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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S1/25/23 1
94th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2023 SCR 1 3
4
By: Senator C. Penzo 5
By: Representative Vaught 6
7
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8
TO ADOPT THE JOINT R ULES OF THE HOUSE OF 9
REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE NI NETY-FOURTH 10
GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 11
12
13
Subtitle 14
TO ADOPT THE JOINT RULES OF THE HOUSE OF 15
REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE 16
NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 17
18
19
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY -FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 20
STATE OF ARKANSAS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN: 21
22
SECTION 1. The Joint Rules of the House of Representatives and the Senate of 23
the Ninety-Fourth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas are adopted to read 24
as follows: 25
26
JOINT RULES 27
OF THE 28
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 29
AND THE SENATE 30
31
Joint Session - How Convened 32
Section 1. When, by the Constitution or laws of the state, a joint 33
meeting of the Senate a nd House of Representatives is required, they shall 34
assemble with their clerks on the day and at the hour previously agreed on 35
for that purpose in the hall of the House of Representatives. 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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1
Officers of Joint Session 2
Section 2. When the meeting is assembl ed, the President of the Senate 3
and Speaker of the House shall preside in conjunction, and the meeting shall 4
be governed by such standing rules as shall have been adopted for that 5
purpose by the concurrence of both houses. They shall have power to punish 6
any person, other than a member, for disorderly or contemptuous behavior in 7
their presence, by fine and imprisonment, in the same manner and to the same 8
extent as either house may do, for like conduct before it, by the 9
Constitution and laws of this state. 10
(A) Any member of either house who shall be guilty of 11
disorderly behavior in the presence of the meeting may be punished by the 12
house of which he or she is a member, in the same manner as if the offense 13
had been committed in the presence of that house. 14
(B) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 15
shall both keep records of the proceedings, to be entered on the Journal of 16
their respective houses. 17
18
Manner of Presenting Bills, Etc. 19
Section 3. All bills, resolutions, votes and amendments by either 20
house, to which the concurrence of both is necessary, as well as messages, 21
shall be presented to the other by the Clerk or Secretary of the house from 22
which they are sent or by the assistant secretary or assistant clerk. 23
24
Contents of Bills 25
Section 4. No bill or resolution shall be passed by either house 26
containing more than one subject, which shall be expressed in the title. 27
House bills and resolutions shall have at least one House sponsor, and Senate 28
bills and resolutions shall have at least o ne Senate Sponsor. House bills, 29
House concurrent resolutions, and House joint resolutions may have Senate 30
sponsors, and Senate bills, Senate concurrent resolutions, and Senate joint 31
resolutions may have House sponsors. 32
33
Notice of Bill Rejection 34
Section 5. When a bill or resolution which has passed one house shall 35
be rejected by the other, notice thereof shall be given to the house in which 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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the same shall have passed. 1
2
Engrossment of Bills 3
Section 6. After adoption of an amendment on the floor of the Senate, 4
regardless whether the bill or resolution originated in the House or the 5
Senate, the Senate shall engross the bill or resolution as amended. After 6
the adoption of the amendment on the floor of the House of Representatives, 7
regardless whether the bill or resolution originated in the House or the 8
Senate, the House of Representatives shall engross the bill or resolution as 9
amended. 10
This rule may be waived by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or 11
in his or her absence the Chairman of Senat e Rules Committee, or the Speaker 12
of the House of Representatives. 13
14
Enrollment of Bills 15
Section 7. When a bill shall have passed both houses, it shall be 16
enrolled by the enrolling clerk of the house in which it originated. 17
18
Section 8. All bills must be enrolled and reported to each house by 19
the committee designated by each house to supervise the enrolling of bills, 20
within three (3) days after their passage; provided, that if the 21
reconsideration of any bill is moved, in either house, previous to its 22
presentation to the Governor, the committee shall hold the same until action 23
is taken upon such motion. 24
25
Section 9. No bill, resolution, or memorial shall be sent to the 26
