Rep. Dan Greenberg: Here's something most Arkansas political insiders know, but the public is largely unaware of: by the time bills get to the House floor, the committee system has already scrubbed most of the controversy out of them. The vast majority of bills, by the time the whole House votes on them, are uncontroversial enough to be supported by most of us.Of course, there's an exception to every rule. We saw that exception Monday, when HB 1420, written by Rep. Rick Saunders of Hot Springs, came to the floor. This bill would have expanded the potential buyers of products made by prison labor. Our state prison produces goods through its in-house carpentry shop and printing shop; current law permits the sale of those products to some government employees. HB 1420 would have permitted all of Arkansas’s school district employees to buy prison goods; it also would have eliminated the long-standing prohibition against state legislators personally purchasing goods made by prison labor.
This provision attracted the interest of several legislators. My own personal opinion about this bill would best be labeled "negative interest." The custom of the House is that legislators may pose questions about any bill to the bill's sponsor, who presents the bill from behind a microphone near the center of the House floor. Most bills don't attract questions: this bill did.
Rep. Gregg Reep of Warren began the questioning, asking if under the proposed change in the law, a legislator could buy a desk made from prison labor for personal or home use. Rep. Saunders admitted it was a possibility. Then I stood up to ask a few questions. Originally, state law prevented legislators from personally buying goods made from prison labor: what, I asked, do you think was the reason for that?
Rep. Saunders said that the original law was passed before he was born, so he didn't know, but he allowed that maybe the reason was that the public didn't like the appearance of prisoners personally producing goods and services for legislators. I suspect that as soon as he said this, he realized that he might have conceded too much. I asked my final question: so the original law might have been passed because it looks bad to the public for legislators to benefit by prison labor? Saunders agreed, saying it might be so.
Rep. Ann Clemmer of Bryant (who is on the short list for being my favorite freshman legislator of this session) then stood up and asked whether prison-manufactured goods should be available to some people and not to others. When we extend the right to buy these things to state legislators, she asked, "doesn't it look like we're creating a privileged class?" Saunders answered that this extension was a policy decision that the legislature could make.
Rep. Jim Nickels of Sherwood then asked several questions about competition between prison labor and the private sector. Was it true, he wanted to know, that businesses and workers might face a competitive disadvantage if we expanded prison sales? Don't businesses in the private sector, he asked, have to pay higher salaries to their workers than prison laborers? Saunders once again conceded that there was a possibility of hurting manufacturers and printers in the private sector.
The time for questioning was over. Rep. Donna Hutchinson of Bella Vista rose to speak against the bill, referencing Cool Hand Luke and discussing the possibility of "graft and corruption." Rep. Saunders spoke again to defend the bill, saying that the bill just extended the same privileges to legislators as to everybody else. I looked over at Rep. Clemmer, who five minutes before had made precisely the opposite point; in the politest way possible, she raised her eyebrows.
But the damage was done to Saunders' bill. Most bills pass easily once they reach the floor of the House. This one didn't. Thanks to the scrutiny of some reform-minded legislators, it failed 9-80.
By and large, it was a bad week for conservatives in the House: Senate Bill 78, which was presented in the House by Rep. Fred Allen of Little Rock, makes seatbelt violations a primary offense, meaning an officer can make a traffic stop on that violation alone. Until now, not wearing a seatbelt was a secondary offense, and the officer had to witness another violation before making a stop. The fine for not wearing a seatbelt will be $25.
Backers of the bill have tried to change the secondary-violation law for several sessions, never succeeding until now. The bill goes to the governor and takes effect immediately upon his signature. Passage of the bill assures the state of receiving $9.5 million in federal highway-safety grants. The violation is a primary offense in 26 other states, according to federal records.
The House also approved HB 1339, by Rep. Eddie Cooper of Melbourne, to change how Arkansas casts its six electoral votes for president every four years. The six votes now go to the candidate who carries the state. HB 1339 says the votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote. Even if the measure is approved by the Senate and signed by the governor, it won’t take effect unless several other states pass similar legislation. Winning the presidency requires 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes. The Electoral College would effectively be abolished if enough states with a combined 270 electoral votes pass legislation like Arkansas’s. Five states have, so far. [Note, this bill has not yet been voted on by the Arkansas Senate.]
HB 1464, by Rep. Jim Nickels of North Little Rock, to raise the minimum wage from $6.25 an hour to $6.55, matching the federal minimum wage. Most minimum-wage earners in Arkansas already are getting the federal rate. The last time minimum-wage hike in Arkansas was in 2006, going from $5.15 an hour to $6.25. The bill goes to the Senate.
Although all three of these bills passed the House, I do not think any friends of freedom should view their passage as progress.
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