Senate votes against considering Rapert's proposed law enforcement tax credit - Arkansas Times
The Arkansas General Assembly returned to the state Capitol today for the beginning of a special session to consider the largest income tax cut in state history and several other odds and ends. The legislature is limited to considering only what’s on Governor Hutchinson’s call, but as we’ve reported, there are going to be several efforts to broaden the intent of the session or extend it.
Today saw the first attempt along those lines. Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) put forward a pair of bills that would create a $3,000 tax credit for all full-time law enforcement officers. Rapert is running for lieutenant governor and wants some grist for his “back the blue” demagoguery. It’s bad policy to rob state revenue to cover deficient local spending on police officers. But the Arkansas Senate has never been afraid to enact bad policy. Perhaps members are wary of the session stretching too far into the holiday season.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) objected to Rapert’s Senate Bills 8 and 9 as “not germane” to the governor’s call. Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin ruled the bills were germane. He said courts had given the legislature wide latitude to act within the subject matter of the call. At one point he offered a metaphor to explain: “The governor can call everyone to a breakfast special session, but he can’t require everyone to have two eggs, Petit Jean bacon and cheese grits. If y’all decide you want some country ham instead, there’s some flexibility.”
Dismang then made a motion to overrule Griffin’s ruling. Needing 18 votes to overrule, SB 8 got 23 and SB 9 got 21.
During discussion of the votes to overrule, Rapert suggested that Hutchinson and legislative leaders had made promises about the law enforcement tax credit and were now backing away from them. He said that the state’s average pay for law enforcement officers was among the lowest in the nation and the Senate needed to get its priorities straight.
Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale) offered several impassioned speeches warning his colleagues that the Senate was giving away its power to the executive branch. He said the vote was a precedent.
source: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/12/07/senate-votes-against-considering-raperts-proposed-law-enforcement-tax-credit
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