*JET004* 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2023 SCR 1 3
4
By: Senator C. Penzo 5
6
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 7
TO ADOPT THE JOINT R ULES OF THE HOUSE OF 8
REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE NI NETY-FOURTH 9
GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 10
11
12
Subtitle 13
TO ADOPT THE JOINT RULES OF THE HOUSE OF 14
REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE 15
NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 16
17
18
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 19
STATE OF ARKANSAS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN: 20
21
SECTION 1. The Joint Rules of the House of Representatives and the Senate of 22
the Ninety-Fourth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas are adopt ed to 23
read as follows: 24
25
JOINT RULES 26
OF THE 27
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 28
AND THE SENATE 29
30
Joint Session - How Convened 31
Section 1. When, by the Constitution or laws of the state, a joint 32
meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives is required, they shall 33
assemble with their clerks on the day and at the hour previously agreed on 34
for that purpose in the hall of the House of Representatives. 35
36 SCR1
2 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
Officers of Joint Session 1
Section 2. When the meeting is assembled, the President of the Senate 2
and Speaker of the House shall preside in conjunction, and the meeting shall 3
be governed by such standing rules as shall have been adopted for that 4
purpose by the concurrence of both houses. They shall have power to punish 5
any person, other than a member, for disorderly or contemptuous behavior in 6
their presence, by fine and imprisonment, in the same manner and to the same 7
extent as either house may do, for like conduct before it, by the 8
Constitution and laws of this state. 9
(A) Any member of either house who shall be gui lty of 10
disorderly behavior in the presence of the meeting may be punished by the 11
house of which he or she is a member, in the same manner as if the offense 12
had been committed in the presence of that house. 13
(B) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 14
shall both keep records of the proceedings, to be entered on the Journal of 15
their respective houses. 16
17
Manner of Presenting Bills, Etc. 18
Section 3. All bills, resolutions, votes and amendments by either 19
house, to which the concurrence of both is necessary, as well as messages, 20
shall be presented to the other by the Clerk or Secretary of the house from 21
which they are sent or by the assistant secretary or assistant clerk. 22
23
Contents of Bills 24
Section 4. No bill or resolution shall be passed by ei ther house 25
containing more than one subject, which shall be expressed in the title. 26
House bills and resolutions shall have at least one House sponsor, and Senate 27
bills and resolutions shall have at least one Senate Sponsor. House bills, 28
House concurrent resolutions, and House joint resolutions may have Senate 29
sponsors, and Senate bills, Senate concurrent resolutions, and Senate joint 30
resolutions may have House sponsors. 31
32
Notice of Bill Rejection 33
Section 5. When a bill or resolution which has passed one house shall 34
be rejected by the other, notice thereof shall be given to the house in which 35
the same shall have passed. 36 SCR1
3 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
1
Engrossment of Bills 2
Section 6. After adoption of an amendment on the floor of the Senate, 3
regardless whether the bill or resolution or iginated in the House or the 4
Senate, the Senate shall engross the bill or resolution as amended. After 5
the adoption of the amendment on the floor of the House of Representatives, 6
regardless whether the bill or resolution originated in the House or the 7
Senate, the House of Representatives shall engross the bill or resolution as 8
amended. 9
This rule may be waived by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or 10
in his absence the Chairman of Senate Rules Committee, or the Speaker of the 11
House of Representatives. 12
13
Enrollment of Bills 14
Section 7. When a bill shall have passed both houses, it shall be 15
enrolled by the enrolling clerk of the house in which it originated. 16
17
Section 8. All bills must be enrolled and reported to each house by 18
the committee designated b y each house to supervise the enrolling of bills, 19
within three (3) days after their passage; provided, that if the 20
reconsideration of any bill is moved, in either house, previous to its 21
presentation to the Governor, the committee shall hold the same until action 22
is taken upon such motion. 23
24
Section 9. No bill, resolution, or memorial shall be sent to the 25
Governor for his approval, unless the same shall have been clearly and fairly 26
enrolled without obliteration or interlineation. 27
28
Signing of Bills 29
Section 10. After examination and report by the committee responsible 30
for enrolling bills, each bill shall be signed by the Speaker of the House of 31
Representatives and by the President of the Senate. Each page of a bill 32
shall be signed by the Speaker of the Hous e of Representatives on the right 33
margin, and shall be signed by the President of the Senate on the left margin 34
