Area legislators include (clockwise, from left) Nelda Speaks, John Payton, Scott Flippo, Missy Irvin, Michelle Gray and Jack Fortner.
Two local legislators are part of a group who say they will sue the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) over guidelines imposed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the ADH in response to COVID-19.
State Representatives Nelda Speaks of Mountain Home and John Payton of Wilburn are on the list of proposed plaintiffs, according to multiple published reports. Among other local legislators, State Senators Scott Flippo of Bull Shoals and Missy Irvin of Mountain View and Representatives Jack Fortner of Yellville, Michelle Gray of Melbourne and Jack Ladyman of Cherokee Village are not included in the published group, which is led by Rep. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro.
During Hutchinson’s daily update on COVID-19 in the state, the governor told assembled media and viewers the group is a “minority” of General Assembly members who are concerned.
Sullivan says that all directives issued by the ADH during the pandemic — including requirement of facemasks and limiting capacities at restaurants — exceed the authority of the governor and should be invalidated because they were not approved by state lawmakers, according to KATV in Little Rock. The suit, which Hutchinson says is unfiled, claims the state’s Administrative Procedures Act grants lawmakers oversight of such matters as a “procedural safeguard.”
“I feel confident the legislature gave us this authority, we’re acting appropriately and with great reservations in terms of restrictions,” Hutchinson says. “We’re trying to keep Arkansas moving, school operating and sports continuing. I think we’ve handled it well and there is a minority of legislators who have expressed a desire to have the courts consider it.”
The governor adds, “I don’t think it’s wise to have the courts involved in it. Anybody can file a lawsuit. We’ll save any additional comments until a lawsuit is filed.”
Sullivan’s group is also questioning the legality of the current state of emergency related to the pandemic.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI