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Judiciary Committee clears series of technical corrections bills to multiple code titles
Summary
The committee advanced several technical corrections bills—HB 1285 (Title 14), HB 1286 (Title 15), HB 1288 (Title 20) and HB 1293 (Title 25)—largely by voice vote; members asked staff and Code Revision to review classifications where fines and penalties were changed.
Sen. Tucker ran a group of technical corrections bills through the Judiciary Committee and closed for each, asking for favorable votes. HB 1285 (corrections to Title 14), HB 1286 (Title 15), HB 1288 (Title 20), and HB 1293 (Title 25) were each explained briefly, moved for passage and adopted by voice vote.
Several senators used the opportunity to press staff on the consistent application of penalty classifications when language was changed from 'misdemeanor' to 'violation.' Matthew Miller of Legislative Research explained that Arkansas Code § 5-4-201 sets a default fine range ($0–$100) for violations unless a statute specifies otherwise and provided a quick accounting of fine ranges found in Title 5.
Sen. Flowers and others urged Code Revision to review the overall approach to classifications and fine ranges because some of the changes remove a jail penalty but leave high maximum fines. Committee members agreed that some of those issues may rise beyond purely technical fixes and may require separate substantive consideration by Code Revision.
All four technical correction bills were reported from committee with recommendations to pass.
