Senate Judiciary Committee advances package of criminal, civil and consumer-protection bills; porch‑piracy bill passes after earlier defeat

The Judiciary Committee - Senate met to consider a slate of criminal‑justice, consumer‑protection and civil‑procedure measures and voted to advance multiple bills, including amendments to the stalking statute, rules for returning property seized in investigations, and a higher felony classification for repeated ‘‘porch‑piracy’’ thefts after an earlier failed vote.

Why it matters: The committee moved bills that affect criminal penalties, how prosecutors hire and pay outside counsel, how victims recover property, licensing for private security and protections for children online. Several measures change statutory language and procedure used by prosecutors and law enforcement across Arkansas.

Senate bill 629 (self‑representation by LLC members in eviction cases) Senate bill 629, presented by Senator Caldwell, would allow a member of a closely held corporation or of an LLC to represent the business in local court eviction proceedings. Caldwell said the bill is narrowly limited to eviction proceedings and intended to restore a practice some landlords previously used. The committee voted to pass the bill. A sponsor asked for transparency after the state bar signaled it might oppose the measure; the chair said the request to delay was declined so the bill could be heard.

Stalking statute amendment (House Bill 17 78) Deputy prosecutor coordinator Laurie Campuris told the committee that House Bill 17 78 amends Arkansas Code § 5‑71‑229 (the stalking statute) to add conduct that places a person in imminent fear of unwanted sexual activity or sexual contact toward the person or a member of the person’s family or household as a form of stalking in the second degree. Campuris said the change is intended to cover situations where repeated communications — for example, threatening texts that reference a child — occur and prosecutors find existing statutes (terroristic threatening) harder to apply. Committee members asked about the required ‘‘course of conduct’’; Campuris confirmed stalking requires at least two acts separated by 36 hours and emphasized prosecutors need evidence to charge the offense. The committee passed the bill as amended.

Porch‑piracy penalty change (House Bill 17 79) Prosecuting attorney Daniel Shue (Sebastian County) described House Bill 17 79 as raising theft for ‘‘porch piracy’’ from a class D felony to a class C felony so that attempted thefts using ‘‘bait’’ packages can be charged at a higher level and make such stings more practical for law enforcement. Shue said law enforcement prefers higher classifications so police can…