• JOHN BURRIS: Speaks for delay in truck tax break.

As I wrote earlier, the Senate failed by 3 votes to approve a vote on the repealer.

Last gasp has started in the House.

This afternoon, it added an amendment to HB 1114 to delay the tax break one year, to July 1, 2013. That would put off a loss of highway funds to cities and counties, delay a tax break truckers weren't supposed to get and leave it to the regular legislative session, with less restrictive rules, to consider the matter afresh.

It took only a House majority to amend the bill. But it must be approved by Joint Budget tomorrow morning, then be approved by the House Thursday and transmitted to the Senate, which could give final passage Friday. One problem: The appropriation bill will require three-fourths approval, or 75 members of the House and 27 members of the 35-member Senate. Where will those votes come from in the Senate, particularly? Your guess is as good as mine on that, unless other side deals are in process. Parole and a foreclosure law amendment (which has been sent back to Joint Budget for further amendment) are still hanging.

Rep. Buddy Lovell, in offering the truck tax amendment, said House Minority Leader John Burris supported the change, which would allow the 2013 General Assembly to decide on both the diesel tax and the sales tax exemption.

Burris, spoke for the change, but noted the peril of putting a policy issue on an appropriation bill — the possibility of killing an agency's appropriation, in this case the Department of Finance and Administration.

• 'PLANS' TO FILE FOR CONGRESS: Scott Ellington

Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington of Jonesboro plans to file Thursday as a Democratic candidate for 1st District Congress. Mariah Hatta plans to be his campaign manager.

That's all Hatta would say for the moment in a telephone call from Washington. Please place emphasis on her use of the word "plans."

Filing ends at noon tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, Hatta said the potential candidate would have more to say about primary strategy. State Rep. Clark Hall and Arkansas State economics professor Gary Latanich have already filed to oppose incumbent Republican Rep. Rick Crawford. Plans are sometimes not realized. See Jay Martin's announcement earlier.

Ellington has been in the news in recent months for his role approving a plea bargain with the West Memphis Three.

The entry of the city and county lobbies into the fray over the moribund legislation to repeal a $4 million sales tax break for truckers has changed dynamics of the debate.

UPDATE: They called the roll. Needing 24 votes for considering, the motion drew 21. All the Democrats and Bill Sample voted aye. The Republicans were nays or not voting, same thing. Remember this when you drive through an interstate pothold. Republicans wanted to give the people who caused $4 million more in tax breaks for nothing.

It now looks like the state Senate will vote today on a resolution that would allow the repealing legislation to be considered. That would require a two-thirds vote of the 35-member Senate. There's little doubt the repeal could be approved by a simple majority vote if it could be introduced.

The cities and counties would lose $1.2 million if the repealer isn't passed because the new sales tax break, to take effect July 1, will come out of the Highway Department budget in a transfer to general revenues. The tax break was supposed to be a compensation for a diesel tax increase, but the truck lobby decided it didn't want to push for that. And though truckers said, officially, that they supported a repeal of the sales tax break, they've made no effort to push the repeal. Double-cross, in other words.

A Senate vote could mean another day of the legislature to comply with minimum time rules on passage of legislation.

I understand Sen. Percy Malone will bring the issue to a vote. That may or may not mean other deals are tied up in this, such as House agreement to hear his bill that would give the state Parole Board more leeway to deny parole to certain sex offenders.

Sen. Michael Lamoureux, periodically a member of the GOP Sanity Caucus, has gone to prevaricating about this legislation in a quote repeated by AP. He says the $4 million is a tax increase. It is not. The repeal prevents a tax break of that amount, it keeps money flowing at its present, unchanged rate. That is not an increase.

• WILL BOND: Last-minute 2nd District candidate?

But, he says, though he can't reveal further specifics, he's talked with a candidate who WILL be announcing for the race.

Martin said his decision ultimately came down to family considerations — balancing a race with a family that includes an eight-year-old, five-year-old twins and his wife with a part-time job. He said he wouldn't rule out politics in the future.

"It's this particular race at this particular time," he said.

So then, who?

Will it be Bill Halter, the former lieutenant governor and Arkansas Lottery originator who's received intense lobbying from national Democratic leaders to make this race? Martin said he's promised not to reveal anything about who he'd talked with. Halter beat Martin in a Democratic primary race for lieutenant governor in 2006 and I do know that the possibility of Halter's potential entry in the race had long been one of Martin's concerns.

Or will it be Will Bond, Democratic Party chair and former state legislator, has also been mentioned as a potential 2nd District candidate and is long known to have an interest in the job?

Or will it be someone else?

At this minute, I'd be surprised if Halter runs. I'd be less surprised if Bond runs. The Democratic Party will say only that it has several strong candidates who've expressed interest. I don't expect news until Thursday, the filing deadline. I've left a message for Bond.

• HERB RULE: To run for 2nd District Congress.

Rule said none of that would affect his decision. If the Democrats want a cleared field for this primary, said Rule, there's an easy solution. "Tell the Washington power brokers to tell their hand-picked candidate to get out of the race?" I asked. "Did I say that?" Rule responded. "If you write it, say I said it."

He said a contested race was a good thing. "I hope I don't make a fool of myself," he said.

Rule has been in the news lately defending the VA decision to put a vets center on Main Street, a move U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, the Republican incumbent, has opposed. Good issue, sounds like. Rule has been speaking to city leaders as a long-time supporter of the Stewpot, a feeding program at downtown's First Presbyterian Church.

As I said earlier, there may be still others. The Democratic Party would prefer that a single candidate emerge so as to avoid a costly primary and a repeat of 2010 when the eventual nominee, Joyce Elliott, was bloodied in the primary as gleeful Repubs cheered. That depends on what happens after Rule files.

• Jason Tolbert/Twitpic
• AT CAPITOL: Yessie Hernandez

The district's boundaries have been changed. The population of the district, based on recent Census data, may consist of a bare majority of people of Latino heritage. Population is not the same as voter registration, however, and I don't have a clue how those numbers shake out. But a determined effort by Democrats, with a strong Latino base to work with, will be made to snare a seat back from Republican dominance in that corner of the world. Micah Neal has filed as a Republican candidate.

Hernandez has a good resume:

Yessie Hernandez is originally from El Salvador. She moved from California to Northwest Arkansas in 1992, where she graduated from ITech College with a degree in computer programming. Yessie has 10 years of financial experience plus 3 years of collections.

Yessie has worked diligently to promote the ideals of diversity and multiculturalism in her community; she has been a member of the Northwest Arkansas Hispanic Council (NWAHC) since its beginning in 2002, and has held the office of president since 2009. NWAHC activities have included: Festivals to promote community education and awareness; youth mentoring and advocacy programs; graffiti removal to promote community awareness; translation services, such as assisting in parent-teacher conferences; teaching financial literacy; supporting afterschool programs; and aiding in efforts to combat gangs and gang violence.

Yessie’s other activities involve spending time with her dogs, hiking the local trails, and enjoying the outdoors in Northwest Arkansas. She is also involved in physical fitness and has taken up boxing.

Hernandez isn't the only Democratic filer in NWA today. Jack Norton filed in District 80 and Edwin Sugg in District 88. Naturally Blue's hope to stir a little interest among the sizeable Democratic voter segment in that region seems to be happening.

MapLight is a nonprofit research organization that tracks the influence of money in politics. That's heavy lifting.

Among other number-crunching lists and services, MapLight has sorted the major contributors to each state's members of Congress.

The top 5 in Arkansas: Stephens Inc., $157,300; Walmart, $148,700; Arvest Bank, $111,100; Tyson Foods, $87,280, and Murphy Oil, $83,500.