arkansas passes anti gay law like indiana

[herding cats]

10. The governor is talking about a compromise

Could a compromise be brewing on HB 1228, the so-called "religious conscience" bill that opponents argue would offer additional legal protection for discrimination against gay people? The following is what we can report based on multiple sources at the Capitol speaking on background:

Gov. Asa Hutchinson appears to be looking for a way out of the current controversy. Particularly with the increasing volume of media coverage and corporate backlash around the similar law in Indiana, the governor has real concerns about the law's impact on economic development, sources say.

In separate meetings this morning, the governor and his chief of staff, Michael Lamoureux, met with two backers of the bill — Sen. Bart Hester and Rep. Bob Ballinger — and two opponents of the bill — Rep. Warwick Sabin and Sen. Joyce Elliott.

The governor is potentially interested in the concept, also floated by Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana, of adding a "clarification" amendment to the bill that would expressly state that the law does not authorize discrimination or make it lawful to discriminate. The amendment would expressly list various categories — race, religion, old age, etc. — and would include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Given that Ballinger and the bill's proponents have said over and over that the bill is not intended to protect discrimination — indeed, he claims it's only about preventing discrimination — this would appear to be a change in line with their stated purpose, but sources say they are still resistant to such an amendment (Ballinger rejected the idea yesterday in committee and thus far today has given every indication that he plans to proceed with the bill as is). Hutchinson is reportedly making the pitch around the effort to recruit business to the state, but it's unclear at this stage whether the governor's muscle can push a compromise through.

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/03/31/governor-exploring-possibility-of-compromise-on-hb1228

***UPDATE: One note that might be buried in the liveblog: it's possible that the lawmakers may still try to cut a deal with the governor around anti-discrimination provisions even if HB 1228 passes today. If so, they would do it via a separate bill rather than an amendment. Of course, that means getting a bunch of GOPs to vote for legislation codifying anti-discrimination rules, including for LGBT folks. So…we'll see.

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/03/31/hb-1228-on-house-agenda-this-afternoon