1 State of Arkansas
2 93rd General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2021 SR 1
4
5 By: Senator Hickey
6
7 SENATE RESOLUTION
8 A RESOLUTION TO ADOPT RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR
9 COMMITTEES OF THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
10 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.
11
12
13 Subtitle
14 TO ADOPT RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR
15 COMMITTEES OF THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-
16 THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF
17 ARKANSAS.
18
19
20 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
21 STATE OF ARKANSAS:
22
23 SECTION 1. The rules of procedure for committees of the Senate of the
24 Ninety-Third General Assembly of the State of Arkansas are adopted to read as
25 follows:
26
27 2021 Regular Session Senate Rules for Committee Procedures
28
29 1. Purpose. In order to provide for continuity of government and the
30 carrying out of its Constitutional responsibilities related to the regular
31 legislative session, while also allowing for member, staff, and public
32 participation in the legislative process in an environment that is as safe
33 and healthy as possible, the Senate of the Ninety-Third General Assembly of
34 the State of Arkansas adopts these temporary emergency rules regarding the
35 conduct of committee meetings for the 2021 Regular Session.
36
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1 2. Duration. These rules shall continue until such time that the
2 COVID-19 public health emergency for the State of Arkansas is terminated or
3 allowed to expire. If the public health emergency is terminated or allowed
4 to expire during the 2021 Regular Session, a majority of the members of the
5 Senate may vote to extend all provisions or specific provisions of these
6 rules through sine die adjournment of the 2021 Regular Session.
7
8 3. Applicability. These rules shall apply to standing and select
9 committees of the Senate. In the event that the Senate and the House of
10 Representatives adopt identical rules for committee procedures, these rules
11 shall also apply to the following joint committees: Energy; and Public
12 Retirement and Social Security Programs. If the rules for committee
13 procedures adopted by the House of Representatives and the Senate are not
14 identical, these rules will not apply to the joint committees and the joint
15 committees may adopt rules of procedure that do not substantially diverge
16 from the rules adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
17
18 4. Conflict with Existing Rules. If the procedures set forth herein
19 conflict with existing provisions of the Joint Rules or the Rules of the
20 Senate, these rules shall supersede those rules for the duration of these
21 rules.
22
23 5. Meeting Schedule and Room Assignments. Committee meetings shall be
24 held at the times and on the days indicated in the Committee Rooms/Meeting
25 Assignments Table attached hereto as Attachment A. A committee chair may
26 schedule a meeting at a time or in a meeting room other than what is listed
27 on the schedule established in Attachment A, after consideration of
28 availability of a committee room and corresponding public comment holding
29 room and staff availability.
30
31 6. Committee Room Health and Safety Requirements. The following health
32 and safety requirements shall be followed by all individuals, including
33 members, staff, and members of the public in legislative committee meetings
34 and public comment holding rooms. Failure of a member to abide by these
35 health and safety requirements may cause him or her to not be recognized by
36 the chair during a committee meeting. Continued violations of these
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1 requirements may result in discipline by the members respective chamber.
2 Other individuals violating these rules may be removed from the committee
3 room or public comment holding room.
4 a. Assigned Seating. Committee member seating will be assigned
5 for each committee. A legislator who is not a member of a committee shall
6 not be seated at the committee table unless presenting a bill. Each committee
7 room shall have a designated seating area for members waiting to present a
8 bill to the committee. Member seating shall remain the same for the duration
9 of the 2021 Regular Session.
10 b. Mask Requirement. A mask or other cloth face covering is
11 required to be worn over the mouth and nose of every individual in committee
12 rooms and public comment holding rooms at all times, except an individual
13 who: is speaking directly into the microphone; is able to maintain physical
14 distance of six (6) feet or more from other individuals; is consuming food or
15 drink; or has a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a face
16 covering.
17 c. Physical Distancing. Every effort shall be made to maintain
18 physical distancing of at least six (6) feet in the committee rooms and
19 public comment holding rooms. Seating arranged to provide for this distance
20 shall not be rearranged. Individuals are not permitted to enter the room
21 once all available seating is filled.
