Arkansas lawmakers have formally ended this year's legislative session, but face the possibility of returning later during the year to address the future of the state's compromise Medicaid expansion.
House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, gaveled out the 2015 session on the House side shortly before 10:25 a.m. and the members then convened as a caucus and voice-voted the adoption of a new plan that aligns House reimbursement policy with changes requested by the Independent Citizens Commission.
That panel, tasked with setting the salaries of Arkansas' elected officials, more than doubled legislator pay but said it would do so with the understanding that lawmakers end an annual $14,400 office reimbursement that had been available to all members.
Under the new reimbursement plan, which was adopted without a "no" vote audible, most legislators can no longer claim any office-expense reimbursement after March 28, when the new pay rates went into effect.
Rep. Bill Gossage, R-Ozark, also told the members that the House in the interim period between sessions will attempt to schedule all committee meetings at the Capitol in the first two full weeks of each month. He said that change is aimed at keeping per diem expenses in check, noting that the pay panel requested lawmakers be "as frugal and as management-minded as we could be … during the interim."
He said there would be some leeway if scheduling difficulties arise and called it "not a have-to, but a desirable way to handle this going forward."
"There's not going to be a perfect method that we could have ever developed," he said.
The House met only briefly before formally ending the session, during which the members honored the organizers of the annual charity House-Senate basketball game and presented Gillam with a McDonald's gift card jokingly encased in a Happy Meal box with two toys. He said afterward it was a knock on how he sometimes orders the children's meals for their small portion size.
"They've a couple times witnessed me eating a Happy Meal and thought that was really funny," Gillam said. "They got a chance to have their fun with me."
The caucus meeting lasted about an hour, after which Gillam told the members he wanted them to have a "wonderful interim experience."
"You rose to the challenges that were before us and I can't thank you enough for that," he said.
The House and Senate had recessed earlier this month after a last-minute fight over a religious objections measure.
The Legislature isn't scheduled to return until next year's fiscal session, but Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said he'll likely call lawmakers back to look at alternatives for covering the hundreds of thousands on the state's "private option" Medicaid expansion.
A legislative task force is expected to issue recommendation for an alternative to the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor.
The Associated Press and Arkansas Online reporter Gavin Lesnick contributed to this report.