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Beebe still undecided on expanding special session Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday he has not yet decided whether to ask lawmakers to address two additional issues when the state Legislature convenes in a special session next week to consider raising the severance tax on natural gas. Beebe said Friday he will call a March 31 special session on the severance tax but said he might also ask lawmakers to revise the state's marriage-age law and take further action to assist the North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts in obtaining unitary status. Beebe said that when he last checked Tuesday morning, the House and Senate staffs had not contacted enough legislators to be able to say how much support there was for adding those issues to the session's agenda. "They appear to be fairly non-controversial at this juncture, but neither the House or Senate had made enough calls to be able to give us any idea," Beebe said. The governor said he does not want to include those issues in the session if doing so would require staying in session "longer than the minimum requisite time." At least three days are required for a bill to be approved by both houses of the Legislature. Beebe said Friday he had commitments from 81 House members and 30 senators to support his plan to raise the severance tax from the current rate of three-tenths of a cent per 1,000 cubic feet of gas to 5 percent of the market value of the gas, with reductions for some new or expensive wells. Most of the revenue from the tax would go to roads and highways. Raising the tax requires the vote of at least 75 House members and 27 senators. As of Tuesday no legislators had backed away from their commitment to support the plan, Beebe said. Beebe may also ask the House and Senate to change the marriage-age law. The Legislature passed a bill last year that was intended to set a uniform age of consent to marry in Arkansas, but an error in the wording of the measure permitted persons of any age to marry with parental consent. The governor may also ask lawmakers to pass legislation extending the deadline for the North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts to seek unitary status - i.e., status as fully desegregated schools. The Legislature last year provided incentive money for the districts to seek unitary status and set a June deadline to apply, but the court cannot address the issue that soon, Beebe said Tuesday. |