of each page. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President 35
of the Senate shall manually sign each page of each bill, or may pr ovide, at 36 SCR1
4 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
their option and under their supervision, for the affixing thereto of their 1
facsimile signature. 2
3
Conference Committee 4
Section 11. When either body shall request a conference, and appoint a 5
committee for that purpose, the other body shall also appoint a committee of 6
equal number to confer, and such conference shall be held at any time and 7
place agreed upon by the Chairpersons. 8
9
Suspension of Joint Rules 10
Section 12. No joint rules shall be dispensed with but by a concurrent 11
vote of two-thirds (2/3) of each house, and if either house shall violate a 12
joint rule, the question of order may be raised in the other house, and 13
decided in the same manner as in case of a violation of the rules of such 14
house. 15
16
Appropriation Bills 17
Section 13. The general appropriation bill, and all appropriation 18
bills recommended “do pass” by the Joint Budget Committee, shall be 19
privileged bills advanced upon the calendar, and take precedence over all 20
other bills at any time after the reading of the Journal. It shall be i n 21
order, by the direction of the appropriate committee, to move that the House 22
or Senate (as the case may be) resolve itself into the committee of the whole 23
house for the purpose of considering the general appropriation bill, and no 24
dilatory motion shall b e entertained by the presiding officer. 25
26
Deadline for the Introduction of Bills 27
Section 14. (A) Appropriation Bills. An "appropriation bill" means a 28
bill by the General Assembly that authorizes the expenditure of moneys if 29
moneys are available. 30
(1) No appropriation bill shall be filed for introduction in 31
either the House of Representatives or the Senate later than the fiftieth 32
(50th) day of a regular session except upon consent of two -thirds (2/3) of 33
the members elected to each house. When the fi ling deadline for any bills or 34
resolutions ends on Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is hereby extended until 35
the close of business the following Monday. 36 SCR1
5 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
(2) No appropriation bill shall be filed for introduction in 1
either the House of Representatives or th e Senate later than the fifteenth 2
(15th) day of a fiscal session except upon consent of two -thirds (2/3) of the 3
members elected to each house. 4
(B) Retirement System Legislation. 5
(1) Any proposed legislation affecting any publicly supported 6
retirement system or pension plan to be considered by the General Assembly at 7
a regular session shall be introduced in the General Assembly during the 8
first fifteen (15) calendar days of a regular session. 9
(2) No such bill shall be introduced after the fifteenth (15t h) 10
day of a regular session unless its introduction is first approved by a 11
three-fourths (3/4) vote of the full membership of each house of the General 12
Assembly. 13
(3) A bill affecting any publicly supported retirement system or 14
systems shall not be introdu ced at any special session of the General 15
Assembly unless the introduction and consideration of the bill is first 16
approved by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the full membership of each house 17
of the General Assembly. 18
(C) Non-appropriation Legislation Durin g a Fiscal Session. 19
(1) For a fiscal session, a non -appropriation bill shall not be 20
filed for introduction until identical resolutions authorizing the 21
introduction of the non -appropriation bill have been approved by an 22
affirmative vote of two -thirds (2/3) of the members elected to each house. 23
(2) The identical resolutions authorizing the introduction of a 24
non-appropriation bill in a fiscal session shall not be filed for 25
introduction in either the House of Representatives or the Senate later than 26
the first (1st) day of a fiscal session. 27
(3) A non-appropriation bill shall not be filed for introduction 28
in either the House of Representatives or the Senate later than the fifteenth 29
(15th) day of a fiscal session. 30
(D) State and Public School Life and Health In surance Program 31
Legislation. 32
(1) As used in this subsection (D): 33
(a) “Entity of the state” means any agency, board, bureau, 34
commission, committee, council, department, division, institution of higher 35
education, office, public school, quasi -public organization, or other 36 SCR1
6 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
political subdivision of the state; and 1
(b) “Health benefit plan” means a policy, contract, 2
certificate, or agreement offered or issued by an entity to provide, deliver, 3
arrange for, pay for, or reimburse any of the costs of healthcare ser vices, 4
including pharmacy benefits, to an entity of the state. 5
(2) A bill affecting the State and Public School Life and Health 6
Insurance Program or that imposes a new or increased cost obligation for 7
health benefit plans, including pharmacy benefits, on an entity of the state 8
to be considered by the General Assembly at a regular session shall be 9
introduced in the General Assembly during the first fifteen (15) calendar 10
days of a regular session. 11
(3) A bill as described in subsection (D)(2) shall not be 12
introduced after the fifteenth day of a regular session unless the 13
introduction of the bill is first approved by a three -fourths (3/4) vote of 14
the full membership of each house of the General Assembly. 15
(4) A bill affecting the State and Public School Life an d Health 16
Insurance Program or that imposes a new or increased cost obligation for 17
health benefit plans, including pharmacy benefits, on an entity of the state 18
shall not be introduced or considered at a fiscal session or an extraordinary 19
session of the General Assembly unless the introduction and consideration of 20
the bill is first approved by a two -thirds (2/3) vote of the full membership 21
of each house of the General Assembly. 22
(E) Lottery-Funded Scholarship Legislation. 23
(1) The following proposed legislati on to be considered by the 24
General Assembly at a regular session shall be introduced in the General 25
Assembly during the first thirty -one (31) calendar days of a regular session: 26
(a) A bill that creates a new scholarship to be funded with net 27
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 28
as applicable; and 29
(b) A bill that affects an existing scholarship that is funded 30
with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund 31
Account, as applicable. 32
(2)(a) A bill creating a new scholarship to be funded with net 33
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 34
as applicable, or affecting an existing scholarship that is funded with net 35
proceeds from the state lottery or the Hig her Education Grants Fund Account, 36 SCR1
7 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
as applicable, shall not be introduced after the thirty -first day of a 1
regular session unless its introduction is first approved by a three -fourths 2
(3/4) vote of the full membership of each chamber of the General Assembly . 3
(b) If the General Assembly recesses for longer than three (3) 4
consecutive days during the first thirty -one (31) days of a regular session, 5
the deadline imposed under this section shall be extended for a time period 6
equal to the recess. 7
(3) A bill creating a new scholarship to be funded with net proceeds 8
from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as 9
applicable, or affecting an existing scholarship that is funded with net 10
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 11
as applicable, shall not be introduced or considered at a special session or 12
fiscal session of the General Assembly unless the introduction or 13
consideration of the bill is first approved by a two -thirds (2/3) vote of the 14
full membership of each chamber of the General Assembly. 15
(F) When the filing deadline for any bills or resolutions ends on 16
Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is extended until the close of business the 17
following Monday. 18
(F)(G) If the General Assembly recesses for lo nger than three (3) 19
consecutive days during the first fifteen (15) days of a regular session, the 20
fifteen-day introduction deadlines established in this section shall be 21
extended for a time period equal to the recess. 22
23
Introduction of Health Care Legislation 24
Section 15. (A) Any proposed legislation affecting the licensure of 25
any profession, occupation, or class of health care providers not currently 26
licensed, or expanding the scope of practice of any profession, occupation, 27
or class of health ca re providers to be considered by the General Assembly at 28
a regular biennial session shall be introduced in the General Assembly during 29
the first fifteen (15) calendar days of a regular biennial session. 30
(B) No such bill shall be introduced after the fift eenth (15th) day of 31
a regular biennial session unless its introduction is first approved by a 32
three-fourths (3/4) vote of the full membership of each house of the General 33
Assembly. 34
(C) The Senate and the House, and committees of the Senate and House, 35
shall take no action on any such bill for an additional fifteen (15) calendar 36 SCR1
8 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
days after the fifteen (15) calendar day deadline for introduction of such 1
bills has passed. 2
3
Method of Preparing Bills and Resolutions - Automated Bill Preparation System 4
Section 16. (A) No bill or resolution, as defined herein, shall be 5
accepted for introduction by clerks of the Senate or of the House of 6
Representatives unless such bill or resolution has been prepared for 7
introduction by an automated bill preparation system deve loped by the Bureau 8
of Legislative Research. 9
(1) The Bureau of Legislative Research shall establish and 10
operate, in cooperation with the appropriate officials of the House of 11
Representatives and the Senate, an automated bill preparation system in which 12
all bills and resolutions, as defined herein, shall be prepared for 13
introduction. Such system shall be designed in a manner which will permit 14
either or both houses of the General Assembly to install compatible and 15
interconnecting electronic equipment for the preparation of bills and 16
resolutions in the same format as prepared by the Bureau of Legislative 17
Research for introduction in either house of the General Assembly. 18
(2) The Bureau of Legislative Research shall provide the 19
Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives 20
access by electronic medium to the central bill files in which bills and 21
