LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Huckabee argued Wednesday that with the state facing a budget crisis, now is the time to overhaul state government.
Huckabee addressed the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs about his plan to regroup 53 state agencies and boards into 10 new departments.
"Give me the tools in the executive branch of government to better manage and lead with the resources you allocate," he said.
The meeting was the highlight of the Legislature on a second day of icy, snowy conditions, as many people, other than legislators, chose not to brave the weather and slick roads.
The House rejected a bill that would allow federal judges to carry concealed handguns, while the Senate passed legislation to supplement the fund from which the state Employment Security Department pays unemployment benefits.
The Senate also passed and sent to the governor a $500,000 appropriation to pay for a special study to determine what constitutes an adequate education in Arkansas. The Legislature is to use recommendations from the study, due by Sept. 1, to respond to a state Supreme Court decision that declared Arkansas' school-funding formula unconstitutional.
The committee considering Huckabee's reorganization plan heard five hours of testimony from sponsors and the public, but took no vote.
Huckabee has said that government reorganization eventually would produce savings. In the short-term, he said, it will show good faith with taxpayers who may be asked to dig deeper into their pockets to maintain essential services and make court-ordered educational improvements.
Legislators expressed concerns Wednesday that the idea has not been thoroughly studied and that it would add more bureaucracy. They also questioned why, if the changes won't save much money immediately, they should consider it this session, saying they have enough on their plates already.
"At a time when we're dealing with a budget crisis and an education crisis, it seems kind of ironic that we're splitting our energy," said Rep. Jim Lendall, D-Mabelvale.
Huckabee said the Legislature can budget to ensure that money is saved.
He also told the committee that some state employees will lose their jobs in the next few weeks because of budget cuts and that the state's grim financial picture was even more reason to streamline government right away.
"We need very much to begin reorganizing in order that we can better serve," he said. "We're at a point in our budget where we can't keep going business as usual."
Changes to the bill Tuesday garnered support from 40 House co-sponsors and 10 senators.
A primary amendment shifted the current state Department of Environmental Quality to a proposed new Department of Commerce, a change meant to appease critics who opposed the original proposal to put the environmental agency under the same umbrella as the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
Legislation also has been filed that would require an independent study of whether state government should reorganize for efficiency.
Also Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its meetings on legislation to limit awards in medical malpractice and other civil lawsuits. It canceled a planned afternoon meeting because many witnesses could not make it to the Capitol. The hearings are to resume Monday.
Representatives of the Arkansas Medical Society spoke for the bill and the Arkansas Bar Association spoke against it.
The gun bill that failed in the House would have allowed federal trial judges, bankruptcy judges and magistrates throughout Arkansas to carry a concealed handgun, after certifying to the chief district judge that they have taken a handgun safety training course approved by the director of the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training.
Rep. John Paul Verkamp, R-Charleston, carried the bill in the House, where it failed 42-47 after critics questioned why judges should get special treatment and whether older judges should be armed. The bill could come back up.
"I just don't understand what makes them a unique class," said Rep. Jodie Mahony, D-El Dorado. "Are you saying federal judges should have more rights as far as concealed-carry than your constituents?"
The chief sponsor, Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, has said the measure would send a message to any bad guy who might consider confronting a federal judge to think twice. Hendren's brother, Jimm, is a U.S. district judge based in Fayetteville.
