AR
Arkansas House Bill HB1415

Arkansas 2023 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1415 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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4-State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H2/20/23 H2/28/23 1
4+State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H2/20/23 1
55 94th General Assembly A Bill 2
66 Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1415 3
77 4
88 By: Representative Lundstrum 5
99 By: Senator J. English 6
1010 7
1111 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1212 AN ACT TO AMEND THE PROVISIONS OF ARKANS AS 9
1313 CONSTITUTION, ARTICL E 19, § 14, TO PROVI DE THAT 10
1414 LOTTERY PROCEEDS MAY BE USED TO FUND OR P ROVIDE 11
1515 SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRA NTS TO ARKANSAS CITI ZENS ENROLLED 12
1616 IN VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL SCHOOLS AN D TECHNICAL 13
1717 INSTITUTES; TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTIT UTION, ARTICLE 14
1818 19, § 14, PURSUANT T O THE AUTHORITY GRAN TED BY 15
1919 ARKANSAS CONSTITUTIO N, ARTICLE 5, § 1; T O AMEND 16
2020 PROVISIONS OF THE AR KANSAS CODE CONCERNI NG APPROVED 17
2121 INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH ER EDUCATION UNDER L AWS 18
2222 CONCERNING SCHOLARSH IPS AND GRANTS FUNDED BY LOTTE RY 19
2323 PROCEEDS; AND FOR OT HER PURPOSES. 20
2424 21
2525 22
2626 Subtitle 23
2727 TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 24
2828 19, § 14, AND ARKANSAS LAW TO PROVIDE 25
2929 THAT LOTTERY PROCEEDS MAY BE USED FOR 26
3030 SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS TO ARKANSANS 27
3131 ENROLLED IN VOCATIONAL -TECHNICAL SCHOOLS 28
3232 AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTES. 29
3333 30
3434 31
3535 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 32
3636 33
3737 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. 34
3838 (a) The General Assembly finds: 35
39- (1) Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, provides that "[n]o 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 H2/28/23 HB1415
39+ (1) Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, provides that "[n]o 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 HB1415
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4444 measure approved by a vote of the people shall be amended or repealed by the 1
4545 General Assembly. . . except upon a yea and nay vote on roll call of two -2
4646 thirds of all the members elected to each house of the General Assembly. . 3
4747 ."; 4
4848 (2) Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, defines "measure" to 5
4949 include any bill, law, resolution, ordinance, charter, constitutional 6
5050 amendment or legislative proposal or enactment of any character; 7
5151 (3) The plain language of the definition of "measure" in 8
5252 Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, clearly includes amendments to the 9
5353 Arkansas Constitution, meaning that the General Assembly may amend amendments 10
5454 to the Arkansas Constitution with a two -thirds vote of each house; 11
5555 (4) Despite observing that the definition of "measure" in 12
5656 Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1 includes "constitutional amendment(s) 13
5757 'or legislative proposals of any character'", the Supreme Court in Arkansas 14
5858 Game and Fish Commission v. Edgmon , 218 Ark. 207, 235 S.W.2d 554 (1951), 15
5959 declined to construe the language literally and held that the General 16
6060 Assembly lacked the power to amend or repeal amendments to the Arkansas 17
6161 Constitution by a two -thirds vote of each house; 18
6262 (5) In Board of Truste es of the University of Arkansas v. 19
6363 Andrews, 2018 Ark. 12 (2018), the Supreme Court overturned years of precedent 20
6464 by holding that the General Assembly cannot waive by law the state's 21
6565 sovereign immunity granted by Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 20; 22
6666 (6) In reaching its decision in Andrews, supra, the Supreme 23
6767 Court held that the language of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 20, 24
68-should be interpreted "precisely as it reads"; and 25
69- (7) An interpretation of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, 26
70-"precisely as it reads" clearly leads to the conclusion that the General 27
71-Assembly may amend all measures, including constitutional amendments, by a 28
72-two-thirds vote of each house, as the term "measure" has been given a plain 29
73-and unambiguous definition in Arkansa s Constitution, Article 5, § 1. 30
74- (b) By the passage of this act, the General Assembly expresses its 31
75-belief that, upon consideration of this act using the standard of review 32
76-established in Andrews, supra, the Supreme Court will: 33
77- (1) Interpret Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, precisely 34
78-as it reads in consideration of its plain and unambiguous language; 35
79- (2) Overturn its decision in Edgmon, supra, as inconsistent with 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 H2/28/23 HB1415
68+should be interpreted "precisely as it reads"; 25
69+ (7) In Buonauito v. Gibson, 2020 Ark. 352, the Arkansas Supreme 26
70+Court noted that the phrase "four -lane highway" as used in Arkansas 27
71+Constitution, Amendment 91, had been "given a specific meaning that is plain 28
72+and unambiguous" and thus funds under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 91, 29
73+could not be used to improve six -lane portions of interstate highways; and 30
74+ (8) An interpretation of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, 31
75+"precisely as it reads" clearly leads to the conclusion that the General 32
