winding down at the Capitol with all the major legislation either passed or on a fast track to pass. I was told that a group of House and Senate leadership met at the Governor’s mansion this weekend to iron out Revenue Stabilization and General Improvement Funds. I have heard that one scenario has both the House and Senate getting $20 million each and the Governor getting $40 million. You can bet that the Governor’s fingerprints will be all over the final outcome.
Notes from the Hill: Week 8 in Review
A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate. - Eric Idle
The PBM bill appears to be getting buried in senate politics. With shovels in hand, we are all digging. Thanks to those of you who have loaned us gloves and even brought your own shovel. It’s not over yet!
A major piece of legislation, SB 582, by Senator Teague, hit the committee trail last week. The bill allows hospitals to assess themselves a fee which would generate revenues in the $40 million range. This revenue would then be used to draw down the Medicaid match. The match money would be disbursed among the majority of the state’s hospitals to make up for the millions of dollars the hospitals loose each year.
Two draft bills of Attorney General McDaniel’s ethics legislation were released by the end of last week. The bills requires a one year “cooling-off” period for division directors, chiefs of staff, chief deputies, constitutional officers and a member of the House or Senate. This cooling-off period, delivered a death blow to the 2007 ethics legislation in the last session which was spear headed by then Speaker Benny Petrus. One of the bills would allow campaign funds to be used for meals and travel for political purposes. Speaker Wills had been questioned for using such funds in the past and this bill would clarify that practice as legal. The rest of the ethics bills focus on the lobbyists, requiring them to file reports electronically and raise from $25 to $500 the fine for not registering as a lobbyist. The bill would also prohibit any lobbyist from paying for any food or beverages at any event that he or she was not present. You can bet that there is a quiet but hearty approval from the lobby corps for this. Word in the marbled halls last week was that the legislation was DOA….however, that may not be the case.
On Tuesday of this week the long awaited February revenue figures were announced to the Joint Budget Committee. Amid some incredulity on the part of committee members a $20.7 million increase over the same month last year was reported by the director of the Department of Finance and Administration, Richard Weiss. This increase exceeds the state budget forecast by $30.2 million. Mr. Weiss warned that the February numbers were in large part due to one time income taxes paid on severance packages for laid-off workers. The director said that based on the current state budget the sales tax reduction on food, SB 88, by Glover, was doable.
The budget surplus announcement appeared to cue the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee who passed a couple of tax reduction bills on Wednesday. SB2, by Senator Glover, would repeal the sale tax on mini warehouse and self-storage rentals. SB 247, by Senator David Johnson, gives an income tax credit to taxpayers who construct housing for low income families. You may recall that the Guv’s reduction on the sales tax on food, SB 88, also sponsored by Senator Glover, is awaiting review and a vote in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. I learned late in the week that the Speaker had asked Representative Saunders to handle SB 88 on the House end.
The House rules prohibit all but members on the floor unless the body is in a committee of the whole. Last week, the Honorable Lieutenant Governor Halter had entered the House to lobby some members regarding the use of the lottery funds for scholarships. Upon learning of the Lieutenant Governor’s presence, Buddy Johnson, assistant to the Speaker, escorted Mr. Halter out of the House. I doubt if they would have asked Governor Beebe to leave no matter the topic under discussion. On the other hand, I doubt the Governor would have had such disregard for the rules.
Notes from the Hill: Week 7 in Review
Week seven of the session included the filing of the much discussed PBM bill. Due to the shortened day for the Senate on Thursday the bill got only an abbreviated showing before the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee. The companion bill was referred to the House Insurance and Commerce Committee and awaits its turn on the agenda. If your Senator or Representative has not committed to support this legislation, we have asked you to call them immediately. If you have not yet spoken with your legislator, please keep trying!
After filing and passing a joint resolution to extend the session beyond its’ constitutionally mandated 60 days the Arkansas General Assembly seemed to buckle down this week to the business at hand. My guess is that the renewed vigor is due in part to a couple of things: the budget bill deadline looming on March 2nd , the general bill deadline set for March 9th and a first glimpse of the light at the end of the session tunnel.
On Wednesday of this week the Trauma Center legislation, SB 315, received something of a rough ride in the Senate Public Health Committee. After pointed questions over accountability of the money and which hospitals would benefit the bill made its’ way to the full Senate on Thursday where it passed easily.