22 d. Health Screening. All individuals shall have submitted to a
23 temperature check and onsite health screening and been given an armband
24 indicating admittance at the entrance to either the State Capitol Building or
25 the MAC Building that calendar day prior to entering the Senate chamber, a
26 committee room, or public comment holding room.
27 e. Removal of Trash. Committee members, staff, and members of
28 the public shall remove and properly dispose of any trash he or she creates
29 during the course of the committee meeting.
30 f. Security. The Senate shall place staff in all committee
31 rooms and public comment holding rooms to ensure compliance by members of the
32 public with room capacity limits, masking requirements, and physical
33 distancing requirements.
34
35 7. Committee Agendas.
36 a. Referred Items List. As a bill or resolution is filed and
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1 assigned to a committee by each chamber, the bill or resolution shall be
2 placed on the referred items list for the committee. The bills and
3 resolutions on the referred items list are bills and resolutions that are
4 referred to the committee but not currently on a committee agenda. In
5 addition, a bill or resolution that has failed to pass one time in committee
6 will revert to the referred items list. The committee chair will use the
7 referred items list to create the regular agenda for each committee meeting.
8 b. Creation of Committee Agenda.
9 (1) Bills and resolutions pulled from the referred items
10 list will be placed in one of the following three categories on the committee
11 agenda:
12 (A) Regular Agenda bills and resolutions to be
13 considered by the committee on the date of the agenda;
14 (B) Consent Agenda bills and resolutions on the
15 committee agenda for which there is no known opposition or expected public
16 testimony and that may be taken up at any time by the committee; or
17 (C) Deferred Bills bills and resolutions for which
18 committee consideration has been deferred either for failure of the sponsor
19 to appear or at the request of the sponsor.
20 (2) It is the responsibility of a primary sponsor or the
21 member who will be presenting the bill or resolution in committee to contact
22 the committee chair to let the chair know that he or she is ready to have the
23 bill or resolution placed on a committee agenda. The primary sponsor or the
24 member who will be presenting the bill or resolution in committee shall
25 advise the chair of:
26 (A) A specific date on which he or she is available
27 to present his or her bill or resolution;
28 (B) Whether the bill or resolution is considered to
29 be controversial;
30 (C) The number of witnesses he or she plans to bring
31 with him or her to testify before the committee; and
32 (D) An estimate of the time the committee may need
33 to consider the bill or resolution.
34 (3) The committee chair will provide committee staff with
35 a list of bills and resolutions that will be considered at the next committee
36 meeting and the order in which they will be taken up.
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1 c. Consent Agenda.
2 (1) The chair may place a bill or resolution on the
3 consent agenda if the sponsor has advised the chair that the bill or
4 resolution has no known opposition and no public testimony to be given on the
5 bill or resolution.
6 (2) Prior to including a bill or resolution on the consent
7 agenda, the chair shall ask that the committee members review the list of
8 bills or resolutions being added to the consent agenda, and the chair shall
9 state that without objection the bills and resolutions will be placed on the
10 consent agenda.
11 (3) If any member objects, the bill or resolution shall be
12 moved to the referred items list.
13 (4) A bill or resolution that has been placed on the
14 consent agenda may at any time be moved to the referred items list if the
15 chair learns of opposition to the bill or resolution or at the request of the
16 sponsor.
17 (5) A bill or resolution on the consent agenda may remain
18 on the agenda for multiple meetings before being taken up by the committee,
19 and its sponsor is not subject to the provisions of subsection 7.e. of this
20 rule, regarding failure to appear to present the bill or resolution.
21 d. Posting Committee Agenda.
22 (1) The committee agenda shall be posted at least
23 eighteen (18) hours prior to the committee meeting.
24 (2) The committee agenda shall state the room number for
25 the public comment holding room to which members of the public should report
26 to wait to be called to provide testimony on a bill or resolution.
27 e. Failure of Sponsor to Appear at Committee Meeting.
28 (1) The first time a bill or resolution appears on the
29 regular agenda and the sponsor or his or her designee does not appear at the
30 committee meeting to present his or her bill or resolution, the members bill
31 or resolution will be moved back to the referred items list. It is within
32 the discretion of the chair to place the bill or resolution on the regular
33 agenda for the next scheduled meeting of the committee.
