HB 1214 Is Unanimously Passed by the Senate HB 1214 was unanimously passed by the Senate on Monday. Because the bill was amended in the Senate, the bill has been referred to the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee for concurrence with the amendment. That committee meets tomorrow.. This bill would also provide that all rules, procedures, hearings and appeals relating to the Code of Ethics will be subject to the Administrative Procedures Act. Bill Filed to Expand ARKids First! Expansion of ARKids First is a major component of Governor Beebe’s plan for spending revenue raised through the tobacco tax. HB1700, the ARKids First Improvement Act, was filed Friday by Rep. Robert Moore and 42 House co-sponsors. Sen. Joyce Elliot will carry the bill in the Senate. The bill would raise income eligibility for the ARKids First program to 250 percent of the federal poverty line, making 8,000 more children eligible. Senate Committee Ties on Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Resolution The Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs tied today during a vote on the Senate Joint Resolution that would ratify the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that states that equal rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on the account of sex. The amendment would guarantee, for the first time in U.S. history, that the rights affirmed by the U.S. Constitution are held equally by all citizens without regard to sex. It's most important effect would be to clarify the status of sex discrimination for federal and state courts, whose decisions still deal inconsistently with such claims. Sex would become a suspect classification, just as race currently is. As a result, governmental actions that treat males or females differently as a class would be subject to strict judicial scrutiny, and they would have to meet the highest level of justification in order to be upheld as constitutional. The committee members who voted for the resolution are Sens. Steve Faris, D-Malvern; Ed Wilkinson, D-Grenwood; Steve Bryles, D-Little Rock and Randy Laverty, D-Jasper. The committee members who voted against the resolution are Sens. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway; Kim Hendren, R-Gravette; Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle; and Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins. The resolution will remain in the Senate committee until the tie is broken. If one of the senators who voted against it represents your area, please contact him and encourage him to support this bill. You may contact your senator online. Go to www.capwiz.com/nea/ar/state/main/?state=AR&view=myofficials or www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ | |
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