As the legislative session continues in Little Rock, there have been several issues being looked at by the Arkansas State Senate considered by some as controversial. District 23 Sen. Scott Flippo of Bull Shoals addressed some of those issues, including Senate Bill 290, designed to prohibit moratoriums on the issuance of permits in watersheds and other bodies of water in the state. The bill was amended to leave the Buffalo National River alone before it was passed and sent to the House of Representatives for its vote.
There were many area residents concerned legislation was being masqueraded as a right-to-farm bill with bigger plans for the Buffalo River, including bike trails and hotels. Sen. Flippo says he would like to have a more-informed opinion on such development before saying if he’s in favor of it, but he believes those pushing the bill made a major mistake.
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The prison appropriations bill, known as Senate Bill 354, is another matter in which Sen. Flippo has received a lot of response on how he voted. He says he voted in favor of the legislation the first two times, but the last three times, he chose to vote present. The local legislator says he was upset by the way some of his colleagues in the Senate were treated when they expressed concerns he may not necessarily agree with, but he can acknowledge those concerns have merit.
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The bill failed in the Senate when it went up for a vote last week.
Senate Bill 184 is designed to abolish the Arkansas State Library Board and transfer its powers to the Arkansas Department of Education. Local resident Deborah Knox currently serves as the chair of the board, and Sen. Flippo says she is a passionate advocate for libraries and literacy. He is however in support of the bill believing the board is dysfunctional.
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The Senate passed the bill and transmitted it to the House. At last update, it was referred to the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.
House Bill 1879 is designed to require all public meetings of city councils and quorum courts in Arkansas to be recorded in video format and for the recordings to be posted to a website or social media. Sen. Flippo says he’s had conversations with the lead sponsor, Rep. Robin Lundstrum of Elm Springs, about concerns of the bill. Rep. Lundstrum has reportedly decided to pull the bill down in an effort to address some of those concerns.
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The legislative session will continue again this week.
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