Failed pipeline bill takes center stage in race
“An unsuccessful bill co-sponsored by Sen. Jason Rapert has become a political football in his re-election race against Democrat Tyler Pearson.
At Tuesday’s candidate forum at the True Holiness Saint’s Center, Rapert told Pearson that “Some of what you’re putting out there is wrong, it’s actually totally incorrect, especially when you say that bills that I’ve voted for are going to take away people’s private homes, when you can’t even read the legislation. The first thing you need to do is learn how that works, and not be accusing people falsely, especially in public, because at the end of this race you’ll be accountable for your actions, and so will I.”
Earlier this month, while speaking in Vilonia, Rapert said that he “never sponsored a bill to sponsor eminent domain so that pipeline companies could take land away from private landowners,” saying that Pearson’s ad claiming he did “shows you inexperience, because that bill that was filed, that I co-sponsored, was a bill to prevent companies from taking people’s land through eminent domain in an easy fashion. … I don’t think that a private development company should be able to take your land, and convert it to another private use.”
The bill in question, HB1042 of 2013, would have added a new section to Arkansas’ laws restricting eminent domain taking of property. Pearson has published attack ads claiming that this bill would have strengthened the ability of “greedy oil companies” to seize homes “for pennies on the dollar.””
Lamb, Joe. The Cabin 9 October 2014.