The Legislature
Where do we go from here?
by Murray Claycomb
This is my first opportunity
to communicate with the membership of the Arkansas Bar Association as
the President for the 2002-2003 year. I am very honored to serve
in this capacity. I look forward to working to continue and expand
the varied and valuable services provided by the Arkansas Bar to the
membership as well as working on the many issues and projects
already before us.
The focus of this article is on the upcoming
legislative year in 2003 and what it means to the Arkansas Bar
Association.
The composition of the Arkansas General
Assembly has changed drastically over the last several years. The
number of lawyer legislators and the positions of influence which they
have held in the past are a thing of the past. Due to term limits,
the longest experience of any of the legislators, unless they have crossed
over from another house of the General Assembly, is four years.
There will be a major influx of new legislators who will assume
their offices in January of 2003. The Arkansas Bar Association will
have a much more difficult situation in this new legislative session.
Another factor with which we have to contend
is the public perception of the legal profession, which some of
the legislators will share.
In the past, the Association has had the
benefit of being able to rely on attorney legislators who were knowledgeable
about the legislative process and who held leadership positions. This
is especially important in the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
This enabled us to both promote our legislative package and to
detect and resist ill advised legislation which would not be in the
best interest of the public or of the law profession. This is
no longer true.
In the past, lobbying efforts have been
provided by a part time lobbyist, each of whom performed well under
the existing circumstances. However, the circumstances have changed.
The Arkansas Bar Association recognizes that a new more substantial
lobbying effort will need to be made. For that reason, the governing
bodies of the Association have authorized employment of a lobbyist on
a year-round basis, which naturally involves greater expense.
This should enable our lobbyist to devote the time and effort necessary
to become acquainted with many of the legislators and to establish relationships
before the session begins. The Association has contracted with
former President, Jack McNulty, to serve in this vital capacity
as Lobbyist.
The Bar Association leadership has concluded
that because of the limited experience of the new legislators,
the best way for the Association to successfully communicate our reasons
and justifications for our legislative package and to persuade
the legislators, is to be able to reach each of them by a legislative
network. We have had such a network in the past on a more modest
scale than what will be needed in the future. In order to be able
to reach all 135 Senators and Representatives, we will need to have
at least one person in every county or district who has credibility
with his or her representative and who will make the necessary
contacts when the need arises.
The grass roots legislative network and
the lobbyist are only going to be as effective as our ability to communicate
with each other and the members of the Legislature. The Legislation
Committee is the Bar Association's principal link to the Lobbyist.1
In order to facilitate this process, the Association is contracting
with a firm known as "Voter Voice", which will enable quicker
and easier communications and provide the members of the legislative
network with the necessary information and messages which they can
utilize to communicate the Bar Association's position and to urge the
legislators to support the Association's position. In order to
be successful, your help will be needed. I am happy to announce that
Charles Schlumberger is the Chair of the Legislation Committee
for the Bar year 2002-2003.
There will be a number of issues important
to lawyers that will be before the 2003 Legislature. One of them
will be the Arkansas Bar Association's legislative package, including,
among others, uniform laws and bills for implementation of Amendment
80. There are other matters that raise serious concerns. There are
already strong indications that there will be a major tort reform effort
made, maybe drastic in nature.
Due to decreased state revenue, efforts
may be made to place a sales tax on professional services. In the
past, when the financial situation for the State was more favorable
than it is now, we were able to persuade the Legislature that
such a tax was not a desirable course of action. However, with the current
situation, this may not be as easily accomplished and we should
be prepared to deal with that issue. It has been the Association's
position in the past that if the state taxes professional services of
lawyers, it should likewise tax other presently exempt services.
This may or may not be persuasive in the future. We also need
to explore, in the context of dealing with such concerns, who would
be our allies in such matters.
The Legislation Committee is charged with
the responsibility of supporting and working with the lobbyist
and assisting with efforts to provide the necessary support for passing
our proposed legislation, providing witnesses for committee hearings,
and working with the legislative network and former lawyer legislators,
and past presidents or other support groups. Also, they will seek organizations
as allies with interests like our own in various efforts. The
Legislation Committee will meet every Friday during the legislative
session to receive a report from the lobbyist and make determinations
as to the Association's positions on issues that may occur concerning
proposed changes to our Association legislation and to decide
on positions to be taken by the Association on new issues that arise
during the session on which the House of Delegates has not taken
a position. These will include what position and action to take on bills
which would have a detrimental effect on the administration of justice
or on the practice of law. It would not support legislation which
the House of Delegates has rejected within the last twenty-four months
nor oppose any legislation which the House of Delegates has approved
with the past twenty-four months. In emergency situations, the
committee may have to confer by telephone or other form of communication
between meetings.
Other efforts to present the Association's
positions could include a network of past lawyer- legislators and
past presidents of the Bar Association.
The job of screening all of the bills
that come before the Legislature is a large undertaking and may require
the assistance of a number of the members of the Association. Historically,
the Sections have assisted the Legislation Committee in screening
bills and we look forward to them continuing this important role.
Because the rules of the Legislature allow
bills to be introduced and then adopted in a very short period of
time, it is sometimes very difficult to learn of such proposals and
react in a timely manner. That demonstrates the need for rapid
communication and quick reaction by the membership to contact their
legislators.
All of this points out the need for your
help and support. Please let the Bar Association know if you are willing
to help. If you are called upon to assist in any of these efforts, please
help when you can. It is in the best interest of the operation
of our system of justice and of the legal profession. If we fail to
do what we can, we will share the fault and endure the consequences.
Our clients rely on us to protect their interests. We should do
no less to protect our own.
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