Daily Legislative Update
Monday, February 25, 2013
43rd Day of the 89th General Assembly
Roby Brock with Talk Business reported that on Thursday of last week the Arkansas legislature received a letter of commitment from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), which will trigger the next phase in the Amendment 82, the super project law. AEDC officials submitted a letter to lawmakers signed by representatives of Big River Steel, which is planning a $1.1 billion, 525-job steel mill super project near Osceola. By law, the submission to Senate President Michael Lamoureux (R-Russellville) and House Speaker Davy Carter (R-Cabot) will begin a 20-day working day window to review an analysis done by the state on the super project. State legislators are being asked to approve a $125 million bond issue to help finance loans and incentives to Big River Steel.
For additional information or to read Brock’s article, click here.
TODAY AT THE CAPITOL
House convenes at 1:30 p.m.
Senate convenes at 1:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings:
JOINT:
| 10:00 AM | ROOM 130 | PUBLIC RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS-JOINT | Agenda |
| Upon Adjournment of Both Chambers | Room B, MAC | JBC-CLAIMS | Agenda |
SENATE:
| 10 Minutes upon Adjournment | Room 309 | TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY & LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS – SENATE | Agenda |
HOUSE:
None scheduled.
ISSUES
EMINENT DOMAIN
***HB 1192 by Rep. Kim Hammer would prohibit improvement districts from using the power of eminent domain to acquire lands or rights-of-way for their use. An amendment added last week restores the eminent domain powers of a property owners’ improvement district generally (which the original bill had removed), but prevents a P.O.D. from exercising eminent domain to condemn rights-of-way outside the district’s boundaries or utilities owned by another entity as described by House Amendment 1. The amended bill has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee. HB 1192 is on today’s House calendar. _
STATE CHAMBER/AIA BILL TRACKING
To date, the House has filed 470 bills and the Senate has filed 425 bills.
The State Chamber/AIA is tracking 224 bills and resolutions.
New bills added to State Chamber/AIA tracking today:
| HB 1456 | Meeks, Stephen | Requires electric utilities to purchase excess electricity that is generated by net-metering customers and fed back into the utilities, minus a maximum 10 percent transmission fee; allows account credit if the annual amount is less than $100. | |
| HB 1461 | Linck, Kelley | Amends the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement to allow a notice and grace period for rate changes in local sales and use taxes relative to catalog purchases based on obsolete local tax rates published in the catalog. | |
| HB 1464 | Armstrong, Eddie | Specifies that sales taxes dedicated for city parks must be collected by the same mechanism as advertising and promotion commission taxes. | |
| HB 1468 | Hammer, Kim | Requires birthing facilities that are licensed with the Health Department to perform a screening for heart abnormalities known as pulse oximetry before discharging newborns. | |
Please visit our tracking site for the complete, searchable list of bills being tracked. The full text of each bill is available at the site.
THIS WEEK AT THE CAPITOL
Committee Meetings for Tuesday, February 26th:
JOINT:
| 7:30 AM | Room B, MAC | JBC-SPECIAL LANGUAGE | Agenda |
| 9:00 AM | Room A, MAC | JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE | Agenda |
SENATE:
| 10:00 AM | ROOM 171 | INSURANCE & COMMERCE – SENATE | Agenda |
| 10:00 AM | Room 272 | CITY, COUNTY & LOCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – SENATE | Agenda |
| 10:00 AM | OSC | STATE AGENCIES & GOVT’L AFFAIRS-SENATE | Agenda |
HOUSE:
| 10:00 AM | Room 130 | PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE- HOUSE | Agenda |
| 10:00 AM | Room 138 | EDUCATION COMMITTEE- HOUSE | Agenda |
| 10:00 AM | Room 149 | JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE | Agenda |
| 10:00 AM | Room B, MAC | PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION- HOUSE | Agenda |
ISSUES
REQUIRING PARTNERSHIPS TO APPORTION INCOME
***SB 253 by Sen. Bart Hester would require partnerships that have business activities outside of the state use the apportionment method to allocate income for tax returns. We have been told this bill will be withdrawn from consideration. _
EMPLOYEE HANDGUNS ON COMPANY PROPERTY
***HB 1269 by Rep. John Catlett would prohibit an employer from basing an employee’s employment status on concealed handgun licensure and would require employers to permit employees with handgun licenses to possess a handgun locked inside a vehicle in the employer’s parking lot. It was amended Friday to create exemptions for certain properties owned by chemical, oil, or gas companies and for property owned by a person other than the employer that is subject to a mineral lease. It also precludes liability of an employer for damages resulting from an employee’s possession of a handgun and states that the employer does not have a duty to patrol or secure the parking area. HB 1269 has been re-referred to the House Judiciary Committee. The State Chamber/AIA is opposed to this bill as it was originally filed. We are studying the amendment and welcome your feedback on the amended bill. _
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE
***HB 1402 by Rep. Butch Wilkins would raise the state hourly minimum wage from $6.25 to $8.25 beginning October 1, 2013. It would also change the calculation for student employees from an effective hourly minimum wage of $5.52 to $5.36. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25. HB 1402 is on the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee agenda. Please contact your legislators and tell them about the impact this legislation would have on your business. _
ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS FOR LARGE MANUFACTURERS
***HB 1386 by Rep. Terry Rice would provide for large nonresidential utility customers to opt out of the utility-sponsored conservation programs otherwise required by the Public Service Commission. Since January 2012, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) has allowed some large customers to temporarily opt out of the energy efficiency programs through a self-direct procedure. HB 1386 contains the same thresholds to qualify for an exemption as the APSC self-direct program. This legislation would codify and simplify the APSC self-direct process for large manufacturers. HB 1386 passed the House on Friday by a vote of 90 – 4 with 6 not voting. _
HIGHWAY FUNDING