resolutions recorded in the automated bill preparation system are stored, to 22
enable the engrossing rooms of the respective houses to ha ve ready access 23
thereto for enrollment of engrossed amendments adopted to such bills and 24
resolutions. 25
(3) As used herein: 26
(a) “resolutions” shall mean all resolutions prepared for 27
introduction which require the concurrence of both houses of the Gene ral 28
Assembly for the adoption thereof, and shall include resolutions prepared for 29
consideration by only the house in which introduced; 30
(b) “automated bill preparation system” shall mean an 31
automated system using word processors, computers, or other ele ctronic 32
devices for the typing and preparation of bills and resolutions (as defined 33
herein) for introduction by members of the General Assembly in either the 34
Senate or the House of Representatives, and shall include the following 35
features: 36 SCR1
9 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
(i) a separate identification number, to be placed 1
upon each page of the original and each copy thereof prepared for 2
introduction in the General Assembly; 3
(ii) a method of electronically recording the 4
contents of each bill and resolution for ready access for ret rieval and 5
engrossment purposes; 6
(iii) security features to protect the automated 7
bill preparation files from access by unauthorized persons, and to maintain 8
the integrity and confidentiality of drafts of bills and resolutions prepared 9
by the Bureau of Legislative Research for members of the General Assembly 10
which have not been filed for introduction; and 11
(iv) such other features as deemed to be necessary 12
and advisable by the Bureau of Legislative Research after consulting with the 13
appropriate officials of the House of Representatives and the Senate. 14
(B) All bills and resolutions introduced in the House and Senate shall 15
be prepared on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. The number of copies of bills and 16
resolutions to be prepared for introduction shall be sp ecified by the 17
Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. 18
One (1) copy shall be placed in the manuscript cover provided for the 19
official copy of bills or resolutions and one (1) copy shall be placed in the 20
manuscript cover provided for the duplicate copy, with any additional copies 21
attached thereto in the manner prescribed by the respective houses. In 22
addition, copies of the caption on each bill or resolution shall be prepared 23
and attached thereto at the time of introduct ion. 24
(C) Upon the introduction of each bill and resolution, the appropriate 25
clerks of the respective houses shall cause the original signed copy thereof 26
(which is contained in the official bill or resolution manuscript cover) to 27
be identified as the offi cial copy by perforation or stamping on the left 28
margin of each page thereof the words “HOUSE ORIGINAL” to be placed on each 29
official original copy of House bills and resolutions, and the words “SENATE 30
ORIGINAL” to be placed on the left margin of each offi cial original copy of 31
Senate bills and resolutions. Whenever any bill or resolution is amended, 32
the engrossed page or pages thereof shall be perforated in the same manner as 33
the original introduced copy. Only the original signed copy of a bill or 34
resolution and engrossed pages thereof shall be perforated or stamped as 35
provided herein. 36 SCR1
10 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
(D) If any person shall unlawfully perforate any fraudulent or 1
counterfeit copy of any bill or resolution for the purpose of intentionally 2
inserting in any bill or resol ution any page or provision thereof for the 3
purpose of altering the bill or resolution as introduced, such person shall 4
be in contempt of the House or Senate, or both House and Senate, and shall be 5
punished accordingly. If any person shall make any altera tion, change or 6
erasure in any original copy of a bill or resolution as originally 7
introduced, except upon direction of the House or Senate, or both House and 8
Senate, or upon direction of the appropriate committees on engrossed or 9
enrolled bills, such pers on shall be in contempt of the House or Senate, or 10
both of them and shall be punished accordingly. In addition, such person 11
shall be subject to such fine and imprisonment as may be imposed by the laws 12
of this State for fraud. 13
(E)(1) Only bills and amend ments to bills which meet the requirements 14
of this subsection (E) may be introduced into the Senate or the House of 15
Representatives. 16
(2) Except as provided in subsections (E)(5), (6) and (8), all 17
bills and amendments to bills shall reflect the changes p roposed in the 18
existing law by: 19
(a) over striking all language of the existing law which 20
is proposed to be deleted; and 21
(b) underlining all new language proposed to be added to 22
the existing law. At the top of the first page of the bill shall appe ar 23
language substantially similar to the following: “Stricken language would be 24
deleted from present law. Underlined language would be added to present 25
law.” 26
(3) Except as provided in subsections (E)(5), (6) and (8), all 27
resolutions proposing amendmen ts to the Arkansas Constitution and amendments 28
to resolutions shall reflect the changes proposed in the existing 29