Governor for his or her approval, unless the same shall have been clearly and 27
fairly enrolled without obliteration or interlineation. 28
29
Signing of Bills 30
Section 10. After examination and report by the committee responsible 31
for enrolling bills, each bill shall be signed by the Speaker of the House of 32
Representatives and by the President of th e Senate. Each page of a bill 33
shall be signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the right 34
margin, and shall be signed by the President of the Senate on the left margin 35
of each page. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Pres ident 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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of the Senate shall manually sign each page of each bill, or may provide, at 1
their option and under their supervision, for the affixing thereto of their 2
facsimile signature. 3
4
Conference Committee 5
Section 11. When either body shall request a confere nce, and appoint a 6
committee for that purpose, the other body shall also appoint a committee of 7
equal number to confer, and such conference shall be held at any time and 8
place agreed upon by the Chairpersons. 9
10
Suspension of Joint Rules 11
Section 12. No joint rules shall be dispensed with but by a concurrent 12
vote of two-thirds (2/3) of each house, and if either house shall violate a 13
joint rule, the question of order may be raised in the other house, and 14
decided in the same manner as in case of a violation of the rules of such 15
house. 16
17
Appropriation Bills 18
Section 13. The general appropriation bill, and all appropriation 19
bills recommended “do pass” by the Joint Budget Committee, shall be 20
privileged bills advanced upon the calendar, and take precedence over all 21
other bills at any time after the reading of the Journal. It shall be in 22
order, by the direction of the appropriate committee, to move that the House 23
or Senate (as the case may be) resolve itself into the committee of the whole 24
house for the purpose of c onsidering the general appropriation bill, and no 25
dilatory motion shall be entertained by the presiding officer. 26
27
Deadline for the Introduction of Bills 28
Section 14. (A) Appropriation Bills. An "appropriation bill" means a 29
bill by the General Assembly that authorizes the expenditure of moneys if 30
moneys are available. 31
(1) No appropriation bill shall be filed for introduction in 32
either the House of Represen tatives or the Senate later than the fiftieth 33
(50th) day of a regular session except upon consent of two -thirds (2/3) of 34
the members elected to each house. When the filing deadline for any bills or 35
resolutions ends on Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is he reby extended until 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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the close of business the following Monday. 1
(2) No appropriation bill shall be filed for introduction in 2
either the House of Representatives or the Senate later than the fifteenth 3
(15th) day of a fiscal session except upon consent of t wo-thirds (2/3) of the 4
members elected to each house. 5
(B) Retirement System Legislation. 6
(1) Any proposed legislation affecting any publicly supported 7
retirement system or pension plan to be considered by the General Assembly at 8
a regular session shall be introduced in the General Assembly during the 9
first fifteen (15) calendar days of a regular session. 10
(2) No such bill shall be introduced after the fifteenth (15th) 11
day of a regular session unless its introduction is first approved by a 12
three-fourths (3/4) vote of the full membership of each house of the General 13
Assembly. 14
(3) A bill affecting any publicly supported retirement system or 15
systems shall not be introduced at any special session of the General 16
Assembly unless the introduction and considerat ion of the bill is first 17
approved by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the full membership of each house 18
of the General Assembly. 19
(C) Non-appropriation Legislation During a Fiscal Session. 20
(1) For a fiscal session, a non -appropriation bill shall not be 21
filed for introduction until identical resolutions authorizing the 22
introduction of the non -appropriation bill have been approved by an 23
affirmative vote of two -thirds (2/3) of the members elected to each house. 24
(2) The identical resolutions authorizing the int roduction of a 25
non-appropriation bill in a fiscal session shall not be filed for 26
introduction in either the House of Representatives or the Senate later than 27
the first (1st) day of a fiscal session. 28
(3) A non-appropriation bill shall not be filed for intr oduction 29
in either the House of Representatives or the Senate later than the fifteenth 30
(15th) day of a fiscal session. 31
(D) State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program 32
Legislation. 33
(1) As used in this subsection (D): 34
(a) “Entity of the sta te” means any agency, board, bureau, 35
