Rapert says he has Senate support for debt amendment
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — State Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, said Monday he has enough support in the Senate to pass a resolution seeking to limit Congress’ ability to raise the federal debt ceiling.
The resolution Rapert filed in advance of the session would call for a U.S. Constitutional Convention to consider amending the Constitution to require a majority of state legislatures to approve any increase in the debt ceiling.
As for House support, “they’re coming on one by one,” Rapert said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Rep. Kathy Webb, D-Little Rock, co-chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the resolution is “not germane to this session, and I hope we don’t take that up.”
Martin to fix House dome leaks after session
Secretary of State Mark Martin has scrapped plans to replace the domes over both the House and Senate.
Martin spokesman Alex Reed said work on the House dome will begin after the fiscal session that began Monday.
Reed said the original plan was to replace domes over both the House and Senate chambers, and the state received a $400,000 grant from Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council for the repairs.
But Reed said the rising cost of copper, which the domes are made of, has forced Martin to concentrate just on the House dome which leaks in several places during heavy rain. Reed said if the council approves, workers will use all of the grant money to replace just the House dome.
Massanelli returns to House
Longtime House Parliamentarian Tim Massanelli was back working in the chamber when the Legislature’s fiscal session Monday.
House Speaker Robert S. Moore Jr., D-Arkansas, welcomed Massanelli, who took a leave of absence in November for personal reasons. Bill Stovall, the House chief of staff, told the House Management Committee that Massanelli was not working full-time during the session, but would be paid hourly.
“Tim is a great part of this institution,” Moore said later.