The lottery bill and the federal stimulus package began their stroll down the red carpet followed by the media lights. The lottery, yet to be transformed into a filed bill, is nearing the end of its’ intensive planning stage. Haggling over scholarships created by the lottery revenues are the lines still being refined. The emerging plan puts the lottery proceeds into the existing Academic Challenge Scholarship and gives a $2500 annual payment to high school graduates who have a 2.5 grade point average. That annual amount would increase as lottery proceeds increase. Initially 11707 students would benefit from the awards. Projections are that 34000 students would eventually access the program. When the bill is eventually filed, maybe as early as this week, it should take less than two weeks to get to the Governor’s desk.
The federal stimulus package just arrived on the state’s agenda last week and will take well beyond the proscribed time left in this session to get into the Arkansas economy. To be sure most of the use of that stimulus money will be controlled by the Governor and his administration. But where there is money on the table… you can be sure that the state legislature will jockey for their share of the proceeds for their districts. I learned last week that most of the department and agency heads were feverishly researching how and for what they can use the money. All of the state’s projects must pass federal guidelines and will be used for such things as broad ban build out grants, energy conservation and certain highway projects. The word from the second floor was that the federal money cannot be viewed “as part of the state budget process,” but as one time money only. Governor Beebe was to meet with House and Senate leadership to get their views on use of the “one time” money.
Notes from the Hill: Week 6 in Review
“Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.” Freeman Teague Jr.
Even with this session’s simplified version of PBM legislation, the opposition has mounted an attack to confuse legislators and their constituents on the purpose of the bill. We are working hard to combat these allegations and I feel confident we are making progress. Legislation should be filed early this week and we will send out the bill number as soon as we have it. Upon our request, be prepared to make immediate calls to your legislators in support of the PBM legislation. If you have spoken to your legislator recently, please make another follow up call to assure they are still on board…again, hold these until you have the go ahead from APA.
If you were not able to attend the APA Legislative Reception, you missed a great event. This observer may have put it best, “It was the best legislative reception I've been to. Good amount of pharmacists and legislators and everyone mingled very well. I thought it was great.” In addition to the evening reception, the UAMS Health Fair held in the Capitol Rotunda screened over 60 people.
HB 1518 was dropped last Friday. It deals with optometrists dispensing medicated contact lenses. We are working with them on language we could support and monitoring this legislation closely.
The next “big thing”, the lottery legislation, hit the committee circuit on Wednesday of this week at the Capitol. In a masterful bill presentation, Speaker Robbie Wills, along with the Senate sponsor, Terry Smith, gave a thorough breakdown of the 50 page proposed draft legislation. The draft lacked the specific language pertaining to scholarships. From all reports the scholarship issues have yet to be resolved but should be completed in the next week or two. Another similar hearing is scheduled for this week. The complete draft bill can be found on robbiewills.com.
A host of businesses and manufacturers continue to work toward a sales tax reduction on their utility costs. Mississippi is the only neighboring state of Arkansas that charges such a tax and it is 1% while Arkansas charges 4%. The other border states do not levy the tax. When the session began, some tax reduction appeared certain but only after the Health Care Plan, HB 1204, passed. Now that we have reached the half way mark of the session the word from the second floor is that it’s every man or interest for themselves and if you can get the bill to the Governor’s desk he will sign it. The State Chamber continues to lead the charge on the legislation.
Early in the week HB 1464, by Representative Nickels, made its way to committee. The legislation would amend the state’s minimum wage to mirror the Federal Minimum Wage Law. The bill is expected to have easy passage with just about everybody supporting the amendment.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the Wednesday speech by former Attorney General, Governor, President Clinton to the House and Senate. To be sure he was at his charming best applauding the hard work and heavy lifting of the state’s assembled lawmakers. While noting the national economic crisis he reminded the crowd that Arkansas is in the enviable position of cutting taxes on groceries while sitting on a budget surplus. And in typical Clinton fashion he didn’t mention the Revenue Stabilization Act which forces the state legislature to live within its means.
Notes from the Hill: Week 5
The 5th week of the 87th General Assembly resulted in Representative Reeps’ HB 1204, the Health Care/Tobacco Tax Plan, sailing out of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on Wednesday by a vote of 5-2 and passing the full Senate by the barest of margins, 28 to 7 on Thursday. A sigh of relief could be heard throughout the Capitol by lobbyists and legislators alike with photos, handshakes and congratulations all around.
APA’s PBM legislation appears to be gaining momentum. We have met with a majority of legislators to discuss the bill, address any concerns and have asked some of you to make additional calls where necessary.
