Senate

January 31, 2023

Lt Gov Rutledge: The Senate will be called to order at this time. Are there any requests for leave? Senator Leding, you’re recognized.

Sen Leding: Request leave for Senator Chesterfield, Senator Flowers, and Senator King.  

Lt Gov Rutledge: Senator Flippo, you’re recognized.

(Inaudible)

 Lt Gov Rutledge: Any others? Madam Secretary, if you would please call the roll.

Madam Secretary: Boyd, Bryant, Caldwell, Chesterfield, Clark, Crowell, Davis, Dees, Dismang, Dotson, English, Flippo, Flowers, Gilmore, Hammer, Hester, Hickey, Hill, Irvin, Blake Johnson, Mark Johnson, King, Leding, Love, McKee, Murdock, Payton, Penzo, Petty, Rice, Stone, Stubblefield, Sullivan, Tucker, Wallace.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Thank you and if everyone in the chamber and in the galleries would please rise for a prayer led by Senator Gilmore, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sen Gilmore: {Prayer}

[Pledge of Allegiance]

Lt Gov Rutledge: Ladies and gentlemen in the galleries, welcome to your Arkansas State Senate. It is our expectation that each of you will exercise proper decorum and govern yourselves accordingly during today’s proceedings. Without objection, the rules will be suspended and the Senate will dispense of the reading of the journal. The morning hour has now begun. Are there any announcements or introductions at this time? Senator Hester, you’re recognized.

Sen Hester: Hey, members, thank you for being flexible on schedule today. And so we’ll leave from here, we’ll go into committees at 10 o’clock. If your chairman and the committee chooses to allow a member to Zoom in should they need to, that’s up to each committee. And we’ll make a decision on tomorrow this afternoon. It’s looking like doom and gloom. So it’s not looking favorable but we’ll make a decision on that after we have some real facts. Thank you.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Thank you, Senator. Any other announcements? Madam Secretary, are there items at the desk?

Madam Secretary: Yes, Madam President. Dear Madam President. We your Committee on Engrossed Bills, to whom was referred Senate Bill 118 by Senator Dotson, report that we have correctly compared the engrossed copy with the original and we find the same correctly engrossed.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Judiciary.

Madam Secretary: Senate Bill 184 by Senator Johnson. To clarify the effective date of filing by mail with the Tax Appeals Commission and to declare an emergency. Senate Bill 184.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Revenue and Tax.

Madam Secretary: Senate Bill 185 by Senator Johnson. To amend the appointment procedure for the Tax Appeals Commission to provide for the filling of vacancies of the Commission and to declare an emergency. Senate Bill 185.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Revenue and Tax. Is there any further business to come before the body in the morning hour? Seeing none, the morning hour has expired. We will now start the business agenda.

Madam Secretary: Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 59.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Senator Leding, you’re recognized.

Sen Leding: This is Senator Chesterfield’s bill and her amendment.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Are there any questions on the amendment? Seeing none, all those in favor please signify by saying aye. Any opposed? Amendment passes to engrossing.

Madam Secretary: House Bill 1125 by Senator Hill. To prohibit a registered sex offender from purchasing, owning, possessing, using, or operating an unmanned aircraft for private use.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Senator Hill, you’re recognized.

Sen Hill: This is a pretty simple bill, colleagues that Representative Evans passed on the House side 95-4 and 1 abstaining from voting. This would prevent a sexual class 3 and class 4 from operating a drone, and for purchasing a drone, using or operating an unmanned aircraft if they’ve already been convicted and so this one should fit pretty well.

I do know that we have some voyeurism laws out here. This does not affect them whatsoever. This just adds to it because I’ve had an instance in Cabot where they were flying over with a drone, an individual was. He was a class 4 sexual offender. And crashed his drone in the backyard with some ladies laying out there. They grabbed it, took it to the police station. There was nothing they could do about it because it was a loophole in the laws. So we’re trying to tighten that down just to make it where it’s a crime if they’ve been doing that. They’ve already been convicted of one felony on this and so this is just going to add to it if they get out and they continue to act the way they shouldn’t. Have any questions I’ll be glad to answer them.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Anyone have questions for Senator Hill? Seeing no questions, anyone wish to speak for or against? Senator Tucker wishes to speak on the bill.

Sen Tucker: Thank you, Madam President. I’ll be brief. And I’ve discussed this with Senator Hill and Representative Evans. The conduct that happened in Cabot that they described is reprehensible and I believe it ought to be illegal. I just think we ought to do it a little bit different way than what this particular bill does.

As Senator Hill said, it makes it illegal for someone who’s a level 3 or 4 sex offender to own a drone. And I think there is behavior that we want to make sure it is illegal but the way this bill goes about it in one sense is too broad, in another sense it’s not broad enough. And I’ll explain what I mean. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a drone. There’s a lot of legitimate purposes to have a drone. And we’re making it illegal for a category of people to own a drone. So in that sense, it’s too broad.