Constitution by: 30
(a) over striking all language of the existing 31
Constitution which is proposed to be deleted; and 32
(b) underlining all new language proposed to be added to 33
the existing Constitution. At the top of the first page of the bill shall 34
appear language substantially similar to the following: “Stricken language 35
would be deleted from the present Constitution. Underlined language would be 36 SCR1
11 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
added to present Constitution.” 1
(4) Except as provided in subsections (E)(5), (6) and (8), all 2
resolutions proposing changes in the rules of the Senate or House or the 3
joint rules of the Senate and House shall reflect the changes proposed in t he 4
existing rule by: 5
(a) over striking all language of the existing rule which 6
is proposed to be deleted; and 7
(b) underlining all new language proposed to be added to 8
the existing rule. At the top of the first page of the resolution shall 9
appear language substantially similar to the following: “Stricken language 10
would be deleted from present rule. Underlined language would be added to 11
present rule.” 12
(5) This subsection (E) may be waived by the President Pro 13
Tempore of the Senate or in his abs ence, the Chairman of the Senate Rules 14
Committee, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 15
(6) Markups are not required of the following: 16
(a) appropriation sections, state agencies regular salary 17
sections, and state agencies extra help secti ons contained within a bill if 18
the sections do not specifically amend existing law; 19
(b) sections which allocate funds within the Revenue 20
Stabilization Law or within the General Improvement Fund Distribution Law; 21
and 22
(c) sections which amend Arkan sas Code §§ 21-5-208(b) and 23
21-5-209(e). 24
(7) It shall be the duty of the Chairman of the Joint Budget 25
Committee to have a schedule prepared which reflects the amounts approved by 26
the Joint Budget Committee for each category for each fund within the Reve nue 27
Stabilization Law to provide funding for the budget enacted by the General 28
Assembly and a schedule reflecting the proposed distribution of General 29
Improvement funds. The schedule reflecting the allocation of funds in the 30
Revenue Stabilization Law for t he next fiscal year shall be submitted during 31
a regular session or fiscal session to each body of the Arkansas General 32
Assembly at least three (3) calendar days prior to the day at which the same 33
is to be considered for final passage. The schedule reflect ing the 34
allocation of funds in the General Improvement Fund Distribution Law for the 35
next biennium shall be submitted during a regular session to each body of the 36 SCR1
12 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
Arkansas General Assembly at least three (3) calendar days prior to the day 1
at which the same is to be considered for final passage. 2
(8) Markups are not required on sections that are substantially 3
the same as the following boiler -plate sections: 4
5
“SECTION. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 6
authorized by this Act shall be limi ted to the appropriation for such agency 7
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 8
the restrictions of the State Purchasing Law, the General Accounting and 9
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regul ar Salary 10
Procedures and Restrictions Act, the Higher Education Expenditure 11
Restrictions Act, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by the 12
Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 13
strictly complied with in disburseme nt of said funds. 14
15
SECTION. EMPLOYMENT OF ATTORNEYS. None of the funds appropriated in 16
this Act for Maintenance and General Operation shall be expended in payment 17
for services of attorneys, unless the agency shall first make a request in 18
writing to the Attorney General of the State of Arkansas to provide the 19
required legal services. The Attorney General’s Office shall provide the 20
required legal services, or, if the Attorney General’s Office shall determine 21
that sufficient personnel are not available to provide the requested legal 22
services, the Attorney General shall certify the same to the agency and may 23
authorize the agency to employ legal counsel and to expend monies 24
appropriated for Maintenance and General Operations thereof, if: 25
(1) The Attorney General determines, and certifies in writing, 26
that such agency needs the advice or assistance of legal counsel, and 27
(2) The Attorney General consents in writing to the employment 28
of the legal counsel to be retained by the agency. 29
Such certification sh all be required with respect to each 30
instance of the employment of special legal counsel, or shall be required 31
annually with respect to legal counsel employed on a retainer basis. A copy 32
of such certification shall be entered in the official minutes of th e agency, 33
and shall be retained in the fiscal records of the agency for audit purposes. 34
35
SECTION. DISBURSEMENT CONTROLS. (A) No contract may be awarded nor 36 SCR1
13 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
obligations otherwise incurred in relation to the project or projects 1
described herein in excess of the State Treasury funds actually available 2
therefore as provided by law. Provided, however, that institutions and 3
