AR Democrat Gazette: “Two bids to allow the Arkansas General Assembly to consider legislation coupling a Texas-style cause of action with a ban on abortion except to save the life of the mother failed Tuesday afternoon in the Arkansas Senate.
A two-thirds vote of the 35-member Arkansas Senate and 100-member Arkansas House of Representatives is required to allow the introduction of non-appropriation bills in a fiscal session, which started Monday. The General Assembly convenes in fiscal sessions in even-numbered years and in regular sessions in odd-numbered years.
Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, urged senators to approve his Senate Resolutions 14 and 15 to allow him to introduce the Arkansas Human Heartbeat and Human Life Civil Justice Act.
But both resolutions failed to get the required 24 votes in the Arkansas Senate to clear the way for the filing of the bills.
With three senators not voting, two senators excused and a senator voting present, the Senate’s 12-16 votes on Senate Resolutions 14 and 15 fell a dozen short of the 24 votes required for approval. One of the Senate seats is vacant.
Twelve Republican senators voted for the resolutions, while nine Republican senators, six Democratic senators and independent Sen. Jim Hendren of Sulphur Springs voted against the resolutions.
Since Texas passed a law banning abortions after six weeks that allows private citizens to enforce it through lawsuits, a contingent of Republican state lawmakers, led by Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway, have advocated for the passage of a Texas-style civil cause of action provision in Arkansas coupled with a ban on abortions except to save the life of the mother.”