commission, committee, council, department, division, institution of higher 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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education, office, public school, quasi -public organization, or other 1
political subdivision of the state; and 2
(b) “Health benefit plan” means a policy, contract, 3
certificate, or agreement offered or issued by an entity to provide, deliver, 4
arrange for, pay for, or reimburse any of the costs of healthcare services, 5
including pharmacy benefits, to an entity of the state. 6
(2) A bill affecting the State and Public School Life and Health 7
Insurance Program or that imposes a new or increased cost obligation for 8
health benefit plans, including pharmacy benefits, on an entity of the state 9
to be considered by the General Assembly at a regular session shal l be 10
introduced in the General Assembly during the first fifteen (15) calendar 11
days of a regular session. 12
(3) A bill as described in subsection (D)(2) shall not be 13
introduced after the fifteenth day of a regular session unless the 14
introduction of the bill is first approved by a three -fourths (3/4) vote of 15
the full membership of each house of the General Assembly. 16
(4) A bill affecting the State and Public School Life and Health 17
Insurance Program or that imposes a new or increased cost obligation for 18
health benefit plans, including pharmacy benefits, on an entity of the state 19
shall not be introduced or considered at a fiscal session or an extraordinary 20
session of the General Assembly unless the introduction and consideration of 21
the bill is first approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the full membership 22
of each house of the General Assembly. 23
(E) Lottery-Funded Scholarship Legislation. 24
(1) The following proposed legislation to be considered by the 25
General Assembly at a regular session shall be introduced in t he General 26
Assembly during the first thirty -one (31) calendar days of a regular session: 27
(a) A bill that creates a new scholarship to be funded with net 28
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 29
as applicable; and 30
(b) A bill that affects an existing scholarship that is funded 31
with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund 32
Account, as applicable. 33
(2)(a) A bill creating a new scholarship to be funded with net 34
proceeds from the state lott ery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 35
as applicable, or affecting an existing scholarship that is funded with net 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 1
as applicable, shall not be introduced after the thirt y-first day of a 2
regular session unless its introduction is first approved by a three -fourths 3
(3/4) vote of the full membership of each chamber of the General Assembly. 4
(b) If the General Assembly recesses for longer than three (3) 5
consecutive days duri ng the first thirty-one (31) days of a regular session, 6
the deadline imposed under this section shall be extended for a time period 7
equal to the recess. 8
(3) A bill creating a new scholarship to be funded with net proceeds 9
from the state lottery or the Hi gher Education Grants Fund Account, as 10
applicable, or affecting an existing scholarship that is funded with net 11
proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 12
as applicable, shall not be introduced or considered at a special s ession or 13
fiscal session of the General Assembly unless the introduction or 14
consideration of the bill is first approved by a two -thirds (2/3) vote of the 15
full membership of each chamber of the General Assembly. 16
(F) When the filing deadline for any bills o r resolutions ends on 17
Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is extended until the close of business the 18
following Monday. 19
(F)(G) If the General Assembly recesses for longer than three (3) 20
consecutive days during the first fifteen (15) days of a regular sess ion, the 21
fifteen-day introduction deadlines established in this section shall be 22
extended for a time period equal to the recess. 23
24
Introduction of Health Care Legislation 25
Section 15. (A) Any proposed legislation affecting the licensure of 26
any profession, occupation, or class of health care providers not currently 27
licensed, or expanding the scope of practice of any profession, occupation, 28
or class of health care providers to be considered by the General Assembly at 29
a regular biennial session sha ll be introduced in the General Assembly during 30
the first fifteen (15) calendar days of a regular biennial session. 31
(B) No such bill shall be introduced after the fifteenth (15th) day of 32
a regular biennial session unless its introduction is first approve d by a 33
three-fourths (3/4) vote of the full membership of each house of the General 34
Assembly. 35
(C) The Senate and the House, and committees of the Senate and House, 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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shall take no action on any such bill for an additional fifteen (15) calendar 1
