ARKANSAS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Rules for Use of Legislative Committee Rooms
It is the policy of the General Assembly to make legislative committee rooms available for use by other state agencies and by the public. These rules are adopted by the Arkansas Legislative Council with the cooperation of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The purpose of these rules is to aid the General Assembly in making legislative committee rooms available and to clarify the responsibilities of non-legislative users of the rooms.
Definitions: As used in this rule:
(1)(A) "Legislative meeting" means a meeting of the House of Representatives, the Senate, a legislative committee, a legislative taskforce, an individual or group of members of the General Assembly, the Bureau of Legislative Research, and the Division of Legislative Audit.
(B) "Legislative meetings" also includes:
(i) A meeting of a non-legislative entity that the Bureau of Legislative Research is required to staff; and
(ii) A meeting of a group sponsored by the House of Representatives or Senate (i.e. Boy's State and Girls State); and
(2) "State agency" means any officer, office, board, commission, department, council, bureau, or other agency of state government.
Rooms covered by these rules: These rules govern the scheduling and use of the following legislative committee rooms in the Arkansas State Capitol: Rooms 130, 138, 149, 151, 171, 272, 207, the Old Supreme Court Room (OSC), MAC C, and 309 (upon chamber approval). The scheduling of other legislative committee rooms are scheduled by the respective chambers. MAC C is available for state agency use only.
Responsibility for Scheduling and Calendar: Scheduling for the rooms covered by these rules will be conducted by the Bureau of Legislative Research.
Making Reservations: The legislative committee rooms may be reserved for a legislative meeting, meetings of a state agency, or a meeting sponsored by citizens of this State. Reservations must be made through the Bureau of Legislative Research.
Room reservations must be made at least five (5) business days before the meeting or activity by submitting a Room Reservation Form (Appendix A). The time limit and the Room Reservation Form does not apply to:
(1) Legislative meetings; or
(2) Meetings scheduled by constitutional officers of the Executive Branch and their staffs.
Room Capacity: A person making a room reservation is responsible for assuring that the room capacity is adequate for the number of participants and is not exceeded at any point during the activity. For each room's maximum capacity see Room Reservation Form (Appendix A).
Reservation Times: Use of the meeting rooms by state agencies or the public at times that the Capitol is not open to the public requires permission from the Secretary of State's office.
Priority of Use: Legislative needs have first priority. Reservations may be cancelled to accommodate the needs of legislative committees or in the event of a special session.
Acceptable Use: For-profit activities are prohibited in legislative committee rooms, except that presentations and activities sponsored by a state agency for the benefit of the employees of the state agency may be held in the legislative committee rooms. No admission may be charged to participants of a meeting or activity held in the legislative committee rooms.
Food and Drink: Food and drink may not be taken into any of the committee rooms:
No alcohol may be consumed in legislative committee rooms. The Secretary of State must be contacted for permission to provide alcoholic beverages in the lobby and rotunda of the Capitol. Water coolers may be used by those reserving the room at no charge.
Audio-visual equipment and support: Each group that reserves a room must provide its own audio-visual equipment, with the following exceptions:
(1) The room's sound system may be used; and
(2) The room's projector screen may be used, if the room is equipped with a wall mounted screen.
Please note that some rooms have a mounted computer projector but the projector may not be used by a non-legislative group.
If a group needs audio-visual equipment but does not have the equipment, there are a number of local businesses that rent equipment.
The Bureau of Legislative Research does not provide audio-visual equipment or audio-visual staff support for non-legislative room reservations.
Telephone Use: Telephones for public use are not provided in any of the State Capitol committee rooms.
Facility Care and Maintenance: No signs, newsprint, or Post-it notes may be put on any walls, woodwork, or furniture. Groups will need to provide their own easels and related supplies. No tape of any kind may be used to affix anything to walls, doors, pillars, or woodwork in the legislative committee rooms. Furniture may not be moved. [There shall be no political signs, badges, buttons, posters, banners, props, et cetera representing candidates or causes.] All trash must be removed from rooms at the end of the activities. Groups using the rooms must provide any additional trash receptacles needed as well as trash bags. Lights should be turned off upon leaving.
Groups should notify the Capitol Police as they leave that the activity is complete and the room is ready to be closed.
Legislative Access to Offices: Legislators and their constituents must be allowed to pass through Room 130 to access the legislative office attached to the committee room.
Security and Capitol Maintenance: The Secretary of State's office may determine whether any charges are needed for additional personnel for security or maintenance for the activity. If so, the Secretary of State will contact the party making the reservation in advance of the meeting.
Parking: Parking is regulated by the Secretary of State. Parking restrictions including reserved or numbered parking spaces must be observed during regular business hours. Parking is permitted in reserved or numbered spaces after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends or holidays when the legislature is not in session.
Meetings Calendar: Reservations for the legislative committee rooms will be posted on the meeting calendar on the Arkansas Legislature website, www.arkleg.state.ar.us, which is maintained by the Bureau. The Bureau of Legislative Research shall forward the weekly meeting calendar for legislative committee rooms to the Capitol Police and the Secretary of State's Director of Building and Grounds.
Cancellations: Cancellations should be reported immediately by calling 1-501-683-1649 or 1-501-537-9202.