The Legislature finished the fiscal session on May 5, 2016, with the formal sine die adjournment scheduled for Monday, May 9, 2016.

Legislators will return on May 19 for a special legislative session to address Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s highway funding plan.

The 90th Arkansas General Assembly entered its second extraordinary session on Wednesday, April 6, to consider Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s Medicaid proposal. Hutchinson believes the proposal can expand the state’s Medicaid program while also encouraging recipients to stay employed and to take responsibility for their health care.

The legislature’s fiscal session is slated to convene on Wednesday, April 13.

Photo of Arkansas State Capitol Building by Stuart Seeger on Wikimedia Commons.

Citing burnout from over 18 years of elections work, Director of Arkansas Elections Rob Hammons has turned in his resignation to the secretary of state’s office. Assistant Director Leslie Bellamy has taken over as the interim director.

The Elections Division is responsible for maintaining elections records, assisting county officials with conducting elections, and ensuring compliance with federal election laws.

A special legislative session has been called to start on April 6, a week before the 2016 regular session kicks off. The special session will address passing a new form of Medicaid expansion in the state.

Lawmakers will vote on the issue during the April 6 special session, and will vote to fund the program in a fiscal session starting April 13.

After questions arose regarding certain contributions, state Senator David Sanders admitted to a mistake of contributing $5,000 of his 2014 campaign’s surplus funds to his political action committee.  After admitting the mistake and consulting with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, Sanders returned the contributions to 12 campaign contributors.

Sanders also admitted to failing to file required reports for his political action committee, which have since been filed to remedy the problem. Sanders chalked up his mistakes as “simply an oversight,” and there are no penalties expected to be handed down by the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

The First Extraordinary Session of the 90th General Assembly adjourned on Thursday, May 28.

Lawmakers spent much of the three day session discussing, and ultimately approving, a bill to move the state’s 2016 primary and nonpartisan judicial elections from May 20 to March 1.

The Legislature formally adjourned sine die on April 22, 2015, but with the possibility of a special session later this year.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has indicated he will likely call legislators back to address the state’s Medicaid expansion.

A legislative task force is expected to issue a recommendation for an alternative program to the state’s private option Medicaid expansion.

Photo of the Arkansas State Capitol by jglazer75 on Wikimedia Commons.

The state Ethics Commission is discussing how to administer new lobbying and campaign laws signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Senate Bill 967 (now Act 1280) limits lobbyists to one “planned activity” per week and provides a 30-day grace period for officials to return improper gifts. Political contribution limits from individuals and PACs to a candidate have been raised from $2,000 to $2,700 per election.

Act 1280 also authorizes the commission to oversee new ethics laws contained in a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2014. The amendment prohibited lobbyist gifts and corporate contributions, but did not provide the commission authority to administer the constitutional changes.

Earlier this year lawmakers passed House Bill 1002 (now Act 47), but that law only authorized the commission to issue advisory opinions concerning the amendment.

Act 1280 further provides the commission with statutory authority to administer the changes by issuing rules and investigating complaints. Act 1280 became effective upon Hutchinson’s signature.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed a bill authorizing the Ethics Commission to oversee new ethics laws contained in a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2014. The amendment prohibited lobbyist gifts and corporate contributions, but did not provide the Ethics Commission authority to administer the constitutional changes.

Act 47 (House Bill 1002) is effective immediately and allows the Ethics Commission to begin issuing advisory opinions and guidelines concerning the amendment.

Lawmakers have passed a bill authorizing the Ethics Commission to oversee new ethics laws contained in a constitutional amendment passed by voters on November 4, 2014. The amendment prohibited lobbyist gifts and corporate contributions, but did not provide the Ethics Commission authority to administer the constitutional changes.

House Bill 1002 allows the Ethics Commission to interpret the changes by issuing advisory opinions and guidelines. The bill will be effective immediately if signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Photo of the Arkansas State Capitol by Stuart Seeger on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Mike Beebe has scheduled a special election on April 14, 2015, to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Michael Lamoureux. The primary will be January 13 and a primary runoff, if necessary, on February 10. Lamoureux vacated the seat in Senate District 16 to take a position as Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson’s chief of staff.

The 2015 legislative session will be conducted by a 34-seat Senate unless the session runs for more than three months.

Lawmakers have prefiled a bill to clarify new ethics laws contained in a constitutional amendment passed by voters on November 4, 2014.

The amendment prohibits lobbyist gifts and corporate contributions, but the Ethics Commission needs further legislative authority to enforce the constitutional changes.

Democratic Rep. Warwick Sabin and Republican Sen. Jon Woods filed House Bill 1002 as a shell bill, without any specific proposals, to publicize the issue ahead of the session start date on January 12, 2015.

Photo of the Arkansas State Capitol by jglazer75 on Wikimedia Commons.

Voters passed a constitutional amendment on the November 4 ballot to extend term limits for state lawmakers in exchange for strict ethics laws for lobbyists and corporations.

The Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics, Transparency, and Financial Reform Amendment of 2014 bans corporate and union contributions to political campaigns, prohibits gifts from lobbyists to legislative and executive officials, and extends term limits for legislators to at least 16 years.

The new provision allows lawmakers to serve 16 years in the same office, or even longer for senators winning special two-year terms after each decennial census and redistricting process.

The amendment is effective today, November 5, 2014.

A proposed constitutional amendment on the November 4, 2014, ballot will determine whether voters are willing to extend term limits for state lawmakers in exchange for strict ethics laws for lobbyists and corporations. Issue 3 will ban corporate and union gifts to political campaigns, ban lobbyist gifts to legislative and executive officials, and extend term limits for legislators to at least 16 years.

Under the current state constitution, lawmakers typically serve no more than six years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The ballot measure would allow lawmakers to serve 16 years in the same office, or even longer for senators winning special two-year terms after each decennial census and redistricting process.

Adding term limits to the bill helped the ethics package pass the Legislature, but has decreased the popularity of the ballot measure in pre-election polls.