The House Judiciary Committee has advanced legislation aimed at helping to fund domestic violence shelters in our state which assisted more than 11,000 Arkansans last year.
HB1420 directs an additional court cost of twenty-five dollars to be assessed if an individual is convicted of domestic abuse or is the respondent on a permanent order of protection. The bill directs the court clerk to deposit the funds into the Domestic Violence Shelter Fund. The legislation outlines how the money is to be distributed.
The House voted in favor a bill that changes the official cause of death on the death certificates for individuals who are executed. Currently, the cause of death is listed as homicide. HB1158 would require examiners to list manner of death as “pursuant to a judicial sentence of death-execution”. Cause of death would be listed as “electrocution” or “lethal injection”. This bill now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In a vote of 65-18, with 4 members voting present, the House passed HB1002. This bill directs school district administration officials to calculate the cost of placing seatbelts on new school buses if 10% of individuals within the district sign a petition. This would then allow voters to decide if they want to pursue installing the seat belts at the next school board election.
The House will reconvene at 10am Friday morning.