Proposal to change emergency powers sails in committee

Senate panel backs measure to raise input of legislators for declaration step

A bill aimed at increasing legislative input and influence over the governor’s declarations of public-health emergencies and the state Department of Health’s directives zipped through the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday afternoon.

With no dissenters, the committee recommended senators approve Senate Bill 379. The vote was taken after the sponsor, Sen.

Kim Hammer, R-Benton, spent 12 minutes explaining the 15-page bill and then answering one question from a member.

Hammer told the Senate panel, “This bill is not intended to attack nor is it intended to call criticism to anybody that has been involved in the process for the last year, that would be the legislative branch or the governor, either one.

“However, I do think it has prepared and has provided a platform to evaluate our emergency declaration process here in the state and to make sure that we as legislators have a seat at the table whenever it comes to things like we have dealt [with] this past year,” he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll never repeat this that we have this last year,” Hammer said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. “However, the reality is that we may.”

Under the bill, in the event of another pandemic “at least we as legislators would be positioned to where we could have a seat at the table earlier than later,” he said.

A few hours earlier, Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters that if the Legislature sends him the bill as it is now, he’ll sign it into law.

Under current law, the Legislature can terminate a governor’s emergency declaration through a concurrent resolution.

SB379 would allow the Senate president pro tempore or a majority of the 35 senators to call the Senate together to act on a resolution terminating an emergency. It also would allow the House to be called into a meeting by the speaker or a majority of the 100 representatives to also consider such a resolution. If the governor vetoes such a resolution, a majority vote in both chambers could override that veto, under the bill.

Hammer said the bill would set a minimum threshold for what constitutes a statewide declaration of emergency related to public health as either including at least 19 of the 75 counties or equal to at least 25% of the state’s population.

SB379 would direct the House and Senate to each meet in a “committee of the whole” within eight business days of the declaration of a statewide public health emergency to vote on a resolution terminating the emergency.

Under the bill, to extend an emergency beyond 60 days, the governor would need the approval of the Legislative Council.

The bill also would require that executive orders issued under the emergency declaration be reviewed by the Legislative Council, which could terminate them with a majority vote. Health Department directives could be terminated by the council’s Executive Subcommittee.

SB379 also “does not permit the governor to prohibit members of the General Assembly from accessing the state of government,” according to the bill.

“Thank God we have a governor that didn’t do this and I don’t think he ever would,” Hammer said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, pressed Hammer about whether the executive branch supports the bill.

“Some people have made the statement and I am just putting it out there, this is the governor’s bill,” Hammer said.

“I don’t agree with that statement,” he said. “But I think also as a legislative branch we have the responsibility to work with the administrative branch and bring good policy and to work with them because we are all in this together.

Hutchinson said at a news conference earlier Wednesday afternoon that his office and his legislative team spent weeks working with Hammer and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway, R-Paragould, on their objective of having additional engagement and the ability to reject an emergency or directive during a pandemic.

“My point has been the chief executive has to have flexibility to lead in a pandemic or a public health crisis,” the Republican governor said. “I worked on this, I read this and while it might not be perfect, I think it does achieve that balance and provides the chief executive the flexibility that’s needed. And so if that bill passes the House and Senate in its current form, then I would sign that into law.”

The bill also would require that executive orders issued under the emergency declaration be reviewed by the Legislative Council, which could terminate them with a majority vote. Health Department directives could be terminated by the council’s Executive Subcommittee.

Hammer