Early in the week Representative Creekmore’s HB 1113, Partial Birth Abortion Bill, generated much of the interest and press in the House Public Health Committee. The arguments on the issue, pro and con, are an emotional debate that has periodically plagued the Arkansas Assembly since the mid 1990s. Apparently the new interest in the bill comes as a result of the election of the left leaning President Obama. The proponents of the state bill fear that the federal ban on the little used procedure may be removed by this new administration and their bill will assure that the practice will not rear its’ head in the Natural State.
In the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, Representative Dismang’s HB 1178, experienced a protracted and lively debate on Wednesday followed by easy defeat, 6 for and 9 against. The bill seeks to change the eminent domain laws as a result of one bad player in the gas industry. The bill is instructive on a number of levels. It pits the natural gas industry against a few disgruntled land owners, most of whom have been awarded handsomely by the Fayetteville Shale Gas play in central Arkansas. The House sponsor, Dismang is president of NARO-AR the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners. Dismang couldn’t get his own group to fully support his efforts. The Speaker who is a committee member and lawyer sat through the 2 hour meeting and cast his vote with the majority against the bill. It appeared that the House leadership delivered a clear message to the sponsor. Oh, did I mention that Representative Dismang voted No on the tobacco tax?
The House approved HB 1237 by a vote of 57-42 a bill that would allow concealed handguns into churches. As a result of recent national attention on church shootings the sponsor was moved to file the bill to give the parishioners the option of defending themselves if the need arose while at worship. Two minister representatives urged their colleagues to “have faith in God not Guns,” but without success.
At mid week country singer Charlie Pride sang for the Senate while the University of Arkansas Hog Wild Band played in the rotunda… at the same time. Also on Wednesday the most powerful person in the state, former U of A Athletic Director Frank Broyles walked the halls with the mortals at the Capitol. I can report that the Arkansas legend looked trim and fit and quite spry for a man in his early 80s. The parade of stars continues this week with former President Clinton addressing the House and Senate.
Notes from the Hill: Week 4
The Health Care package, HB 1204 by Representative Greg Reep, D-Warren, which has clearly held the Session hostage up until this week, unanimously passed the Rules Committee at noon on Wednesday. After some of the liveliest debate of the session, the bill passed the House on Thursday afternoon by a vote of 75 yeas, 24 nays, 1 absent. The tobacco lobby, which opposes the bill’s increase on tobacco taxes, will now focus their efforts in the Senate.
This legislative Health Care battle has created its share of rancor, victims, humor and strange bed fellows. One waffling senior Democrat whose vote was crucial to the bill’s passage was seen lurking and slinking about the Capitol attempting to avoid the Speaker, Governor and a host of lobbyists on both sides of the issue seeking his support. On the morning after, he joked that he’d thought about moving his truck to a different parking spot a few minutes before the vote just to put the speaker into a panic about whether he’d show up. Indeed, one Dem did not show for the vote, claiming he found bullet holes in his wife’s car in recent days. I don’t know if it was related to the tax. In any case, the tax opponents managed to pull away 5 Dems, while the tax advocates picked up 2 Republicans for the winning combination. At least one Republican was reportedly the “hole card,” designated to be the 75th vote upon a nod from the Speaker, who is the only person who know that vote tally as the votes are cast. He was reportedly sweating bullets in those tense moments just before Wills closed the ballot…without his vote being needed.
Meanwhile, the Senate easily passed SB 88 by Senator Bobby Glover to cut the grocery tax from 3 percent to 2 percent this week with a 32 to 1 vote on Thursday before the Senate adjourned for the week. The bill will move to the House committee on Friday and will likely pass HB 1204 on its’ way to the Senate committee.
Look for the pace of the session to pick up speed next week with rewards and retribution handed out appropriately.
What have we done for you lately? This week we participated in dinners for House and Senate Public Health and House State Agencies committee members among many other dinners/events. We spent many hours walking the halls telling our compelling PBM story, gaining co-sponsors and counting votes. Mark spoke with a number of industry leaders in an effort to neutralize opponents or gain support for PBM. As we encounter legislators in your area who need to hear from you, we are making you aware. Thanks for your calls!
Notes from the Hill - February 2, 2009
In years past education, tort reform and the tobacco settlement were hot issues consuming most of their respective sessions. This year the issue is clearly the Governor’s Health Care Package (HB 1204), the lottery bill, a bill to reduce the grocery tax and a bill to reduce the taxes on energy costs for industries. There may be several other big ticket items once the Health Care package is decided. I expect the real battle over HB 1204 to begin in the House by early next week at the latest, quickly followed by the lottery bills in the House and Senate. You can be sure that House and Senate Leadership are using these and other pet issues of their colleagues as bargaining chips to hold their votes on Health Care.
