By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK — Members of the state House of Representatives decided Wednesday to prohibit fundraising during the Legislature’s fiscal session next year. In an 88-1 vote during a House caucus, members adopted a rule change that prohibits them from accepting campaign contributions during a fiscal session. House members are already banned from accepting contributions 30 days prior to, during, and 30 days after a regular session or anytime during a special session. House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway, proposed the rule. The state Senate has indicated it will adopt the same rule, he said. Talking later to reporters, Wills said he did not propose banning contributions 30 days before and after fiscal sessions because that would have posed a problem for members seeking re-election. The fiscal sessions will convene in even-numbered years — i.e., election years. “You get the calendar out and you back out 30 days from the end of the longest fiscal session, and you’re right up on a primary election,” Wills said. “With a 30-day before-and-after blackout, it’s not an inconvenience, it’s a hardship on a sitting member of the House of Representatives.” Each fiscal session will start on the second Monday of February in an even-numbered year and last up to 30 days, though the session can be extended another 15 days by a three-fourths vote in both the House and Senate. The House also adopted numerous technical rule changes related to the switch from biennial to annual sessions, plus a rule change prohibiting testimony via “cell phones, personal data assistants or other electronic devices” in a committee meeting, though video testimony may be permitted. The House rejected several rule changes proposed by Republican members who argued their proposals would have increased transparency and accountability in the predominantly Democratic House. The defeated measures included a proposal by Rep. Ann Clemmer, R-Benton, that would have required House members to travel by the most economical mode of transportation available on out-of-state trips for which the members will be reimbursed. “I think a vote for this bill sends the right message to our constituents, and I think a vote against this bill sends the wrong message to our constituents and the taxpayers of Arkansas,” Clemmer said. State Rep. Barry Hyde, D-North Little Rock, spoke against the proposal. He said the matter was a policy issue and should be considered by the House Management Committee, which he chairs. The proposal failed in a 37-45 vote. Wills told reporters later he understood the intent behind Clemmer’s proposal, but with airline rates fluctuating constantly, determining compliance would have required the House staff to keep “a 24-hour watch on airline fares.” The House now determines appropriate reimbursement on a case-by-case basis, Wills said. House members also rejected a proposal by Rep. Dan Greenberg, R-Little Rock, to require the newly revamped House Communications Office to provide unbiased services to all House members and attribute all information it disseminates to specific members. Wills spoke against the proposal, assuring the members the office would not be politically biased. The proposal failed in a 14-68 vote. Also defeated were proposed rule changes that would have made it easier to request a roll call vote in a committee; lengthened the time required for a bill to go from a committee to a vote on the House floor; made it harder for the speaker to accept a motion to close debate on a bill; and made it possible to bypass the House Rules Committee when a two-thirds majority of House members vote to change a House rule.
