Cell Phone Restrictions, Tobacco Tax Clear Both Chambers
Friday, Feb 13, 2009
LITTLE ROCK – Two bills restricting the use of cell phones while driving will soon be signed into law, along with a tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to pay for a wide-ranging healthcare plan.
House Bill 1119, by Rep. Allen Kerr of Little Rock, prohibits drivers under 18 from using a cell phone and requires drivers who are 18 to 20 to use only hands-free cell phone devices. A first offense would attract a warning, while a second and subsequent violations would bring a fine of up to $50.
House Bill 1013, by Rep. Ray Kidd of Jonesboro, prohibits all text messages while driving. It will be called “Paul’s Law,” in memory of a Jonesboro man killed last year in a head-on collision caused by another driver who was trying to send a text message. A first offense would bring a warning. A second offense would bring a fine of up to $100.
Also in the governor’s hands: House Bill 1204, by Rep. Gregg Reep of Warren, to raise tobacco taxes. It will generate about $87 million a year, plus about the same amount in federal Medicaid matching funds, to pay for a variety of healthcare items, including the development of a trauma network among hospital emergency rooms across the state and opening a second medical school, in Northwest Arkansas.
During the General Assembly’s fifth week in session, the House also approved HB 1237, by Rep. Beverly Pyle of Cedarville, to remove churches and other places of worship from the list of places where people with permits are not allowed to carry guns. The bill goes to the Senate.
The state’s concealed weapons law was enacted in 1997. Government buildings, schools, churches and bars were listed as places where concealed weapons are banned. HB 1237 says individual churches can decide whether to ban weapons and that such notice could be posted on a sign, announced from the pulpit or mentioned in a church bulletin or program.
In other business, the House approved:
• HB 1046, by Rep. Roy Ragland of Marshall. Called “The Freedom to Farm Act,” the bill says Arkansas animal owners aren’t required to register or enroll in an animal electronic identification program, except for the federal program mandated by Congress.
• HB 1382, by Rep. Barry Hyde of North Little Rock, to increase fines for misdemeanor offenses and allow cities and counties to collect an additional $20 fine from a defendant upon conviction. The extra revenue will go to county jails struggling financially from housing state inmates. The bill goes to the Senate.
• HB 1113, by Rep Dawn Creekmore of East End, to ban late-term abortions that have come to be known as “partial birth” abortions. The bill mirrors a federal law upheld as constitutional in 2005 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The bill goes to the Senate.
• HB 1058, also by Creekmore, to remove the statute of limitations on rape when DNA evidence is present. The current limit on those cases is 15 years. Murder is the only crime now without time limit on the filing of charges.
• HB 1338, by Rep. Bobby Pierce of Sheridan, to prohibit convicted felons, illegal immigrants, drug addicts and people who have been committed to an institution because of mental illness from possessing explosive materials. The bill goes to the Senate.
• HB 1357, by Rep. Mike Burris of Malvern, to make it easier and less expensive for students who have completed associate degree programs at two-year colleges to transfer to four-year colleges in Arkansas. The bill goes to the Senate.
The week also saw the passing of a deadline for members to file proposed constitutional amendments. The General Assembly can refer up to three “general issue” measures to voters each general election. Lawmakers this year filed 23 proposed amendments. The State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committees of each chamber will winnow the list and send its recommendations to the full House and Senate.
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