days after the fifteen (15) calendar day deadline for introduction of such 2
bills has passed. 3
4
Method of Preparing Bills and Resolutions - Automated Bill Preparation System 5
Section 16. (A) No bill or resolution, as defined herein, shall be 6
accepted for introduction by clerks of the Senate or of the House of 7
Representatives unless such bill or resolution has been prepared for 8
introduction by an automated bill preparation system developed by the Bureau 9
of Legislative Research. 10
(1) The Bureau of Legislative Research shall establish and 11
operate, in cooperation with the appropriate officials of the House of 12
Representatives and the Senate, an automated bill preparation system in which 13
all bills and resolutions, as defined herein, shall be prepared for 14
introduction. Such system shall be designed in a manner which will permit 15
either or both houses of the General Assembly to install compatible and 16
interconnecting electronic equipment for the preparation of bills and 17
resolutions in the same format as prepared by the Bureau o f Legislative 18
Research for introduction in either house of the General Assembly. 19
(2) The Bureau of Legislative Research shall provide the 20
Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives 21
access by electronic medium to the cent ral bill files in which bills and 22
resolutions recorded in the automated bill preparation system are stored, to 23
enable the engrossing rooms of the respective houses to have ready access 24
thereto for enrollment of engrossed amendments adopted to such bills an d 25
resolutions. 26
(3) As used herein: 27
(a) “resolutions” shall mean all resolutions prepared for 28
introduction which require the concurrence of both houses of the General 29
Assembly for the adoption thereof, and shall include resolutions prepared for 30
consideration by only the house in which introduced; 31
(b) “automated bill preparation system” shall mean an 32
automated system using word processors, computers, or other electronic 33
devices for the typing and preparation of bills and resolutions (as defined 34
herein) for introduction by members of the General Assembly in either the 35
Senate or the House of Representatives, and shall include the following 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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features: 1
(i) a separate identification number, to be placed 2
upon each page of the original and each copy th ereof prepared for 3
introduction in the General Assembly; 4
(ii) a method of electronically recording the 5
contents of each bill and resolution for ready access for retrieval and 6
engrossment purposes; 7
(iii) security features to protect the automated 8
bill preparation files from access by unauthorized persons, and to maintain 9
the integrity and confidentiality of drafts of bills and resolutions prepared 10
by the Bureau of Legislative Research for members of the General Assembly 11
which have not been filed fo r introduction; and 12
(iv) such other features as deemed to be necessary 13
and advisable by the Bureau of Legislative Research after consulting with the 14
appropriate officials of the House of Representatives and the Senate. 15
(B) All bills and resolutions introduced in the House and Senate shall 16
be prepared on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. The number of copies of bills and 17
resolutions to be prepared for introduction shall be specified by the 18
Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representati ves. 19
One (1) copy shall be placed in the manuscript cover provided for the 20
official copy of bills or resolutions and one (1) copy shall be placed in the 21
manuscript cover provided for the duplicate copy, with any additional copies 22
attached thereto in the m anner prescribed by the respective houses. In 23
addition, copies of the caption on each bill or resolution shall be prepared 24
and attached thereto at the time of introduction. 25
(C) Upon the introduction of each bill and resolution, the appropriate 26
clerks of the respective houses shall cause the original signed copy thereof 27
(which is contained in the official bill or resolution manuscript cover) to 28
be identified as the official copy by perforation or stamping on the left 29
margin of each page thereof the words “HOUSE ORIGINAL” to be placed on each 30
official original copy of House bills and resolutions, and the words “SENATE 31
ORIGINAL” to be placed on the left margin of each official original copy of 32
Senate bills and resolutions. Whenever any bill or resolution is amended, 33
the engrossed page or pages thereof shall be perforated in the same manner as 34
the original introduced copy. Only the original signed copy of a bill or 35
resolution and engrossed pages thereof shall be perforated or stamped as 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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provided herein. 1
(D) If any person shall unlawfully perforate any fraudulent or 2
