Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Ross Works Hard In Final Days As Area's Senator

Being in his final term as a State Senator has not meant lame duck status for Mike Ross.

During the 81st General Assembly and subsequent special session, Ross has worked as hard as a first termer to get legislation introduced and passed.

In fact, Ross was appointed chairman of the Act 309 subcommittee. This program allowed prisoners with short time remaining on their jail sentences to work in counties at the request of the local sheriff.

However, there were some abuses in by some sheriff's, which put the entire program in a bad light.

"Overall," Ross said, "it's a good program. People want to see prisoners working, and it helps financially strapped counties."

Ross said he worked to restore credibility to the program by changing portions of it.

In the past, he said, sheriff's could request prisoners by name for the program. Now, however, the inmates are judged by the skills they have, and when a county needs a particular service, the prisoners with those skills are the first taken for the program.

Additionally, it had been established the prisoners could only work around the jail area. Under the new plan, though, they can work in other places. The scope of the work they are allowed to do has been broadened, Ross said.

Another new aspect of the program is police chiefs can now request 309 prisoners.

And, when a prisoner is requested under the program, Ross said, the prosecuting attorney where the prosecution was done will be notified, as will the victim or family's victim, if they so request.

The modified version of Act 309 was signed by Gov. Mike Huckabee and is not Act 936.

Ross said most sheriffs didn't want to ask for 309 prisoners by name, and prefer the new method. In addition, when a sheriff requests a particular skill, they can interview the prisoner as they would a job applicant and turn them down if they want.

On the topic of welfare reform, Ross said, the original bill from the House of Representatives needed work, and the Senate spent a great deal of time trying to get a program together. This, Ross said, was primarily done by the Public Health Committee.

The federal government has mandated states institute some type of welfare reform, so it is no longer an entitlement program for those who don't want to work or get an education.

The plan the senate came up with, Ross said, is designed to help recipients find work. "The new mission is to get people who are now on welfare trained and educated for the work force," he said.

By 1998, for a person's entire life, they can only receive cash assistance under the welfare program for two years.

One of the most important aspects of the welfare reform package is those convicted of drug related felonies will be removed from the welfare rolls. "This may be the most far reaching legislation passed in the 161 years Arkansas' been a state," Ross said.

But, he said, the moving of people from the welfare lifestyle into the realm of being productive citizens is a complicated process and won't happen overnight.

Those currently on welfare, he said, will need training for jobs, transportation to and from their jobs and reliable, affordable daycare for their children.

While there is no guarantee the way the new system has been established will work, Ross

said it's a start.

However, the House and Senate worked diligently to make sure children are protected. Ross, the chairman of the Senate Children and Youth Committee, said this panel will oversee the welfare reform system to make sure it's properly implemented and how it affects children who are in families on welfare.

Ross supported Huckabee's bill on car tags. This means, beginning Jan. 1, 1998, there will be no more vehicle inspections required.

While the tags will cost $2.50 more than they do now, Ross said, overall people will be saving $1. This is because inspections cost $3.50.

To get a vehicle licensed, a motorist will then have to take their pink slip with them to the revenue office. This means no more bringing in proof of insurance and payment of property taxes.

In fact, under the new system, motorists will be able to buy their tags for two years at a time, and pay for them by credit card.

Ross said at one time the federal government mandated states to require inspections. However, it realized this system wouldn't work and rescinded the law.

But, Arkansas kept the inspections because the $1.50 the state made from the inspections went to pay to retire bonds for the Arkansas State Police.

Under the governor's plan, the extra money for tags will go to retire the ASP bonded indebtedness, while 50 cents of the money from each license will be used to purchase a new computer system to streamline the process. The computers, Ross said, will be linked to the Arkansas Department of Finance Authority (ADFA).

However, some inspections will still be required. Ross said those vehicles requiring commercial licenses will continue to be inspected. This means buses of all kinds, and semi tractor-trailer rigs.

Another aspect of the plan, he said, is for insurance companies to notify the state of all vehicles which are properly insured. While motorists don't have to show proof of insurance to get license under the new concept, the fine for not having liability insurance has gone up.

In fact, the first offense for no insurance will cost the guilty motorist $250. The next fine will be $500, followed by the third level of $1,000 or a year in jail. The fines, Ross said, will go to local governments. Should a ticket be written by a city police officer, the city gets the money. Or, if a deputy writes a citation, the county sees the fine funds. Consequently, the state will get all fine money from tickets written by the ASP.

Uninsured cars, Ross said, will be impounded until the owners can show proof of insurance.

Possibly some of the most important pieces of legislation to come from the assembly was due to the March 1 tornado.

Ross was a co-sponsor on legislation for one-time payments of $500,000 to cities and counties declared federal disaster areas. The money, he said, is to help with the cost of cleanup.

While this will be vital to help Clark County get out from under the mass destruction it suffered, the funds in Nevada County will be used differently.

Ross said, in Nevada County, the money will be used to help pay for a county-wide emergency siren system.

Another part of the legislation authorized counties to use county equipment on private property when disasters hit. In the past, it was illegal for counties to take county-owned equipment onto private property under any circumstances.

As chairman of the Senate Children and Youth Committee, Ross co-sponsored legislation on the Arkansas Kids First program.

He said this will help provide insurance coverage for some 80,000 to 90,000 currently uninsured childre