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Apr 24 • 62 tweets • 7 min read
Good afternoon folks! We are posted up in the Senate ready for some more voting on crypto! #arpx #arleg
Sen. Irvin's amendment will be voted on, and Sen. Bryant's bill will get voted on. They may suspend the rules to go ahead and vote on Irvin's full bill as well.
@ArkDavey reported there was a chance King would try to expunge the vote on his resolutions and try again with updated language, but that may not happen now without Democrats' support.
Apr 23 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
We're posted up in the Senate Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs. No one yet signed up to speak for or against, and a pretty empty crowd.
Sen. Irvin up first. Wants to expunge previous vote and start over (makes the procedure go a bit faster).
Says the new language narrows definition of "digital asset mining business" to include "block chain network" - doesn't pull in *every* blockchain-using business.
Apr 18 • 80 tweets • 10 min read
Alrighty we are back in the Senate Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs, where the only two things on the agenda are the now-infamous crypto bills. Pretty packed room.
#arleg #arpx
Sounds like the bills have some amendments that the hardworking folks at BLR are sending over; then there will be a short recess so a few members can attend an event in the rotunda.
Apr 18 • 33 tweets • 4 min read
Good afternoon, Arkansas! We are posted up in the Senate. On the calendar are a number of appropriations bills. We don't expect any drama there. #arpx #arleg
BUT.
We're hearing rumors that Sen. Irvin may put forward a motion to remove her crypto regulation bill from the Committee on Cities, Counties, and Local Affairs and move it to the Committee on Insurance and Commerce. Why would this be significant?
Apr 17 • 115 tweets • 14 min read
Good afternoon folks! We're posted up ready for the House session today, where they'll decide whether to let a number of bills regulating crypto/data mining centers in the state into the Fiscal Session.
Each resolution has now received the necessary 2/3 vote in the Senate, and House Rules recommended "Do Pass" with no audible Nays.
Other than that, we don't really have any insider knowledge as to how this'll go. They could sail through, or they could hit a roadblock.
Apr 16 • 156 tweets • 21 min read
Alright, take a deep breath y'all. Last, but certainly not least, meeting of the day: Legislative Audit, where the only thing on the agenda: the #lecterngate audit report, where Legislative Audit identified seven areas where the Governor's Office violated the law.
This... could be a long one. The report itself is nearly 70 pages, and we think Audit will have some sort of presentation/slideshow walking through the report. The legislators will then have the opportunity to ask questions of the auditors. So we'll see how it goes!
Apr 16 • 85 tweets • 11 min read
We're starting a new thread here for the #arleg crypto discussion in House Rules. They're considering all of Sens' Bryant, King, and Irvin's bills to regulate crypto and data mining in the state.
Follow here!
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Reps. Hudson and McCullough chatting with Sen. Leding in the back. Sen. Leding has been a champion of the "keep fiscal fiscal-focused" movement; curious what the House Committee Democrats will do today.
Apr 11 • 49 tweets • 5 min read
We're here at Joint Performance Review where committee members are presumably going to grill Dept. of Corrections regarding their hiring of outside counsel. Follow along here or watch live: #arpx #arlegsg001-harmony.sliq.net/00284/Harmony/…
A member of the audience is raising his hand to correct the record regarding the presence of a witness. #arpx #arleg
Apr 11 • 52 tweets • 7 min read
Senate is called to order! Sens. Boyd, Stubblefield, and Murdock are on leave.
Everyone else present.
Two bills dispensed to proper committees immediately.
Also our mistake: Sen. Tucker isn't here.
Hester notes that if they decide to debate the crypto bills and they end up getting through, they'll just have to have the same debate in committee.
Apr 11 • 48 tweets • 6 min read
We're posted up for the Joint Budget Committee meeting!
(congrats again to Coach Calipari)
They'll likely move pretty fast through the agenda. A lot of letters from Constitutional Officers requesting changes to their respective appropriations. They'll need to redraft bills if the letters are accepted. Gov's letters doing much the same are further down on the agenda.