counterfeit copy of any bill or resolution for the purpose of intentionally 3
inserting in any bill or resolution any page or provision thereof for the 4
purpose of altering the bill or resolution as introduced, such person shall 5
be in contempt of the House or Senate, or both House and Senate, and shall be 6
punished accordingly. If any person shall make any alteration, change or 7
erasure in any original copy of a bill or resolution as originally 8
introduced, except upon direction of the House or Senate, or both House and 9
Senate, or upon direction of the appropriate committees on engrossed or 10
enrolled bills, such person shall be in contempt of the House or Senate, or 11
both of them and shall be punished a ccordingly. In addition, such person 12
shall be subject to such fine and imprisonment as may be imposed by the laws 13
of this State for fraud. 14
(E)(1) Only bills and amendments to bills which meet the requirements 15
of this subsection (E) may be introduced int o the Senate or the House of 16
Representatives. 17
(2) Except as provided in subsections (E)(5), (6) and (8), all 18
bills and amendments to bills shall reflect the changes proposed in the 19
existing law by: 20
(a) over striking all language of the existing law which 21
is proposed to be deleted; and 22
(b) underlining all new language proposed to be added to 23
the existing law. At the top of the first page of the bill shall appear 24
language substantially similar to the following: “Stricken language would be 25
deleted from present law. Underlined language would be added to present 26
law.” 27
(3) Except as provided in subsections (E)(5), (6) and (8), all 28
resolutions proposing amendments to the Arkansas Constitution and amendments 29
to resolutions shall reflect the changes proposed in the existing 30
Constitution by: 31
(a) over striking all language of the existing 32
Constitution which is proposed to be deleted; and 33
(b) underlining all new language proposed to be added to 34
the existing Constitution. At the top of the fir st page of the bill shall 35
appear language substantially similar to the following: “Stricken language 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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would be deleted from the present Constitution. Underlined language would be 1
added to present Constitution.” 2
(4) Except as provided in subsections (E)( 5), (6) and (8), all 3
resolutions proposing changes in the rules of the Senate or House or the 4
joint rules of the Senate and House shall reflect the changes proposed in the 5
existing rule by: 6
(a) over striking all language of the existing rule which 7
is proposed to be deleted; and 8
(b) underlining all new language proposed to be added to 9
the existing rule. At the top of the first page of the resolution shall 10
appear language substantially s imilar to the following: “Stricken language 11
would be deleted from present rule. Underlined language would be added to 12
present rule.” 13
(5) This subsection (E) may be waived by the President Pro 14
Tempore of the Senate or in his or her absence, the Chairman of the Senate 15
Rules Committee, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 16
(6) Markups are not required of the following: 17
(a) appropriation sections, state agencies regular salary 18
sections, and state agencies extra help sections contained with in a bill if 19
the sections do not specifically amend existing law; 20
(b) sections which allocate funds within the Revenue 21
Stabilization Law or within the General Improvement Fund Distribution Law; 22
and 23
(c) sections which amend Arkansas Code §§ 21-5-208(b) and 24
21-5-209(e). 25
(7) It shall be the duty of the Chairman of the Joint Budget 26
Committee to have a schedule prepared which reflects the amounts approved by 27
the Joint Budget Committee for each category for each fund within the Revenue 28
Stabilization Law to provide funding for the budget enacted by the General 29
Assembly and a schedule reflecting the proposed distribution of General 30
Improvement funds. The schedule reflecting the allocation of funds in the 31
Revenue Stabilization Law for the next fiscal yea r shall be submitted during 32
a regular session or fiscal session to each body of the Arkansas General 33
Assembly at least three (3) calendar days prior to the day at which the same 34
is to be considered for final passage. The schedule reflecting the 35
allocation of funds in the General Improvement Fund Distribution Law for the 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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next biennium shall be submitted during a regular session to each body of the 1
Arkansas General Assembly at least three (3) calendar days prior to the day 2
at which the same is to be consider ed for final passage. 3
(8) Markups are not required on sections that are substantially 4
the same as the following boiler -plate sections: 5
6
“SECTION. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 7
authorized by this Act shall be limited to the appropr iation for such agency 8