76+Assembly may amend all measures, including constitutional amendments, by a 33
77+two-thirds vote of each house, as the term "measure" has been given a plain 34
78+and unambiguous definition in Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1. 35
79+ (b) By the passage of this act, the General Assembly expresses its 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 HB1415
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84-its holding in Andrews, supra, and Buonauito, supra; and 1
85- (3) Uphold the constitutional authority of the General Assembly 2
86-under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, to amend or repeal amendments to 3
87-the Arkansas Constitution by a two -thirds vote of each house. 4
88- 5
89- SECTION 2. Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 14(b), conce rning the 6
90-use of lottery proceeds, is amended under the authority granted by Arkansas 7
91-Constitution, Article 5, § 1, to read as follows: 8
92- (b)(1) Lottery proceeds shall be used solely to pay the operating 9
93-expenses of lotteries, including all prizes, and t o fund or provide for 10
94-scholarships and grants to citizens of this State enrolled in public and 11
95-private non-profit two-year and four-year colleges and universities the 12
96-following higher education institutions located within the State that are 13
97-certified according to criteria established by the General Assembly : 14
98- (A) A public or private nonprofit two -year or four-year 15
99-college or university; 16
100- (B) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 17
101- (C) A public or private technical institute. 18
102- (2) The General Assembly shall establish criteria to determine 19
103-who is eligible to receive the scholarships and grants pursuant to this 20
104-Amendment. 21
105- 22
106- SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-204(3), concerning the definition of 23
107-an "approved institution of higher educa tion" under the Arkansas Academic 24
108-Challenge Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows: 25
109- (3) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 26
110-institution of higher education approved by the division to participate in 27
111-the Arkansas Academic Chal lenge Scholarship Program and that is: 28
112- (A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 29
113-university; 30
114- (B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 31
115-university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 32
116-to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; or 33
117- (C) An approved school of nursing, subject to the 34
118-provisions of § 6-85-213(c); 35
119- (D) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 H2/28/23 HB1415
84+belief that, upon consideration of this act usin g the standard of review 1
85+established in Andrews, supra, the Supreme Court will: 2
86+ (1) Interpret Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, precisely 3
87+as it reads in consideration of its plain and unambiguous language; 4
88+ (2) Overturn its decision in Edgmon, supra, as inconsistent with 5
89+its holding in Andrews, supra, and Buonauito, supra; and 6
90+ (3) Uphold the constitutional authority of the General Assembly 7
91+under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, to amend or repeal amendments to 8
92+the Arkansas Constitutio n by a two-thirds vote of each house. 9
93+ 10
94+ SECTION 2. Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 14(b), concerning the 11
95+use of lottery proceeds, is amended under the authority granted by Arkansas 12
96+Constitution, Article 5, § 1, to read as follows: 13
97+ (b)(1) Lottery proceeds shall be used solely to pay the operating 14
98+expenses of lotteries, including all prizes, and to fund or provide for 15
99+scholarships and grants to citizens of this State enrolled in public and 16
100+private non-profit two-year and four-year colleges and uni versities the 17
101+following higher education institutions located within the State that are 18
102+certified according to criteria established by the General Assembly : 19
103+ (A) A public or private nonprofit two -year or four-year 20
104+college or university; 21
105+ (B) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 22
106+ (C) A public or private technical institute. 23
107+ (2) The General Assembly shall establish criteria to determine 24
108+who is eligible to receive the scholarships and grants pursuant to this 25
109+Amendment. 26
110+ 27
111+ SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-204(3), concerning the definition of 28
112+an "approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Academic 29
113+Challenge Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows: 30
114+ (3) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 31
115+institution of higher education approved by the division to participate in 32
116+the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program and that is: 33
117+ (A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 34
118+university; 35
119+ (B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 HB1415
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124- (E) A public or private technical institute; 1
125- 2
126- SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-302(1), concerning the definition of 3
127-an "approved institution of higher education" under the Arkan sas Workforce 4
128-Challenge Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows: 5
129- (1) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 6
130-institution of higher education approved by the Division of Higher Education 7
131-to participate in the Arkansas Workforce Cha llenge Scholarship Program and 8