34 (2) If a bill or resolution appears on a regular agenda
35 three (3) times without the member or his or her designee appearing to
36 present the bill or resolution, the bill or resolution will be moved to the
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1 deferred list.
2 f. Consideration of Bills and Resolutions. Only those items
3 listed on the days regular agenda or consent agenda shall be considered by
4 the committee. Bills or resolutions shall not be called up from the referred
5 items list with less than eighteen (18) hours notice. This rule may be
6 suspended by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership of the committee in
7 order to allow the committee chair to create the agenda in a more expedient
8 manner.
9
10 8. Public Participation. Due to restraints on space and physical
11 distancing required in committee rooms and public comment holding rooms, only
12 a member of the public who is present to testify on a bill or resolution that
13 is listed on a committee agenda will be allowed in a committee room or public
14 comment holding room. In order to allow for public participation in the
15 legislative process during the public health emergency in a manner that
16 provides for the health and safety of legislators, staff, and members of the
17 public, public comment regarding bills or resolutions being considered by a
18 committee shall be allowed in any of the following ways:
19 a. Committee Rooms.
20 (1) Agency Personnel. Each committee room shall have a
21 designated seating area for state agency personnel that need to be present in
22 the committee meeting to answer questions regarding various bills or
23 resolutions related to their agency.
24 (2) Media. Each committee room shall have a designated
25 seating area for members of the media.
26 (3) Other members of the public. Each committee room
27 shall have a number of designated seating for members of the public who are
28 present to testify on a specific bill or resolution for which testimony is
29 currently being taken.
30 b. Public Comment Holding Rooms. Members of the public present
31 in the State Capitol Building to present testimony on a bill or resolution
32 listed on a committee agenda that is not currently being discussed in the
33 committee will be sent to the public comment holding room or bullpen assigned
34 to the specific committee. Each public comment holding room will have
35 limited capacity with physically distanced seating. There will be no
36 standing allowed in the public comment holding rooms. Once all available
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1 seating is full, no other individuals will be permitted in the room. Members
2 of the public will wait in these designated areas until the bill or
3 resolution on which they plan to testify is called. They will then be
4 directed by Senate staff posted in the public comment holding room to the
5 appropriate committee room to give testimony. Following presentation of his
6 or her testimony, the individual will exit the committee room.
7 c. Public Comment Sign-In Sheets. Public comment sign-in sheets
8 for each committee meeting will be posted electronically with the agenda on
9 the General Assembly website and physically at each public comment holding
10 room. An individuals name appearing on a public comment sign-in sheet is not
11 a guarantee that the individual will have an opportunity to speak during the
12 committee meeting.
13 d. Lobbyists. For purposes of these rules, a lobbyist is
14 considered to be a member of the public and shall adhere to the rules
15 regarding public participation and presence in committee rooms.
16 e. Additional Public Seating. Additional socially distanced
17 seating areas will be designated throughout the State Capitol Building for
18 use by members of the public.
19
20 9. Remote Participation.
21 a. Members.
22 (1) A member of a legislative committee who is either
23 unwilling or unable to physically attend a meeting of a committee of which he
24 or she is a member due to one of the following reasons shall be allowed to
25 participate remotely via the electronic means designated by the Senate for
26 remote participation:
27 (A) He or she is considered an individual at high
28 risk for severe illness related to COVID-19;
29 (B) He or she has a household member or individual
30 for whom he or she is a caregiver who is considered an individual at high
31 risk for severe illness related to COVID-19;
32 (C) He or she has been directed by the Arkansas
33 Department of Health to quarantine due to close contact with an individual
34 who has tested positive for COVID-19; or
35 (D) He or she has tested positive for COVID-19.
36 (2) The following shall apply regarding the deadline for
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1 submitting a request to participate remotely in committee:
2 (A) A committee member who wishes to participate
3 remotely may submit a request to the Secretary of the Senate, who will submit
4 that request to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate for approval. The
5 request shall be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day prior to the