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 9
the restrictions of the State Purchasing Law, the General Accounting and 10
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regular Salary 11
Procedures and Restrictions Act, the Higher Education Expenditure 12
Restrictions Act, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by the 13
Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 14
strictly complied with in disbursement of said funds. 15
16
SECTION. EMPLOYMENT OF ATTORNEYS. None of the funds appropriated in 17
this Act for Maintenance and General Operation shall be expended in payment 18
for services of attorneys, unless the agency shall first make a request in 19
writing to the Attorney General o f the State of Arkansas to provide the 20
required legal services. The Attorney General’s Office shall provide the 21
required legal services, or, if the Attorney General’s Office shall determine 22
that sufficient personnel are not available to provide the reques ted legal 23
services, the Attorney General shall certify the same to the agency and may 24
authorize the agency to employ legal counsel and to expend monies 25
appropriated for Maintenance and General Operations thereof, if: 26
(1) The Attorney General determines, and certifies in writing, 27
that such agency needs the advice or assistance of legal counsel, and 28
(2) The Attorney General consents in writing to the employment 29
of the legal counsel to be retained by the agency. 30
Such certification shall be required wi th respect to each 31
instance of the employment of special legal counsel, or shall be required 32
annually with respect to legal counsel employed on a retainer basis. A copy 33
of such certification shall be entered in the official minutes of the agency, 34
and shall be retained in the fiscal records of the agency for audit purposes. 35
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SECTION. DISBURSEMENT CONTROLS. (A) No contract may be awarded nor 1
obligations otherwise incurred in relation to the project or projects 2
described herein in excess of the State Trea sury funds actually available 3
therefore as provided by law. Provided, however, that institutions and 4
agencies listed herein shall have the authority to accept and use grants and 5
donations including Federal funds, and to use its unobligated cash income or 6
funds, or both available to it, for the purpose of supplementing the State 7
Treasury funds for financing the entire costs of the project or projects 8
enumerated herein. Provided further, that the appropriations and funds 9
otherwise provided by the General As sembly for Maintenance and General 10
Operations of the agency or institutions receiving appropriation herein shall 11
not be used for any of the purposes as appropriated in this Act. 12
(B) The restrictions of any applicable provisions of the State 13
Purchasing Law, the General Accounting and Budgetary Procedures Law, the 14
Revenue Stabilization Law and any other applicable fiscal control laws of 15
this State and regulations promulgated by the Department of Finance and 16
Administration, as authorized by law, shall be str ictly complied with in 17
disbursement of any funds provided by this Act unless specifically provided 18
otherwise by law. 19
20
SECTION. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General Assembly 21
that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriation s contained 22
in this Act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for which this Act 23
was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive Recommendations 24
and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget manuals prepared by 25
the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or summarized oral 26
testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative Council or 27
Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 28
29
Section 17. (A) Once a Senate bill has passed the Hous e of 30
Representatives and returned to the Senate, it may not be subsequently 31
amended in the Senate unless the House expunges the vote by which it passed 32
the bill and any amendments to the bill and the Senate expunges the vote by 33
which the bill was passed an d places the bill on second reading. 34
(B) Once a House bill has passed the Senate and has been returned to 35
the House, it may not be subsequently amended in the House unless the Senate 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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expunges the vote by which it passed the bill and any amendments to the bill 1
and the House expunges the vote by which the bill was passed and places the 2
bill on second reading. 3
4
Submission of Bills to Governor 5
Section 18. Whenever any Senate bill shall be approved by the House of 6
Representatives and enrolled by the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate or 7
one of his or her authorized agents shall without delay, deliver the same to 8
the Governor or his or her designated representative and take receipt 9