In the sense that it’s not broad enough, what he described is what happened in Cabot. I wanted to make sure that that kind of conduct is illegal for everybody in society, not just level 3 or 4 sex offenders. So if this bill passes, that kind of conduct as it’s written now could go on forever from someone who’s just not a level 3 or 4 sex offender. And someone who’s a level 3 or 4 sex offender could get their friend who’s not a registered sex offender to get a drone and do whatever they want.

So as Senator Hill mentioned, there are voyeurism laws on the books. They do directly deal with unmanned aircraft which is the legal term for drones. And my suggestion would be let’s take a look at the voyeurism law, make sure that what happened in this particular case is a crime, is illegal moving forward. And that we’re actually criminalizing the conduct that we want to prevent because I don’t think this bill really does that.

I tried to come up with an analogy, no analogy is perfect but it’s like if you’re a former baseball player and you beat someone up with a baseball bat, what this bill does it says if you’re a former baseball player you can’t own baseball bats. When instead we should have a law that says you can’t beat someone up with a baseball bat. We need the law to be narrowly tailored to the conduct that we want to criminalize. So that’s it.

You know, we pass laws here. I’ve done it, whether they’re based on one circumstance, one example of something that happened to one person. I think when that happens we need to be particularly careful that the law that we write doesn’t solve for just this one instance but actually all instances moving forward. And that we need to be particularly thoughtful when we’re creating crimes which we obviously have the capacity to do but we’re creating felonies here.

And so those are my suggestions I think it would be a better way to move forward. I totally support what they’re trying to do. I think the conduct ought to be illegal. So I understand they’re going to run the bill and that’s fine, it’ll probably pass but I’m going to vote present for those reasons.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Thank you, Senator. Any others? Is there any objection to rolling the vote? I apologize, Senator Hill, you’re recognized.

Sen Hill: No problem. Thank you for those comments, Senator Tucker.  I greatly encourage you to look forward into what you just discussed as far as trying to tighten up or expand whatever you need to on those other laws. So it’s a very good idea and I will encourage you to do that and I will help support you. I’d appreciate a good vote.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Thank you, Senator Hill, for the close. Now, is there any objection to rolling the vote? Seeing none, Madam Secretary, please roll the vote.

Lewellen: Boyd, Bryant, Caldwell, Chesterfield, Clark, Crowell, Davis, Dees, Dismang, Dotson, English, Flippo, Flowers, Gilmore, Hammer, Hester, Hickey, Hill, Irvin, Blake Johnson, Mark Johnson, King, Leding, Love, McKee, Murdock, Payton, Penzo, Petty, Rice, Stone, Stubblefield, Sullivan, Tucker, Wallace.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Any Senators who have not voted wish to vote or change your vote? Senator Tucker is present. Madam Secretary, please cast up the ballots. By a vote of 30 yeas, 0 nay, and 1 present, it passes. Please return to the House. Is there any other business before the body? Any announcements at this time? Senator Irvin, you’re recognized.

Sen Irvin: Members not sure, I don’t think Public Health is going to have our joint meeting this afternoon because of the weather. So just we’ll postpone that and just thanking everybody. Our Secretary is on her way to get an x-ray, so she’s in good hands. Thank y’all.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Senator Hester, do you have any announcements?

Sen Hester: No, I think I’m just going to reiterate what I said earlier. It’s not looking good for tomorrow at all but the plan is we’re going to wait until we have some real facts. But it looks like the reason we’re in this morning is because it looks like this afternoon, weather is going to get really, really bad. So anyway, that’s what I know. No, we are not going to take up appointments today because Senator Penzo is not here, and I have not heard from him.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Senator Hester?

Sen Hester: All right, we will have our committees at 10 o’clock. We will have our committees at 10 o’clock, plan to be here at 1 o’clock tomorrow. You will receive a text from me or from Sabrina if that changes. And we’ll make a decision as quickly as possible. Senator.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Senator Mark Johnson, you’re recognized.

Sen M Johnson: Do you know the status of House Committees this morning? Some of the bills scheduled in House. Are they even going to meet?

Sen Hester: The House is having their committees this morning. They are still planning to meet at 1:30 this afternoon. They have not made a decision to cancel at 1:30 this afternoon. We’re a little more mobile than them. That’s why it was easier for us to have an early meeting this morning.

Sen M Johnson: Thank you, sir. Thank you, Madam President.

Sen Hester: Yeah, if you’ve got something going on in a House committee, they are meeting.

Lt Gov Rutledge: Seeing no further business, the Senate will stand in adjournment subject to the clearing of the desk until 1 o’clock tomorrow, February 1st.