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Arkansas Senate Education Committee adopts rules, defers fiscal-impact requirement
Summary
The Senate Education Committee adopted its procedural rules but delayed a proposed requirement that every bill include a fiscal impact statement, after members raised concerns it could slow committee business. The panel also discussed lottery scholarship-study requirements and set a meeting schedule.
The Senate Education Committee adopted its rules for the session on a voice vote but agreed to defer consideration of a proposed rule requiring a fiscal impact statement on every bill.
Committee leadership proposed adding a requirement that "each bill must have a fiscal impact statement." The committee chair (name not specified) said, "I would make a motion that we have that, fiscal impact statement as required for all of our bills." The chair also read the draft language for the proposed rule: "Fiscal impact statement shall be made available to the committee at least 1 day before the bill may be called up for final action in the committee."
Members said they supported transparency about costs but worried the rule as written could slow committee business. Senator Jim Dodson said many bills have no fiscal effect and that requiring a formal fiscal statement for every bill could delay consideration while the Bureau of Legislative Research processes routine determinations. Senator Reginald Murdock called for finding a balance between speed and making legislation "truly be understandable for everybody before we make a decision." Senator Stephanie Flowers and others noted the draft language allows bills to remain on the agenda and that the requirement, as written, would only require the statement to be available one day before final committee action.
After discussion the committee approved a substitute motion to adopt the committee rules with Rule 7(b) — the fiscal-impact availability language — omitted for now. The chair said the committee would revisit the fiscal-impact requirement at a later date. The committee also confirmed its likely meeting schedule as Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m., with a quorum of five members required.
Members discussed a separate statutory requirement passed last session that a study be completed before any new lottery-scholarship program is authorized. The chair said the study is intended to confirm cash-flow and long-term funding before adding new scholarship uses; she said such studies would be done during the session before final passage of any new scholarship program. The committee noted that the Department of Education, the Bureau of Legislative Research and the Department of Finance and Administration (DFNA) may provide data or fiscal estimates as part of that process.
Votes at a glance
- Adopt committee rules excluding Rule 7(b) (fiscal-impact availability): approved by voice vote; mover and second not specified in the record. Rule 7(b) deferred for further consideration.
The committee will meet again during the session as scheduled; staff told members Christian (last name not specified) will notify them about bills to be considered in the next meeting.
