| |
Health Insurance Bill Still Needs Senate Support
HB 1413, an appropriation bill to authorize funding for the Public School Employee Health Insurance program, still needs Senate support in order to pass the Joint Budget Committee with funding. There are 81 representatives who co-sponsor the bill.
This bill would authorize an additional $25 million for the health insurance program in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. We need every senator on this committee to support this important bill.
Senators on the committee who have not agreed to co-sponsor the bill are: Sens., 1st District: Jack Crumbly, D-Widener; Jim Luker, D-Wynne; Sens., 2nd District: Gilbert Baker, R-Conway; John Paul Capps, D-Searcy; Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow; Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock. Sens., 3rd District: Kim Hendren, R-Gravette; Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville; Sens., 4th District: Steve Faris, D-Malvern; Percy Malone, D-Arkadelphia; Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs.
If any of these members represent your area, please contact them and urge them to co-sponsor this important bill. You may contact your senator online. Go to www.capwiz.com/nea/ar/state/main/?state=AR&view=myofficials or www.congress.org
Senate Considers Three School Bus Safety Bills
The Senate considered three bills today that would improve safety for school buses on the highway. These bills are:
SB498: This bill would allow school districts to print notices on the exterior of school buses that state it is illegal to pass a school bus while it is loading or unloading passengers.
SB499: This bill would make improve reporting procedures of those who pass a school bus illegally. The bill states that if a vehicle passes a school bus illegally, the bus driver must report that vehicle to the school superintendent within two hours after the end of his/her shift. The superintendent must then notify the appropriate law enforcement agency within 48 hours of the observation.
SB500: This bill would create the School Bus Safety Equipment Grant Pilot Program, which would provide assistance to school districts that wish to purchase video recording devices or other electronic warning devices that would help to reduce the number of vehicles that illegally pass a school bus. This equipment would be used only on those buses that travel on high incident routes.
FOI Exemption Bill Filed by the House
The bill proposed by AEA, which would exempt education employees from the FOI Act under certain conditions, was filed by the House Tuesday as HB1859 by Rep. Bill Abernathy, D-Mena. Co-sponsors are Rep. Nancy Blount, D-Marianna; Sen. Steven Bryles, D-Little Rock and Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett. The bill is expected to go to the House Education Committee for review.
This bill would exempt the following items from the FOI Act:
- All records, hearings, meetings and deliberations pertaining to an ethics complaint against an administrator or teacher.
- All records, hearings, meetings and deliberations pertaining to an ethics complaint that falls within the definition of child maltreatment under the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Act.
|