132-that is: 9
133- (A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 10
134-university; or 11
135- (B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 12
136-university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 13
137-to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; 14
138- (C) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 15
139- (D) A public or private technical institute; and 16
140- 17
141- SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-306 is amended to read as follows: 18
142- 6-85-306. Agreements between institutions. 19
143- An approved institution of higher education may enter into agreements 20
144-with other institutions of higher education , including without limitation 21
145-technical institutes, to allow students enrolled in the approved institution 22
146-of higher education under this subchapter to take courses at the other 23
147-institutions of higher education. 24
148- 25
149- SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-402(1), concerning the definition of 26
150-"approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Concurrent 27
151-Challenge Scholarshi p Program, is amended to read as follows: 28
152- (1) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 29
153-institution of higher education that: 30
154- (A) Is approved by the Division of Higher Education to 31
155-participate in the Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarsh ip Program; 32
156- (B) Offers at least a fifty -percent discount on the 33
157-tuition and mandatory fees of an endorsed concurrent enrollment course or 34
158-certificate program to a student who is enrolled in an endorsed concurrent 35
159-enrollment course or certificate progra m, unless other opportunities are 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 H2/28/23 HB1415
124+university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 1
125+to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; or 2
126+ (C) An approved school of nursing, subject to the 3
127+provisions of § 6-85-213(c); 4
128+ (D) A public or private vocational-technical school; or 5
129+ (E) A public or private technical institute; 6
130+ 7
131+ SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-302(1), concerning the definition of 8
132+an "approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Workforce 9
133+Challenge Scholarship Progra m, is amended to read as follows: 10
134+ (1) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 11
135+institution of higher education approved by the Division of Higher Education 12
136+to participate in the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship Program and 13
137+that is: 14
138+ (A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 15
139+university; or 16
140+ (B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 17
141+university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 18
142+to receive Title IV federal student aid fund s; 19
143+ (C) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 20
144+ (D) A public or private technical institute; and 21
145+ 22
146+ SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-306 is amended to read as follows: 23
147+ 6-85-306. Agreements between institutions. 24
148+ An approved institution of higher education may enter into agreements 25
149+with other institutions of higher education , including without limitation 26
150+technical institutes, to allow students enrolled in the approved institution 27
151+of higher education under this subchapter to ta ke courses at the other 28
152+institutions of higher education. 29
153+ 30
154+ SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-402(1), concerning the definition of 31
155+"approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Concurrent 32
156+Challenge Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows: 33
157+ (1) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 34
158+institution of higher education that: 35
159+ (A) Is approved by the Division of Higher Education to 36 As Engrossed: H2/20/23 HB1415
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164-provided that lower the tuition and mandatory fees below fifty percent (50%); 1
165-and 2
166- (C) Is a: 3
167- (i) State-supported two-year or four-year college or 4
168-university; or 5
169- (ii) Private, nonprofit two -year or four-year 6
170-college or university that has its primary headquarters located in Arkansas 7
171-and that is eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; 8
172- (iii) A public or private vocational -technical 9
173-school; or 10
174- (iv) A public or private technical institute; 11
175- 12
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164+participate in the Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship Program; 1
165+ (B) Offers at least a fifty-percent discount on the 2
166+tuition and mandatory fees of an endorsed concurrent enrollment course or 3
167+certificate program to a student who is enrolled in an endorsed concurrent 4
168+enrollment course or certificate program, unless other opportunities are 5
169+provided that lower the tuition and mandatory fees below fifty percent (50%); 6
170+and 7
171+ (C) Is a: 8
172+ (i) State-supported two-year or four-year college or 9
173+university; or 10
174+ (ii) Private, nonprofit two -year or four-year 11
175+college or university that has its primary headquarters located in Arkansas 12
176+and that is eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; 13
177+ (iii) A public or private vocational -technical 14
178+school; or 15
179+ (iv) A public or private technical institute; 16
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181+/s/Lundstrum 18
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