***HB 1418 by Rep. Jonathan Barnett would phase in over 10 years the sales and use tax from road-user items to the highway fund. The phase-in would not take place until general sales tax revenue as a portion of General Revenue reaches $2.2 billion. This bill has been scheduled for a special order of business on Thursday in the House Public Transportation Committee.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
***SB 38 by Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson would require applicants and recipients of unemployment benefits to be tested for illegal drug use. Sen. Hutchinson presented the bill to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee previously but agreed to pull the bill down while the Department of Workforce Services conducts a fiscal impact study. _
***HB 1018 by Rep. Jim Nickels, which has been defeated once in the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, remains on the Committee’s active agenda. Rep. Nickels could choose to bring this bill before the committee again so we continue to watch for activity. The State Chamber/AIA is opposed to this bill, which would increase the maximum potential unemployment benefits in a benefit year from 25 to 26 times the worker’s weekly benefit amount. _
***HB 1032 by Rep. Denny Altes remains on the deferred list on the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee agenda. It would require the Department of Workforce Services to conduct bi-weekly interviews with persons making claims for unemployment benefits. _
***HB 1033 by Rep. Denny Altes remains on the deferred list in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee. It would require employees to contribute 0.5 percent of all wages to the Unemployment Compensation Fund. _
***HB 1261 by Rep. Denny Altes remains on the deferred list in the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. It would increase the time period for filing an appeal to the Department of Workforce Services regarding an administrative decision. _
EMINENT DOMAIN
***HB 1042 by Rep. Nate Bell remains on the deferred list in the House Judiciary Committee. It would provide limitations on the acquisition of private property by eminent domain for private interests. _
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS
***HB 1145 by Rep. Jim Nickels remains on the deferred list in the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee. The bill would limit the authority of local governments to contract with not-for-profits for economic/industrial development services. It would also prohibit a contract with a not-for-profit that makes any political contributions during the term of the contract and would require a not-for-profit that provides services to file an annual report with the local government. _
SCHOOL CHOICE
***SB 65 by Sen. Johnny Key would repeal the Public School Choice Act of 1989 to create the Public School Choice Act of 2013, transferring most of the repealed language from the previous law but omitting any mention of race as a factor in approving or denying a transfer except in the case of a conflict with a court order remedying the past effects of segregation. It would require school boards to adopt standards for approving or denying transfers and require all school districts to participate in the program. SB 65 is on the Senate Education Committee agenda. _
***SB 114 by Sen. Joyce Elliott would repeal the Public School Choice Act of 1989, replacing it with the Arkansas Interdistrict Public School Choice Act of 2013. It is on the Senate Education Committee agenda. _
***HB 1181 by Rep. Kim Hammer would repeal and replace the Public School Choice Act. It remains on the deferred list in the House Education Committee. _
STATE CHAMBER/AIA TAX BILLS
TAX REDUCTION FOR MANUFACTURERS AND IPPs
***HB 1218 by Rep. Lane Jean and Sen. Bill Sample seeks to further reduce the sales taxes paid by manufacturers classified in NAICS codes 31-32-33. It would reduce the sales tax on manufacturers’ utilities from 2.625 percent to 1 percent in 2013 and exempt them from sales tax in 2014. The bill also continues the phased reduction of the excise tax on the purchase of natural gas used in the production of electricity with exemption occurring in 2016. However, the one-eighth (1/8) of one percent conservation tax and the temporary sales tax of one-half (1/2) of one percent highway tax would not be eliminated for manufacturers or independent power producers. HB 1218 has been referred to the House Revenue and Tax Committee. _
NET OPERATING LOSS CARRY-FORWARD
***SB 108 by Sen. Keith Ingram and Rep. Jeremy Gillam would extend the period for which a net operating loss may be carried forward for purposes of state income tax to 10 years or until the loss has been exhausted or absorbed by the taxable income of a succeeding year, whichever is earlier. State and Federal Net Operating Loss (NOL) tax rules apply to businesses that report a taxable loss for a given tax year. These losses can be applied against previous years’ earnings or against future earnings. More than 40 states permit NOL carryovers of 10 – 20 years. Eighteen (18) states permit NOL carry back and carry forward. The IRS permits a carry back of three years and carry forward of 20 years. Arkansas is one of seven states that restrict NOL carry forward to five years only. SB 108 has been referred to the Senate Revenue and Tax Committee. _
TAX REDUCTION FOR REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT PARTS
***SB 334 by Sen. Jake Files and Rep. Tommy Wren would provide a refund of sales and use taxes for expenditures on repairs and replacement of certain machinery and equipment used directly in manufacturing. The bill sets a six-year schedule for gradually increasing the refund to 100 percent in 2018. However, the one-eighth (1/8) of one percent conservation tax and the temporary sales tax of one-half (1/2) of one percent highway tax would not be eliminated. SB 334 has been referred to the Senate Revenue and Tax Committee. _
Please contact your legislators and tell them about the impact these job-creating and job-protecting tax reductions would have on your businesses.
CONTACTINFORMATION
State Senators: 501-682-2902
State Representatives: 501-682-6211
To view schedules, calendars, bill information and legislator information, visit: www.arkleg.state.ar.us.
To view live stream video and audio from the Arkansas House of Representatives, visit www.arkansashouse.org.