Apr 10 • 34 tweets • 4 min read
We are posted up in the Capitol ready for Gov. Sanders' State of the State speech in about 45 minutes! Follow along for our "reactions!"
What can go wrong?
Worth noting in the gallery: lots of seatin marked "reserved." No clue who's going to show up for these seats, but we sort of thought they were resolved for the people. The whole "People's House" thing.
Mar 25 • 28 tweets • 4 min read
We are posted up at Bullock Temple CME across from the historic Central High School. A lawsuit is being filed against Section 16 of the LEARNS Act prohibiting “indoctrination” in public schools, arguing that it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. #arpx #LEARNS
It’s being filed by Mike Laux and Austin Porter on behalf of Ruthie Walls, Central High’s AP African American Studies teacher, three Central High parents, and three Central High students.
Mar 19 • 100 tweets • 9 min read
Evening! Did you know we follow local politics just like state politics? We're also committed to local accountability + local citizen empowerment. Follow along here as we live-tweet tonight's Fayetteville city council meeting. You can also stream it here:
Housing is on the agenda tonight. Here's a primer: onarwatch.org/housing-crisis…
Mar 15 • 45 tweets • 6 min read
Good morning Arkansas! We are here for the final Arkansas Legislative Council meeting before the fiscal session.
(we are also well-caffeinated after a long night of storms in the capital city!) Legislators already filing in.
We regret to inform everyone that @RepWhitaker22 has NOT graced us with a tropical print shirt today. A bit chilly!
Mar 14 • 40 tweets • 5 min read
And we're getting ready for Executive Subcommittee! This will be a shorter one; the big issue is Gov. Sanders' change to drivers licenses. Folks will be required to put their biological gender on the license instead of an "X" if they are nonbinary or transgender.
If we understand it correctly, there are exceptions if the individual has gone through gender-affirming surgery and gotten a court order.
Mar 14 • 66 tweets • 8 min read
Good morning Arkansas! We're at the Capitol looking at two meetings - Administrative Rules and Executive Subcommittee.
Administrative Rules reviews, well, rules made by state agencies that require legislative approval. Agencies file the rules w/ the committee.
Executive Subcommittee mostly focuses on rules relating to the Bureau of Legislative Research, but they also handle "emergency rule" requests.
Today, they'll discuss the Governor's silly culture war effort to require an individual's "biological sex" on their drivers license.
Mar 8 • 99 tweets • 12 min read
Good morning Arkansas! We're back for the third and final day of pre-fiscal session budget meetings.
Today in the hot seat: Depts. of Public Safety and Health.
Follow along with our live 🧵 here!
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If you missed previous days, don't worry! We've got you covered:
We are set up for round 2 of pre-fiscal session meetings! If you missed the fun yesterday, here's a link to yesterday's thread. threadreaderapp.com/thread/1765387…
On today's agenda: the mammoth Department of Human Services, the Public School fund with everyone's favorite Florida Man, Sec. Oliva, public school libraries, and Career and Technical Education.
Mar 6 • 112 tweets • 12 min read
We are here and set up in the room! Pretty crowded this morning. There will be three days of these meetings.
On the agenda today: Higher Education and various subdivisions of Dept. of Correction.
Our thread following the day's events starts here.
These "pre-fiscal session budget hearings" are where the legislature will decide what to prioritize in the upcoming session. Various departments and divisions will make their case to the legislators: how much money they need, why they need it, and how they'll use it.
Oct 12, 2023 • 46 tweets • 8 min read
We'll be in the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee meeting at 11:30 this morning— follow this thread for that play-by-play, but know the agenda is sparse.
Tap the link to learn more about this committee's purpose.
Most notably, given #lecterngate , is the part where this committee "provides impartial auditing of state and local government entities independent of the executive branch of state government." arklegaudit.gov/committee
Feb 22, 2023 • 224 tweets • >60 min read
Good morning, fam. Today's the big day: LEARNS will be heard in a few minutes at 9am in Senate Education.
