2011 Legislative News, 2011 Weekly Column, Featured - Thursday, January 27, 2011 20:36 - 0 Comments

Legislative Update – January 27, 2011

Here are several items of note this week at the Legislature:

House Passes Email Notification of Vehicle Registration Renewal - The House passed House Bill 1161 by Rep. Kathy Webb of Little Rock, which would allow Arkansans to choose to be notified by e-mail when it is time to renew their vehicle registration. Webb said 296,000 people in the state now renew their vehicle registration each year online, and if all of those people were to choose to be notified by e-mail instead of regular mail when it is time to renew, the state could save about $97,000 annually.  The bill now goes to the Senate.

Health Care Block Falls Short – A bill to block implementation of the universal health insurance mandate in Arkansas failed to clear a House committee today.  House Bill 1053 by Rep. David Meeks of Conway, failed in the 20-member House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee with 7 “yes” votes and 12 “no” votes after about 90 minutes of testimony in a packed committee room.  The meeting was also lived streamed over the internet at www.arkansashouse.org.

Bill to Ban Earphones Dropped -Less than a week after filing the bill, Sen. Jimmy Jeffress of Crossett dropped his effort to ban the use of earbuds while jogging or walking.  Sen. Jeffress had said he filed Senate Bill 80 because he believes listening to audio in isolation while jogging or walking is a hazard and makes pedestrians more prone to accidents.  The senator says all he wanted to do was get lawmakers talking about the issue.  The bill was mentioned in a story on CNN earlier in the week.

No State Funds for Private Defense Lawyers – The House Judiciary Committee unanimously endorsed legislation that would largely relieve the state from paying for an indigent defendant’s private lawyer.  Rep. John C. Edwards of Little Rock said House Bill 1104 is in response to a case in which the family of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad asked the state to pay for defending him against capital murder and other charges in the 2009 shooting death of a soldier outside a west Little Rock military recruiting station.  The bill now advances to the House floor, where it is expected to come up for a vote next week.

Three-Day Weekend – The House and Senate will not be in session on Friday, January 27, and will reconvene Monday, January 31 at 1:30 p.m.