thereof, which receipt shall be returned to the Senate and entered in the 10
Journal. Whenever any House bill shall be approved by the Senate and 11
enrolled by the House, the Chief Clerk of the House or one of his or her 12
authorized agents shall, without delay, deliver the same to the Governor or 13
his or her designated representative and take receipt thereof, which receipt 14
shall be returned to the House and entered in the Journal. In the event the 15
Governor, or his or her designated representative, shall refuse to accept 16
delivery of any such bill, the Secretary of the Senate, or the Chief Clerk of 17
the House, or their designated agents, as the case may be, shall forthwith 18
serve the same by handing the bill to either the Governor or to any employee 19
of the Governor’s office, and shall return a certificate to the Senate or the 20
House as the case may be, of the date and time of such delivery and of the 21
name of the person to whom delivered and such certificate shall be entered in 22
the Journal of the Senate or the Journal of the House, as the case may be, 23
and shall constitute proof of delivery of sa id bill to the Governor in 24
determining the period of time in which the Governor has to sign the same or 25
return it to the Senate or the House with his or her veto as provided in the 26
Constitution of the State of Arkansas. 27
28
Constitutional Amendments 29
Section 19. (A)(1) The Senate may, according to its rules, recommend 30
one (1) proposed constitutional amendment for consideration and vote by the 31
House of Representatives and the Senate. 32
(2) If the Senate-proposed constitutional amendment does not 33
receive an affirmative vote of the majority of House of Representatives, the 34
Senate may, according to its rules, recommend additional proposed 35
constitutional amendments to the House of Representatives one (1) at a time 36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
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until the House of Representatives affirms by a m ajority vote the Senate -1
proposed constitutional amendment. 2
(B)(1) The House of Representatives may, according to its rules, 3
recommend one (1) proposed constitutional amendment for consideration and 4
vote by the House of Representatives and the Senate. 5
(2) If the House of Representatives -proposed constitutional 6
amendment does not receive an affirmative vote of the majority of Senate, the 7
House of Representatives may, according to its rules, recommend additional 8
proposed constitutional amendments to the S enate one (1) at a time until the 9
Senate affirms by a majority vote the House of Representatives -proposed 10
constitutional amendment. 11
(C) A third (3
rd
) proposed constitutional amendment shall not be 12
considered or voted upon by the General Assembly until identical resolutions 13
authorizing the consideration of the proposed constitutional amendment have 14
been approved by an affirmative vote of two -thirds (2/3) of the members 15
elected to each house. 16
(D) A resolution proposing a constitutional amendment shall not be 17
filed in either the House of Representatives or the Senate after the thirty -18
first (31st) day of each regular session of the General Assembly. 19
(E) A resolution proposing a constitutional amendment shall be 20
considered only during a regular session. 21
22
Joint Meetings of Senate and House Committees 23
Section 20. The standing and select Committees of the Senate and the 24
House of Representatives are auth orized to hold joint meetings upon the call 25
of the Chairpersons of the two committees involved or by one -half (1/2) or 26
more of the members of both committees involved. 27
28
Correction of Obvious Errors 29
Section 21. The Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Cl erk of the 30
House are authorized, subject to approval by the appropriate designated 31
committee, to correct obvious errors occurring in documents originating in 32
the House and the Senate respectively, provided that each such correction is 33
noted on the bill jac ket and is documented by a “correction note” at the end 34
of the official daily journal for the date on which the correction was made. 35
36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
16 01-25-2023 13:40:39 JET004
Assigning Bill and Resolution Numbers 1
Section 22. In assigning numbers to bills and resolutions introduced 2
in the Senate and House of Representatives, Senate bills and resolutions 3
shall be numbered commencing with the figure 1, and House bills and 4
resolutions shall be assigned numbers commencing with the figure 1001. 5
6
Pre-filing of Bills and Resolutions 7
Section 23. (A) Beginning on November 15th of each year preceding a 8
regular session of the General Assembly, each holdover member of the Senate 9
who will be serving at the next following regular session of the General 10
Assembly, and each member -elect of the General Assembly, as soon as the 11
members-elect of the next General Assembly are certified to the Secretary of 12
State, shall be permitted to prefile bills and resolutions for such regular 13