agencies listed herein shall have the authority to accept and use grants and 4
donations including Federal funds, and to use its unobligat ed cash income or 5
funds, or both available to it, for the purpose of supplementing the State 6
Treasury funds for financing the entire costs of the project or projects 7
enumerated herein. Provided further, that the appropriations and funds 8
otherwise provided by the General Assembly for Maintenance and General 9
Operations of the agency or institutions receiving appropriation herein shall 10
not be used for any of the purposes as appropriated in this Act. 11
(B) The restrictions of any applicable provisions of the S tate 12
Purchasing Law, the General Accounting and Budgetary Procedures Law, the 13
Revenue Stabilization Law and any other applicable fiscal control laws of 14
this State and regulations promulgated by the Department of Finance and 15
Administration, as authorized by law, shall be strictly complied with in 16
disbursement of any funds provided by this Act unless specifically provided 17
otherwise by law. 18
19
SECTION. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General Assembly 20
that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriations contained 21
in this Act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for which this Act 22
was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive Recommendations 23
and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget manuals prepared by 24
the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or summarized oral 25
testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative Council or 26
Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 27
28
Section 17. (A) Once a Senate bill h as passed the House of 29
Representatives and returned to the Senate, it may not be subsequently 30
amended in the Senate unless the House expunges the vote by which it passed 31
the bill and any amendments to the bill and the Senate expunges the vote by 32
which the bill was passed and places the bill on second reading. 33
(B) Once a House bill has passed the Senate and has been returned to 34
the House, it may not be subsequently amended in the House unless the Senate 35
expunges the vote by which it passed the bill and any amendments to the bill 36 SCR1
14 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
and the House expunges the vote by which the bill was passed and places the 1
bill on second reading. 2
3
Submission of Bills to Governor 4
Section 18. Whenever any Senate bill shall be approved by the House of 5
Representatives and enrol led by the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate or 6
one of his or her authorized agents shall without delay, deliver the same to 7
the Governor or his or her designated representative and take receipt 8
thereof, which receipt shall be returned to the Senate and entered in the 9
Journal. Whenever any House bill shall be approved by the Senate and 10
enrolled by the House, the Chief Clerk of the House or one of his or her 11
authorized agents shall, without delay, deliver the same to the Governor or 12
his or her designated representative and take receipt thereof, which receipt 13
shall be returned to the House and entered in the Journal. In the event the 14
Governor, or his or her designated representative, shall refuse to accept 15
delivery of any such bill, the Secretary of the Se nate, or the Chief Clerk of 16
the House, or their designated agents, as the case may be, shall forthwith 17
serve the same by handing the bill to either the Governor or to any employee 18
of the Governor’s office, and shall return a certificate to the Senate or th e 19
House as the case may be, of the date and time of such delivery and of the 20
name of the person to whom delivered and such certificate shall be entered in 21
the Journal of the Senate or the Journal of the House, as the case may be, 22
and shall constitute proof of delivery of said bill to the Governor in 23
determining the period of time in which the Governor has to sign the same or 24
return it to the Senate or the House with his or her veto as provided in the 25
Constitution of the State of Arkansas. 26
27
Constitutional Amendments 28
Section 19. (A)(1) The Senate may, according to its rules, recommend 29
one (1) proposed constitutional amendment for consideration and vote by the 30
House of Representatives and the Senate. 31
(2) If the Senate-proposed constitutional amendment does not 32
receive an affirmative vote of the majority of House of Representatives, the 33
Senate may, according to its rules, recommend additional proposed 34
constitutional amendments to the House of Representatives one (1) at a time 35
until the House of Represent atives affirms by a majority vote the Senate -36 SCR1
15 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
proposed constitutional amendment. 1
(B)(1) The House of Representatives may, according to its rules, 2
recommend one (1) proposed constitutional amendment for consideration and 3
vote by the House of Representative s and the Senate. 4
(2) If the House of Representatives -proposed constitutional 5
amendment does not receive an affirmative vote of the majority of Senate, the 6
House of Representatives may, according to its rules, recommend additional 7
proposed constitutiona l amendments to the Senate one (1) at a time until the 8
