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Minimum wage gets final Senate OK Friday, Apr 7, 2006 By Rob Moritz and Doug Thompson Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The Senate gave final legislative approval Thursday to a bill to raise Arkansas' minimum wage to $6.25 an hour. The House, meanwhile, concurred in Senate amendments to House-approved legislation that would require violent sex offenders to wear electronic tracking devices. Both measures have passed both the House and Senate and headed to Gov. Mike Huckabee's desk Thursday, the fourth day of a special session focusing primarily one public education. Lawmakers hope to finish their business and adjourn the special session today. The Senate approved the minimum wage legislation, House Bill 1033 by Rep. Benny Petrus, D-Stuttgart, by a 29-1 vote. It would increase the state minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.25 an hour, effective Oct. 1. The $1.10 statutory hike, offered as an alternative to a proposed constitutional amendment that includes yearly increases for inflation, would give workers the first minimum wage increase since 1997. Supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment have promised to stop their efforts to get the measure on the Nov. 7 general election ballot when the governor signs the minimum wage increase into law. Huckabee praised the bill's passage during a news conference Thursday, saying that raising the minimum wage by statute is better than changing the constitution. "This is a far better solution than anything that had been offered," Huckabee said. "It was carefully worked by people as far apart as labor and the chamber of commerce, and that's a real plus. It's a bill that everybody can be proud of." In the House, Rep. Dawn Creekmore, D-Hensley, said two Senate amendments to her House Bill 1005 - The Child Protection Act - did little to change the substance of the measure and urged the House to approve them. One of the amendments added a sponsor and the other corrected errors in wording. Along with requiring violent sex offenders to wear electronic tracking devices for at least 10 years after being released from prison, the bill also requires sex offenders to re-register with the state every 10 years. In other votes Thursday, the House approved SB 17, which approves spending $6 million for an anti-viral drug stockpile in case there is a flu pandemic in the state. The bill now goes to the governor. The House defeated SB 18 by Rep. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett, which would have allowed 10 percent annual interest on delinquent personal property taxes. The vote was 46-46 with 51 votes needed for passage. Several House critics said the measure would hurt the very poor in the state. The Senate approved legislation to authorize a $35 million bond issue to finance a new cancer research center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, though not without debate. Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, offered an amendment to pay for the cancer center out of the state's General Improvement Fund, which he said would save more than $80 million in interest and other finance costs. State revenues have run ahead of projections in recent months, and there is plenty of cash on hand to pay for the center, Luker said. The amendment failed to come to a vote, and the Senate approved the bill, 34-0. Sen. Randy Laverty, D-Jasper, said the state had the money to pay cash for the research center. But if it had, "Every college in the state would have come up to us and said, 'OK, where's my $35 million?'" Laverty said. "I've already have people from one university's administration stop me in the halls and say that if we can give UAMS $35 million, surely we can finance their project." Sen. Shawn Womack, D-Mountain Home, said that the governor's call of the special session specifically asked for consideration of bond financing of the center. Other forms of payment were not germane to the call, he said, and could not be authorized without a two-thirds vote in each Legislative chamber. Saving almost $80 million in finance cost is germane anytime, Luker replied. The money for the bond financing comes from the state's court settlement with U.S. tobacco companies over health costs arising from smoking. The center is part of a plan adopted by voters. The Senate also approved a rule change that would allow members to accept campaign contributions while the Senate is in recess. Neither senators nor House accept campaign contributions during legislative sessions. However, those sessions usually include a recess for as long as a month after business is concluded to allow the Legislature to fix any problems with legislative acts without calling another special session. If the rule was left in place, candidates who face May 23 primaries would not be able to raise money during the post-session recess. The rule suspension was passed with a voice vote. |
