By Rob Moritz and John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Legislation that would lower the tax on a charity bingo game card from 1 cent to three-tenths of a cent was approved by the state Senate Thursday.
The Senate also approved bills that would prevent the Internet sale of tickets to concerts before the tickets actually go on sale by a venue-approved operator, and prohibit people with felony convictions from operating a vehicle that looks like a police car.
The House on Thursday approved bills to boost development of scenic trails and recreation facilities and voted down a bill to make being a spectator at a drag race on a public highway a misdemeanor offense.
The Senate approved House Bill 1111, which would reduce the current 1-cent per game card tax 70 percent, 32-1. The measure now goes back to the House for approval of the Senate amendment.
Sen. Steve Faris, D-Malvern, who presented the bill on the Senate floor, said the governor’s office opposed the original bill, that would have completely repealed the 1-cent tax, and that everyone agreed with the amendment to reduce the tax to three-tenths of a cent.
“This is a friendly amendment,” he said.
Along with reducing the tax, HB 1111 by Rep. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, also makes other changes to the bingo law, including allowing two organizations to hold bingo sessions at the same location.
Pennartz proposed eliminating the tax after bingo operators complained the levy is cutting into proceeds for charitable giving and said local law enforcement agencies could monitor bingo operations without a state division.
The tax generated about $1.1 million for the state Department of Finance and Administration last fiscal year and the department used about $500,000 to pay for a five-member division to regulate the games.
The state would collect about $360,000 in taxes on the bingo cards with the three-tenths of a cent fee. Pennartz said during a Senate committee hearing this week that she would prefer the tax be eliminated but could live with three-tenths of a percent.
Richard Weiss, director of the Department of Finance and Administration, said this week the enforcement division could continue with a reduced budget.
Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2006 legalizing bingo and raffles for charitable purposes. The Legislature in 2007 approved rules for the games and the card tax to fund statewide monitoring of the games.
The Senate also approved SB 977 by Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, which would prohibit Internet sales of concert tickets until the tickets have first been offered for sale to the public via an event-authorized outlet.
Along with concert tickets, the bill also applies to tickets sold for the theater or “a place of public entertainment or amusement.”
Teague said the bill does not apply to sporting or athletic events.
The Senate also approved SB 468 by Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, which would prohibit convicted sex offenders or people who have been convicted of a felony or domestic battering in the third degree, to operate a vehicle that looks like a police car.
The bill passed 34-0 and now goes to the House.
Key said he filed the bill after law enforcement officials expressed concern about a registered sex offender from Texas, who now lives in Gassville, who carries a badge and who apparently owns a vehicle that looks like a police car with emergency lights.
Under the bill, it would be illegal for a person who is not a certified law enforcement officer to knowingly purchase or possess an emergency-vehicle light or siren with the purpose of installing or using it on a vehicle that looks like a law enforcement vehicle. Violating the law would be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The House approved HB 1846 and HB 1847, both by Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City, in votes of 99-0 and 100-0, respectively.
The bills would create pilot programs to award grants for the development of wildlife observation trails and wildlife recreation facilities.
“Trails are big business in this country,” Moore told House members.
The maximum amount for a single grant would be $100,000 per year. The grants would be funded with money the state Game and Fish Commission collects from leasing state lands for development in the Fayetteville Shale play.
A lawsuit pending in court seeks to prevent the commission from being the sole recipient of the lease revenue. Moore said that if the plaintiff in the suit prevails, “this goes away.”
HB 1256, which would make it a misdemeanor to be a spectator at a drag race on a public highway, failed in a 24-55 vote.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dan Greenberg, R-Little Rock, said spectators are sometimes killed in accidents at drag races, and large audiences encourage the races, which already are illegal to participate in as a driver.
Several members raised objections to the bill, including Rep. Donna Hutchinson, R-Bella Vista.
“I can see the Hutchinsons going out to Bubba’s Cafe, and as they’re going to their parking lot guys start racing cars along,” Hutchinson said. “They would call the police, but knowing the Hutchinsons, we would stand there and watch the race.”
The House also delved into more tasty subjects, approving HB 1906 by Rep. Larry Cowling, D-Foreman, which would make the pecan the official nut of Arkansas, and HB 2193 by Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, which would make the Cynthiana grape the state’s official grape.