Senate affirms by a majority vote the House of Representatives -proposed 9
constitutional amendment. 10
(C) A third (3
rd
) proposed constitutional amendment shall not be 11
considered or voted upon by the Gene ral Assembly until identical resolutions 12
authorizing the consideration of the proposed constitutional amendment have 13
been approved by an affirmative vote of two -thirds (2/3) of the members 14
elected to each house. 15
(D) A resolution proposing a constitutio nal amendment shall not be 16
filed in either the House of Representatives or the Senate after the thirty -17
first (31st) day of each regular session of the General Assembly. 18
(E) A resolution proposing a constitutional amendment shall be 19
considered only during a regular session. 20
21
Joint Meetings of Senate and House Committees 22
Section 20. The standing and select Committees of the Senate and the 23
House of Representatives are authorized to hold joint meetings upon the call 24
of the Chairpersons of the two committees involved or by one-half (1/2) or 25
more of the members of both committees involved. 26
27
Correction of Obvious Errors 28
Section 21. The Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the 29
House are authorized, subject to approval by the appropriate designated 30
committee, to correct obvious errors occurring in documents originating in 31
the House and the Senate respectively, provided that each such correction is 32
noted on the bill jacket and is documented by a “correction note” at the end 33
of the official daily journal for the date on which the correction was made. 34
35
Assigning Bill and Resolution Numbers 36 SCR1
16 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
Section 22. In assigning numbers to bills and resolutions introduced 1
in the Senate and House of Representatives, Senate bills and resolutions 2
shall be numbered commenc ing with the figure 1, and House bills and 3
resolutions shall be assigned numbers commencing with the figure 1001. 4
5
Pre-filing of Bills and Resolutions 6
Section 23. (A) Beginning on November 15th of each year preceding a 7
regular session of the General Ass embly, each holdover member of the Senate 8
who will be serving at the next following regular session of the General 9
Assembly, and each member -elect of the General Assembly, as soon as the 10
members-elect of the next General Assembly are certified to the Secre tary of 11
State, shall be permitted to prefile bills and resolutions for such regular 12
session with the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. 13
(B)(1) Beginning on the second Monday of January of each year of a 14
fiscal session of the Gener al Assembly, each member of the House of 15
Representatives and the Senate may prefile appropriation bills and 16
resolutions for the fiscal session with the Chief Clerk of the House and the 17
Secretary of the Senate. 18
(2) A non-appropriation bill may not be pre -filed prior to a 19
fiscal session due to the requirements of Article 5, § 5 of the Constitution 20
of Arkansas. 21
22
Interim Committee Meetings 23
Section 24. (A) Interim committees shall not meet beginning January 1 24
immediately prior to a regular legislative sessi on, without the prior 25
approval of: 26
(1) The current Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 27
current President Pro Tempore of the Senate for joint interim committees; 28
(2) The current Speaker of the House of Representatives for 29
interim committees of the House of Representatives; or 30
(3) The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate for interim 31
committees of the Senate. 32
(B)(1) Interim committees, including the Legislative Council and 33
Legislative Joint Auditing Committee and their respective subcommittees, 34
shall not schedule a meeting at the same time as a regularly scheduled pre -35
session Arkansas Legislative Council/Joint Budget Committee or Joint Budget 36 SCR1
17 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
Committee budget hearing meeting, unless the pre -session budget hearing 1
meeting was scheduled with less than one week's notice and prior 2
authorization for the conflicting interim committee meeting is granted by the 3
President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 4
Representatives. 5
(2)(a) For purposes of this rule, "regularly scheduled pre -6
session budget hearing meetings" means those pre -session budget hearings that 7
are held prior to the regular or fiscal session for the purpose of 8
recommending agency appropriation bills for the following regular or fiscal 9
session. 10
(b) "Regularly scheduled pre -session budget hearing 11
meetings" does not include meetings of the subcommittees of Arkansas 12
Legislative Council/Joint Budget Committee or Joint Budget Committee. 13
(C) Interim committees and their respective subcommittees, in cluding 14
legislative task forces, councils, or other statutorily created legislative 15
bodies, shall not schedule a meeting during the week of a regularly scheduled 16
meeting of the Legislative Council, unless prior authorization for the 17
conflicting interim com mittee meeting is granted by the President Pro Tempore 18
of the Senate, for a Senate committee or subcommittee, the Speaker of the 19
House of Representatives for a House committee or subcommittee, or both the 20
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Pre sident Pro Tempore of the 21
