Arkansas
Arkansas Senate approves seven potential bills to regulate cryptocurrency mines • Arkansas Advocate
The Arkansas Senate cleared the way Thursday for lawmakers to take up several potential amendments to a 2023 law that limited the state’s ability to regulate cryptocurrency mining operations.
Act 851 of 2023, or the Arkansas Data Centers Act, was introduced just over a week before the 2023 legislative session ended and passed both chambers with bipartisan support. A year later, Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, is spearheading an effort to change the law.
Crypto mines are large groups of computers that harvest digital currency. They are usually located in rural areas due to the space they take up, and they require large amounts of electricity to keep the computers running and water to keep them cool.
There are currently crypto mines in DeWitt and near Greenbrier, and citizens of the Greenbrier area have filed a lawsuit over the large amount of noise from the mine.
King and other officials have also expressed concern about foreign ownership of crypto mines and whether they pose a national security risk. King said Thursday that the government should be able to regulate a “new industry” that officials currently “don’t know much about.”
The Legislature’s fiscal session began Wednesday, and lawmakers can introduce legislation unrelated to the state budget during the session under certain conditions. They must file resolutions proposing the legislation by the end of the first day of the session, and both the House and Senate must approve the resolution with a two-thirds majority vote. This requires a minimum of 24 Senate votes and 67 House votes.
Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said regulating crypto mines is “maybe the most important issue of all” and should not wait until the 2025 legislative session.
“I don’t want to wait a year to hear about this subject and be able to act on it if we hear something that really needs to be acted on,” Clark said.
Seven of the eight proposed crypto resolutions passed the Senate. King sponsored six of the resolutions, including the one that did not pass.
The following resolutions will go to the House floor Monday:
- Senate Resolution 5, sponsored by Sen. Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers, would place noise limits on Arkansas crypto mines and prohibit them from being owned by foreign entities. It passed with 28 votes.
- Senate Resolution 12, sponsored by King, would ban the use of computers or software manufactured by foreign entities in crypto mining in Arkansas. It passed with 26 votes.
- Senate Resolution 13, sponsored by King, would require people who engage in crypto mining to be licensed money transmitters under the state’s Uniform Money Services Act. It passed with 27 votes.
- Senate Resolution 14, sponsored by King, would require the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to monitor crypto mines’ water usage and administer consequences to any mine that “threatens the critical groundwater supplies of this state through an excessive use of water.” It passed with 28 votes.
- Senate Resolution 15, sponsored by King, would require at least six months’ advance notice before buying or leasing any land or buildings used for crypto mines. It passed with 27 votes.
- Senate Resolution 16, sponsored by King, would allow local governments to regulate crypto mines and would prohibit ownership of the mines by the list of foreign countries from which the federal International Traffic in Arms Regulations bans imports and exports.
- Senate Resolution 17, sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, would require crypto mines to be licensed by the state Department of Energy and Environment. It would also require the department to inform legislative committees of its crypto mine regulation methods. It passed with 25 votes.
King also sponsored Senate Resolution 11, which fell three votes short of passing. The resolution proposed requiring cryptocurrency businesses to pay a fee to the Department of Energy and Environment for “extraordinary electrical energy usage.”
The vote on SR 11 was later expunged with a voice vote, and King said he would give “plenty of notice” if he brought the resolution back for reconsideration.
Bryant was the Senate sponsor of Act 851, and he voted against Senate Resolutions 11, 12, 13 and 16. He said in an interview that he particularly disagreed with the proposed fees in SR 11.
“I’ve talked to state and federal officials, and they’re getting a better handle on what crypto is and how to track it,” Bryant said. “A lot of the concerns that were published 10 years ago are not the concerns of today.”
Floor debate
King said Senate Resolution 12 had a similar purpose to Act 525 of 2023, which banned the purchase of Russian and Chinese drones in Arkansas and passed both chambers with bipartisan support. Crypto mining businesses have been reported to be tied to the Chinese government.
Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, asked King if SR 12 might be “a broad blanket” policy that would “make it impossible to import from China any and all technologies [or] software.”
King said he saw the proposed policy as much narrower. He also emphasized that crypto mines create very few jobs in Arkansas.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, asked if the proposed policies would set a precedent for lawmakers to “sanction or not sanction businesses based upon the number of jobs that are created or where those jobs come from.” King said he disagreed.
“These crypto mines are taking advantage of our cheap energy [and] taking advantage of our laws that were passed,” King said.
Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, said he had issues with the proposed bills as written in the resolutions but supported allowing the bills to be introduced because they covered a variety of issues.
“I’m voting for all of them so that the committee’s hands will not be tied and limited to just one bill title,” Payton said.
Most of the six Senate Democrats did not vote on any of the eight resolutions. Senate Minority Leader Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, voted on none of them and said in an interview that he was surprised to be presented with so many potential bills unrelated to state budgetary matters.
“Our caucus decided that for a number of reasons, we would stay out of that discussion,” Leding said. “…I really feel that the fiscal session should be kept to fiscal matters.”
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Arkansas
Arkansas' 4 Republican US House members face challenges from Democratic rivals
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ four Republican U.S. House members face challenges in this year’s election from Democratic rivals who are mounting uphill battles to break the GOP’s hold on the state’s federal delegation.
Republican U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman are seeking reelection in the heavily GOP state. Republicans have held all of the state’s U.S. House and Senate seats since 2013.
Crawford, who has represented the 1st Congressional District since 2011, faces a challenge from Democratic nominee Rodney Govens. The 1st District covers eastern Arkansas and includes the cities of Jonesboro, West Memphis and Helena-West Helena. Libertarian Steve Parsons is also running for the seat.
Crawford is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and has said he will seek the top Republican spot on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the next Congress.
Govens, a Cabot resident who has worked in the telecommunications industry, has called for improving the Veterans Administration system and foster care across the country. Crawford has said he wants to address the nation’s debt by enacting permanent spending controls.
Hill, who was first elected to the 2nd District in 2014 and is vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is running against Democratic nominee Marcus Jones. The 2nd District seat covers central Arkansas, and it includes Little Rock.
Democrats have tried unsuccessfully in recent years to try to reclaim the district, hoping to rely heavily on turnout in Little Rock despite the state’s further lurch to the right. The majority-GOP Legislature in 2021 redrew the redistrict lines, moving thousands of predominantly Black voters out of the 2nd District.
Hill has focused heavily on immigration in his reelection, calling for more border security, and on measures he says will help tackle inflation. Jones is a retired Army colonel who served as senior Army adviser to the Arkansas Army National Guard at Camp Robinson. Jones has called for expanding the child tax credit and legislation to increase rural health care access.
Womack, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, was first elected to the 3rd District in 2010 and is running against Democrat Caitlin Draper, a clinical social worker from Fayetteville.
The 3rd District covers northwest Arkansas and includes the cities of Fayetteville, Springdale and Fort Smith.
Womack, the former chairman of the House Budget Committee, was the only one of the state’s House members to face a primary challenge in March, defeating state Sen. Clint Penzo. Womack had the backing of the state’s top Republicans in that contest, including GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Womack has cited border security as a priority and has said he believes he has the experience to find bipartisan solutions in a closely divided Congress.
Draper, like other Democrats running for House seats in Arkansas, has said she supports legislation at the federal level protecting access to abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision striking down Roe v. Wade. She has also said cited climate change and health care as top issues.
Libertarian Bobby Wilson is also running for the seat.
Westerman, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, was first elected to the 4th District in 2014. He is running against Risie Howard, an attorney from Pine Bluff.
The 4th district covers southern Arkansas and includes Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and Texarkana.
Westerman, a former state legislator and the only forester in the House, has touted his work on forestry legislation and said his priorities in the next Congress also include energy and mining issues. Howard has said she wants to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and protect Social Security.
Arkansas
Arkansas wins 53rd cross country conference championship | Whole Hog Sports
Arkansas
Why Ole Miss Should Beat the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday | Locked On Ole Miss Podcast
Today’s Locked On Ole Miss Podcast discusses why Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels will beat the Arkansas Razorbacks in Saturday’s matchup. This will be the next opportunity to play clean football, and I think they will put it together against the Hogs and Sam Pittman and cut down on the penalties that have been allowing teams to stay in the game.
This matchup is absolutely massive for the Rebels because of what it means in the season as a whole, and Taylen Green against the Ole Miss defense will draw everyone’s eye. People look at the Arkansas stats and assume this is a typical Bobby Petrino team, and that isn’t quite right. John Nabors of Locked On Razorbacks said that if Ole Miss goes up by 14, it is over because this team is not a play-from-behind team.
In our final segment of the day, we give our final thoughts on Ole Miss vs. Arkansas and talk about expectations for Saturday and why everything points to an Ole Miss win, but Ole Miss fans before a trip to Fayetteville have seen this movie before.
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