Arkansas State Senator Dan Sullivan's (R-Jonesboro) Senate Bill 3 passed the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday, Feb. 5, after almost 3 hours of discussion and concerns about liquor licenses and gendered clubs.
Rep. Mary Bentley (R—Perryville), a Co-Sponsor of the bill, presented the SB3 in Sulivan's place due to illness. Bently said everyone would agree that affirmative action was a "good move" in the '60s, but now the country is different.
" While we do have pockets of racism remaining in our nation, the notion that America is a racist country is simply false," Bently said. " For those specific instances of hatred that persist, we have powerful state and federal anti-discrimination laws that this law does not stop."
Bently said it was time to look and move forward. The committee meeting, Chaired by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R-Paragould), echoed many similar concerns discussed in last week'sSenate meetings.
Liquor Licenses Concerns
At this meeting, some members of the public voiced concerns about Section 2 of SB3, which deals with liquor licenses. AR Code § 3-4-223 (2023) states that the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Division "shall consider lack of diversity in ownership and financial interest in the geographic area at issue in the permit application."
SB3, if made into law, would amend the "lack of diversity in ownership and financial interests in the geographic area at issue in the permit application" and replace it with "the benefit of competition to consumers."
John Kelly, owner of Longhills Wine and Spirits in Benton and board member of the United Beverage Retailers of Arkansas (UBRA), spoke to the committee about concerns regarding Section 2. Kelly said he wanted the committee to understand that there are many possibilities depending on how that section is interpreted.
"I am sure there is some logical reason why it ended up in state agencies," Kelly said. "But, it certainly a bit of a surprise to have had something that dealt with alcohol not go through the rules committee."
Kelly believes that section 2 and a slew of other bills dealing with liquor could have a major impact on this legislative session.
"In my opinion, this could dramatically impact my industry. The industry that I represent," Kelly said.
Janie Ginocchio, Co-Founder of the Arkansas Nonprofit Initiative (ANPI), also spoke about her concerns regarding liquor licenses. She said that the code, as written, is supposed to ensure a balanced market that protects small businesses.
Ginocchio said changing it would mean large corporations and chains would dominate the market, and small independent liquor stores would be pushed out.
"Section 2 is a direct attack on small businesses, local communities, and the principles of transparency and fairness that this body is supposed to uphold," Ginocchio said.
She added that Section 2 was "outrageous" and a "blatant power grab." Ginocchio said the former representative who changed the code referenced in Section 2 didn't care about the owners' identities; it was to protect against monopolies in local communities.
"This was buried in. It is not in the title, it is not in the legislative intent, it is not being discussed in the appropriate committee, and it is not shared with the people who would be most impacted. I am very angry with the lack of transparency," Ginocchio said.
Rep. Ryan Rose (R-District 48) took issue with the accusation of a lack of transparency and asked Ginocchio to explain why she felt there had been a lack of transparency.
"Senator Sullivan has said repeatedly that this bill is about education, employment, and procurement. Liquor permitting has nothing to do with any of those. It was never discussed or explained to any of the bodies," Ginocchio said.
She said ANPI contacted Senator Sullivan to explain the bill directly.
"He said he would leave that to committee debate; it was not explained. This section is not being routed through proper committees," Ginocchio said. "Why is this buried in a bill about affirmative action?"
Gendered Clubs Concerns
Another concern discussed was the future of gendered clubs. Consideration from Rep. Nicole Clowney (D-Fayetteville) raised the issue of how the bill could impact gender-specific programs, like girls' Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs in schools or the nonprofit organization Girls on the Run.
“I think everybody at this table appreciates the value of hard work," Clowney said. "I also think we all at this table can appreciate the value of having programs aimed specifically at our young girls."
Clowney added that getting young girls involved in STEM and gendered clubs like Girls on the Run was important. She said clubs like that are preferential treatment based on gender.
"Can you point to me somewhere in this bill that would give me some confidence that those groups would be allowed to continue to exist?" Clowney asked.
Bently said that the women in that area needed to "rise and give some money." Clubs like that were important to women in the area.
"I think we look to the government for the answer, and it is not. We need women to rise and mentor those young girls," Bently said. "Start where we reach out to women and become mentors and moms in the schools. Nothing in this bill would stop that."
Rep. RJ Hawk (R-District 81) also spoke about gender-based programs. He gave the example of women in engineering being typically underrepresented, so getting rid of scholarship programs to support women in engineering would be taking away opportunities.
"Simply doing away with these programs designed to increase opportunities, and then women in the programs must show merit and continue their careers. Do you think about the argument that, in fact, SB3 does not support merit, that this is anti-merit," Hawk said.
Bently answered that Arkansas has its first female governor, which shows that women are moving forward and don't need preferential treatment.
"I find that very insulting," Bently said. She also said that she thinks girls should have clubs, but as far as funding is concerned, the community should step up and "do their part."
Clowney replied that the bill is not limited to funding. She said she was worried that offering a classroom for the club to meet in or saying it is just a girls' club could violate SB3 if it became law.
"I think you are distorting things a little bit; that is my opinion," Bently said.
Anna Beth Gorman, a Women's Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) representative, spoke up about how the bill would affect women. She said merit has taken the stage nationally and in our state legislature.
"SB3 aims to prohibit discrimination and preferential treatment; only merit should be considered," Gorman said. "We at WFA believe that merit and background go hand in hand. It is not discriminatory or showing preferential treatment to consider someone's background."
Gorman added that the WFA believes every woman and girl deserves a chance to be seen as a person of merit, but historically, they have been excluded from opportunities that would help them earn merit.
"Arkansas ranks 48th in deals and capital for women entrepreneurs and 39th in women entrepreneur success overall," Gorman said. "Is this because women are bad at business or still playing catch up from years of codified discrimination in the ability to establish and build credit?"
Gorman said Girls Who Code Club, Girls in STEM, encouraging participation in those clubs, women's mentorship programs in a school district, or local government would all be considered preferential treatment by Senate Bill 3.
"I think we look to the government for the answer to everything, and it is not. We need women to rise and mentor those young girls," Gorman said. " Supporting women and girls is not about taking opportunities away from anyone else."
Rose asked Gorman if she would speak to any industry that is female-dominated and if she advocates for opportunities to reduce the number of women in those career paths or industries.
Gorman said that in her world, she talks about "pink-collar jobs." In these jobs, she says, a disproportionate number of women and girls are represented in things like healthcare, banking, and teaching.
"We advocate that those women in those professions get continuing education so they can break the ceiling. When you look deep into those professions, you see women serving in roles that are on the front lines, but they aren't getting paid as their male counterparts in those same roles or leadership positions," Gorman said.
In closing the bill, Bently said that it's important to look at the reason why SB3 is being brought forward; she talked about how this bill would line up with President Donald Trump's executive orders.
" I know there's been some concerns brought up on Section 2 with the liquor licenses. I will say that I visited with Joy Leonard, who is an outstanding lawyer," Bently said. "I really kind of insulted the folks saying it wasn't really well drafted."
She added that Section 2 would not take anything away. She said ultimately that SB3 is trying to eliminate discrimination.
Despite the concerns, the committee recommended that SB3 pass. The bill will now go to the House floor for a final vote before potentially reaching Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' desk.