Speaker Wills reported this week that the House has confirmed 70 members in favor of the HB 1204 and that he was well on his way to getting over the 75 votes for passage. Voices in the halls report just under 70 confirmed “do pass” votes. The tobacco folks appear to have hurt their cause by their robo calls to House members. I was told that one unwitting caller after connecting to the House switch board couldn’t remember the name of her State Representative. After some stammering and reflection she said, “ I believe his name is Phillip Morris.” I’m not making this stuff up.
One interesting alliance in this Health Care battle is the joining of forces of the Family Council with that of big tobacco. It appears that the Family Council fears that the taxes raised may be used for some unholy, health related purpose while big tobacco simply fears the taxes.
APA is firing away on this session’s PBM legislation, battling against some of the state’s top lobbyists. At this point we have locking in House and Senate co-sponsors. Just today we have received word that Wal-Mart has joined ranks, which should help us pick up additional co-sponsors. Thanks to those who have called their legislators. It makes a considerable difference!
In November of 2008 Governor Beebe indicated that he would ask for some of the budget surplus to be used as a rainy-day fund to deal with the $146 million shortfall in some agency budgets. This week the Governor sent Richard Weiss, director of the Department of Finance and Administration, to the Joint Budget Committee to ask that $60 million be set aside for part of those agency shortfalls. The committee members were cordial but indicated that it was too early in the process to earmark that money. My guess is that the Governor will get that amount and more before sine die.
Apparently the 3.85% COLA increase for Constitutional Officers and Legislators that was passed and signed into law last week, was a bit premature. After adjusting for the error, 3.3%, is now in a new bill and will move quickly through the House and Senate. It’s embarrassing enough when the Assembly has to vote even once on their pay raise but it’s even more embarrassing when they have to do it a second time to correct their over payment in the first vote. I’ll avoid my cynical thoughts and just give them good marks for correcting it.
Notes From the Hill: January 26, 2009
The Arkansas 87th General Assembly resulted in little legislation last week. To be fair they only had 1 ˝ days in the Senate and 2 ˝ days in the House. After two abbreviated work weeks no major legislation has made its way to the Governor’s desk… with the exception of funding bills. The funding bills alluded to are constitutionally mandated and concern the roughly $2 million needed to fund the biennial session and the 3.85% cola pay raises for the state’s constitutional officers, legislature and judges. It was noteworthy that Governor Beebe refused to accept his automatic raise. And with the exception of Senators Cecile Bledsoe and Ruth Whitaker not an utterance was heard from the other beneficiaries.
The Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) legislation has been written and from all reports most of the opposition to the bill has been quieted, except for the PBMs themselves. This legislation is inherently simple compared to past PBM bills. It states that the PBM must disclose to the employer the actual amount the pharmacists or pharmacy was paid for each prescription claim, and it adds that all monies notated as pharmacist services must be paid to the pharmacy. This will prevent the PBM from blaming the high costs of prescription drugs on pharmacists by preventing them from adding hidden administrative fees to each claim. A draft of the legislation is currently in the legislative hopper and will likely be filed by the end of this week or first of the next. As soon as we receive a bill number, we will be asking you to express support to your local legislators.
This week the vote counting and deal making began in earnest on the Governor’s healthcare plan/tobacco tax increase. The first week of session, the Administration’s healthcare czars, led by Dr. Joe Thompson gave a full presentation in the Senate and then House Public Health Committees on the intentions of the tobacco tax. What I have learned since then is that neither committee chairperson was given advance notice that the full plan and program was going to be rolled out. There is much talk in the halls of the uphill battle to get the 75% votes to pass this funding.
The leadership in the House and Senate is finalizing the lottery legislation and should have something filed within the next two or three weeks. The biggest battle within the lottery debate appears to be among educators clamoring for their share of the scholarships generated from lottery revenues.
This week I expect to see the legislature buckle down and get about the business of the state. However, the week is not without its social engagements. Wednesday night will be the first night of the session that the Kuntry Kacus (that’s right spelled with K’s) meets for steaks, adult beverages, live music and weather permitting a bonfire…. all in the middle of a soy bean field east of Little Rock. Arkansas is the Natural State after all.
|
