The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow offduty police officers and retired officers to carry concealed handguns anywhere, including places where weapons are prohibited such as parks, schools and sports arenas.
The firearms bill, Senate Bill 155 by Sen. Tim Wooldridge, D-Paragould, passed 30-1. The bill, which Wooldridge said clarifies existing law, goes to the House.
“In the atmosphere we unfortunately find ourselves in today, the public interest is better protected knowing that perhaps in the audience there will be a certified off-duty law enforcement officer,” Wooldridge said afterwards.
Last month, the Arkansas attorney general’s office said in an advisory opinion that off-duty officers can’t legally take concealed weapons into places such as Alltel Arena in North Little Rock or Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville if the establishments have policies against guns.
The Alltel policy has been criticized by police officers who said they would boycott arena events rather than part with their weapons. Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, said her problem with the bill is that it would allow constables to carry concealed weapons.
“We all know constables can get carried away with their authority,” she said. Sen. Bobby Glover, DCarlisle, said constables and sheriffs can’t carry a concealed weapon unless they are a certified law enforcement officer. “This is not a lifetime of entitlement,” he said.
Glover said the director of the Arkansas State Police, a sheriff or a police chief could take away an officer’s right to carry a concealed weapon.
SB155 would require the director of the State Police to keep a record of all retired state police officers authorized to carry a concealed handgun and revoke any authorization for “good cause shown.”
In a 32-1 vote, the Senate approved House Bill 1308 by Rep. Jim Lendall, D-Mabelvale, and Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, that would allow candidates for the state’s constitutional offices and Legislature to accept individual contributions up to $1,000 for each election no matter whether there is name on the ballot or not.
The bill goes to the governor. The state Ethics Commission has taken the position under current law that candidates cannot accept contributions in primary elections if they are unopposed because such candidates’ names do not appear on the ballot in that election. On a 35-0 vote, the Senate passed HB1388 by Rep. Robert White, D-Camden, and Sen. Jim Hill, D-Nashville, that would require the secretary of state to provide the House speaker and Senate president pro tempore 25 Arkansas flags and 25 U.S. flags each year. The secretary of state is required to provide the same number of flags to the state’s constitutional officers.
Hill said the flags would be given to visiting dignitaries. The House approved SB131, which would allow cities to expand parks and recreation commissions to 15 members, and SB130, which would allow more flexibility on setting the expiration dates for members of civil service commissions.
They’re sponsored by Sen. Irma Hunter Brown and Rep. Sam Ledbetter, both Little Rock Democrats. Both SB131 and SB130 go to the governor.