session with the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. 14
(B)(1) Beginning on the second Monday of January of each year of a 15
fiscal session of the General Assembly, each member of the House of 16
Representatives and the Senate may prefile appropriation bills and 17
resolutions for the fiscal session with the Chief Clerk of the House and the 18
Secretary of the Senate. 19
(2) A non-appropriation bill may not be pre -filed prior to a 20
fiscal session due to the requirements of Article 5, § 5 of the Constitution 21
of Arkansas. 22
23
Interim Committee Meetings 24
Section 24. (A) Interim committee s shall not meet beginning January 1 25
immediately prior to a regular legislative session, without the prior 26
approval of: 27
(1) The current Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 28
current President Pro Tempore of the Senate for joint interim committ ees; 29
(2) The current Speaker of the House of Representatives for 30
interim committees of the House of Representatives; or 31
(3) The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate for interim 32
committees of the Senate. 33
(B)(1) Interim committees, including the Legislative Council and 34
Legislative Joint Auditing Committee and their respective subcommittees, 35
shall not schedule a meeting at the same time as a regularly scheduled pre -36 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
17 01-25-2023 13:40:39 JET004
session Arkansas Legislative Council/Joint Budget Committee or Joint Budget 1
Committee budget hearing meeting, unless the pre -session budget hearing 2
meeting was scheduled with less than one week's notice and prior 3
authorization for the conflicting interim committee meeting is granted by the 4
President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the S peaker of the House of 5
Representatives. 6
(2)(a) For purposes of this rule, "regularly scheduled pre -7
session budget hearing meetings" means those pre -session budget hearings that 8
are held prior to the regular or fiscal session for the purpose of 9
recommending agency appropriation bills for the following regular or fiscal 10
session. 11
(b) "Regularly scheduled pre -session budget hearing 12
meetings" does not include meetings of the subcommittees of Arkansas 13
Legislative Council/Joint Budget Committee or Joint Bud get Committee. 14
(C) Interim committees and their respective subcommittees, including 15
legislative task forces, councils, or other statutorily created legislative 16
bodies, shall not schedule a meeting during the week of a regularly scheduled 17
meeting of the Legislative Council, unless prior authorization for the 18
conflicting interim committee meeting is granted by the President Pro Tempore 19
of the Senate, for a Senate committee or subcommittee, the Speaker of the 20
House of Representatives for a House committee or subcommittee, or both the 21
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the 22
Senate for a joint committee or task force. 23
24
Procedural Requirements for Creating or Amending Lottery -Funded Scholarships 25
Section 25.(A) Lottery fiscal impact statements. 26
(1) Any bill filed with the Senate or the House of Representatives 27
that creates a new scholarship to be funded with net proceeds from the state 28
lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as applicable, or affects 29
an existing scholarship that is funded with net proceeds from the state lottery 30
or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, 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 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
18 01-25-2023 13:40:39 JET004
is funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education 1
Grants Fund Account, as applicable, shall 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 which 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 Arkan sas 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 sessio n, 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 High er 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 Ed ucation 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 Senat e Committee on 32
Education, meeting jointly during a regular session, special 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 As Engrossed: S1/25/23 SCR1
19 01-25-2023 13:40:39 JET004
fiscal impact results in a positive number; or 1
(ii) Additional funding 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 d uring a regular session, special session, or 6
fiscal session to consider 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 scholar ship that is funded with 11
net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher 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 ma jority of the members of the 19
following, meeting jointly during a regular 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 b ill 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 pr oceeds 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 f or 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
/s/C. Penzo 35
36