Senate for a joint committee or task force. 22
23
Procedural Requirements for Creating or Amending Lottery -Funded Scholarships 24
Section 25.(A) Lottery fiscal impact statements. 25
(1) Any bill filed with the Senate or the House of 26
Representatives that creates a new scholarship to be funded with net proceeds 27
from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as 28
applicable, or affects an existing scholarship that is funded with net 29
proceeds from the state lottery or the H igher Education Grants Fund Account, 30
as applicable, shall: 31
(a)(i) Have a lottery fiscal impact statement attached to 32
it that is substantially in the form set forth in Arkansas Code § 6 -85-502. 33
(ii) A bill that creates a new scholarship to be 34
funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 35
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, or affects an existing scholarship that 36 SCR1
18 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
is funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 1
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, sh all not be taken up by the House 2
Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education, meeting 3
jointly, until a lottery fiscal impact statement is attached; and 4
(b) Not take effect until at least one (1) year 5
immediately following the year in w hich the scholarship was enacted. 6
(2) The lottery fiscal impact of a bill that creates a new 7
scholarship to be funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the 8
Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as applicable, or affects an existing 9
scholarship that is funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the 10
Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as applicable, shall be determined in 11
the manner set forth in Arkansas Code § 6 -85-502. 12
(3) In addition to the information required under subdivision 13
(A)(2) of this section, the final lottery fiscal impact statement regarding 14
the scholarship that is the subject of the bill shall include and be 15
calculated as required under Arkansas Code § 6 -85-502. 16
(4)(a)(i) If the final lottery fiscal impact statement results 17
in a positive number, the House Committee on Education and the Senate 18
Committee on Education, meeting jointly during a regular session, special 19
session, or fiscal session, may refer a bill creating a new scholarship to be 20
funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 21
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, or amending an existing scholarship 22
funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 23
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, to either chamber of the General Assembly 24
for consideration. 25
(ii) The referral of a bill under subdivision 26
(A)(4)(a)(i) of this section shall require approval by a separate vote of 27
House Committee on Education members and Senate Committee on Education 28
members, meeting jointly during a regular session, special session, or fiscal 29
session. 30
(b) If the final lottery fiscal impact results in a 31
negative number, the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on 32
Education, meeting jointly during a regular session, s pecial session, or 33
fiscal session, shall not refer the bill to either chamber of the General 34
Assembly for consideration unless: 35
(i) The bill is amended to ensure the final lottery 36 SCR1
19 1/12/2023 9:16:14 AM JET004
fiscal impact results in a positive number; or 1
(ii) Additional fun ding is provided through the 2
General Revenue Fund Account. 3
(B) Consideration of bills. 4
(1) The House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on 5
Education shall meet jointly during a regular session, special session, or 6
fiscal session to consid er any bill: 7
(a) Creating a new scholarship to be funded with net 8
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account; 9
or 10
(b) Affecting an existing scholarship that is funded with 11
net proceeds from the state lottery or the H igher Education Grants Fund 12
Account. 13
(2) A bill creating a new scholarship to be funded with net 14
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 15
as applicable, or affecting an existing scholarship funded with net proceeds 16
from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as 17
applicable, shall not be recommended to either chamber of the General 18
Assembly except upon an affirmative vote or a majority of the members of the 19
following, meeting jointly during a regu lar session, special session, or 20
fiscal session: 21
(a) House Committee on Education; and 22
(b) Senate Committee on Education. 23
(3) A lottery fiscal impact statement prepared for a bill as 24
required under Arkansas Code § 6 -85-502 shall be amended each time the House 25
Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education recommends to 26
either chamber of the General Assembly a bill creating a new scholarship to 27
be funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 28
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, or affecting an existing scholarship 29
funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 30
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, in order to account for the updated 31
lottery fiscal impact, if any, the bill that proposes a new scholarship or 32
amends an existing scholarship will have. 33
34
35
36