[House Report 116-248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 116-248
======================================================================
DIVISIONAL REALIGNMENT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS ACT OF 2019
_______
October 22, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Nadler, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1123]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 1123) to amend title 28, United States Code, to
modify the composition of the eastern judicial district of
Arkansas, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional
Budget Office Cost Estimate.................................... 2
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 2
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 3
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 3
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 3
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 3
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 1123 would amend 28 U.S.C. 83 to divide the Eastern
District of Arkansas into three divisions: the Central, Delta,
and Northern Divisions.
Background and Need for the Legislation
H.R. 1123 would amend current law to reduce the number of
operating divisions in the Eastern District of Arkansas from
five to three. The bill was prompted by the closure in 2017 of
the only federal courthouses in two of the current divisions.
The three new divisions created by H.R. 1123 would align with
the three remaining courthouses in that district. The new
divisional lines are based primarily on caseload history and
travel times to the remaining courthouses.
Hearings
The Committee held no hearings on H.R. 1123.
Committee Consideration
On October 16, 2019, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill, H.R. 1123, favorably reported, without
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that no
rollcall votes occurred during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 1123.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional Budget
Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received a cost estimate for this Report from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office. The Committee has
requested but not received from the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office a statement as to whether this
Report contains any new budget authority, spending authority,
credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax
expenditures.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 1123 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the federal government known to be duplicative of
another federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
1123 would better align the judicial divisions of the Eastern
District of Arkansas with the presently-open courthouses in the
district.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 1123 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Short Title. Section 1 sets forth the short title
of the bill as the ``Divisional Realignment for the Eastern
District of Arkansas Act of 2019.''
Sec. 2. Definitions. Section 2 amends section 83 of title
28 of the U.S. Code to define the three divisions (Central,
Delta, and Northern) that comprise the Eastern District of
Arkansas and where court shall be held for each.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, H.R. 1123, as reported, are shown as follows:
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
Sec. 83. Arkansas
Arkansas is divided into two judicial districts to be known
as the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.
[Eastern
District]
[(a) The Eastern District comprises five divisions.
[(1) The Eastern Division comprises the counties of
Cross, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, Saint Francis, and
Woodruff.
Court for the Eastern Division shall be held at Helena.
[(2) The Western Division comprises the counties of
Conway, Faulkner, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Prairie,
Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, White, and Yell.
Court for the Western Division shall be held at Little Rock.
[(3) The Pine Bluff Division comprises the counties
of Arkansas, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew,
Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln.
Court for the Pine Bluff Division shall be held at Pine Bluff.
[(4) The Northern Division comprises the counties of
Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Sharp,
and Stone.
Court for the Northern Division shall be held at Batesville.
[(5) The Jonesboro Division comprises the counties of
Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Lawrence,
Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph.
Court for the Jonesboro Division shall be held at Jonesboro.]
Eastern
District
(a) The Eastern District comprises three divisions.
(1) The Central Division comprises the counties of
Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Dallas, Drew, Faulkner,
Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Lonoke, Perry, Pope,
Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Stone, Van Buren, White, and
Yell.
Court for the Central Division shall be held at Little Rock.
(2) The Delta Division comprises the counties of
Arkansas, Chicot, Crittenden, Desha, Lee, Monroe,
Phillips, and St. Francis.
Court for the Delta Division shall be held at Helena.
(3) The Northern Division comprises the counties of
Clay, Craighead, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence,
Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett,
Randolph, Sharp, and Woodruff.
Court for the Northern Division shall be held at Jonesboro.
Western
District
(b) The Western District comprises six divisions.
(1) The Texarkana Division comprises the counties of
Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada, and
Sevier.
Court for the Texarkana Division shall be held at Texarkana,
and may be held anywhere within the Federal courthouse in
Texarkana that is located astride the State line between Texas
and Arkansas.
(2) The El Dorado Division comprises the counties of Ashley,
Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita, and Union.
Court for the El Dorado Division shall be held at El Dorado.
(3) The Fort Smith Division comprises the counties of
Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott, and Sebastian.
Court for the Fort Smith Division shall be held at Fort
Smith.
(4) The Harrison Division comprises the counties of Baxter,
Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton, and Searcy.
Court for the Harrison Division shall be held at Harrison.
(5) The Fayetteville Division comprises the counties of
Benton, Madison, and Washington.
Court for the Fayetteville Division shall be held at
Fayetteville.
(6) The Hot Springs Division comprises the counties of
Clark, Garland, Hot Springs, Montgomery, and Pike.
Court for the Hot Springs Division shall be held at Hot
Springs.
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