I don’t know when our legislative website is going dark, but it will happen. It’s Monday and I’m glad to be back home. So I figured I’d better post some last words. This session is important for three things. First, the “one-time money” taboo was broken. Reserves that had piled up were used to balance the [...]
Friday, April 10, 2009
Went to the Department of Education’s seminar on stimulus spending today. They had a news conference. New construction of athletic facilities is specifically barred, director Ken James said. Money from the stimulus is also available for new construction, but the timeline is so tight that big new construction projects probably won’t be possible. There’s a total of [...]
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Federal stimulus money for schools can be spent on new construction after all, Gov. Beebe said Thursday. That’s what the governor’s been told verbally by the Obama administration. As usual, the state’s waiting for written confirmation — a policy that’s looking wiser every day. This stimulus money includes $80 million for higher education and about $370 million [...]
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sen. Paul Bookout, D-Jonesboro, wins the Senate President Pro Tem race in the first round, with no runoff despite having two opponents. Sens. Mary Anne Salmon, D-North Little Rock, and Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville, were the challengers. Vote-counters didn’t release numbers but did say Bookout had a majority. Sen. Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow, will remain President Pro Tem until [...]
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The governor’s speaking to the Senate and the last bills that could become law are being voted upon. One of the bills that won’t be going to the governor’s desk is one that would prescribe an automatic review of death penalty cases. Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins, gave a strong speech against that one yesterday on the [...]
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Rep. Buddy Lovell, D-Marked Tree, released his hold as a Joint Budget Committee member on the state Department of Education Budget. The committee then recommended that budget, sending it to the Senate for approval. This clears a potential blocking of Thursday’s adjournment. Lovell said he decided he would not keep the Legislature from meeting its schedule [...]
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Anti-consolidation lawmakers held up the budget for the state Education Department, protesting the defeat of HB2263 by Rep. Buddy Lovell, D-Marked Tree. “I was killed in the Senate” by state Education Department and attorney general’s office testimony, Lovell told the committee. His bill had passed the House and failed by a 5 to 2 vote to [...]
Monday, April 6, 2009
Fayetteville High School’s two undefeated state championship basketball teams were honored by the governor, the House and the Senate at the Capitol on Monday. Gov. Mike Beebe said he was as proud of the teams grades as well as the boy’s and girl’s teams state championships. Their achievement of an undefeated season for each team combined [...]
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sen. Blanche Lincoln “cannot support” the employee free choice act, or “card check” in its current form nor can she support debating this “divisive and distracting” issue while Congress has a worldwide economic crisis to face and a health care system to reform among other priorities, she told the Little Rock Political Animals Club on [...]
Friday, April 3, 2009
The state General Improvement Fund is a pot of money that’s divided every year into capital improvement projects, such as new buildings for state colleges and universities. The final list of projects came out today. Handle with care, though. “Appropriation” bills mean little. They grant authority to spend. Funding those appropriations — actually handing some money [...]
Friday, April 3, 2009
Up to $15 million will go to the state’s public school teachers’ health insurance fund. While that wouldn’t be enough to stave off expected rate increases, it would cut the increases by up to three-fourths. This is not simple. The money would come from the Uniform Rate of Tax, the 25 mills of local property tax that [...]
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A bill to release only the names of concealed weapon permit holders to the public was amended Thursday. The publicly available information would include zip codes under an amendment added by the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins, voted against the amendment. Pritchard said that releasing the name and zip code [...]
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Mike Malone, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council, was named to the state’s nine-member lottery commission moments ago by House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway. Before coming back home to Fayetteville, Malone was deputy assistant to the president for management and administration and later director of White House Operations during President Clinton’s administration. Malone’s the son [...]
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A bill that could have helped provide a state-funded no-interest loan to help build a new high school in Fayetteville failed to clear the House Education Committee on Tuesday afternoon. House Bill 2026 by Rep. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, would have set up a loan fund for districts that have high debt service taxes already but that [...]
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A bill to make it easier for cities to take over water systems in areas a city annexes was recommended by the Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee on Tuesday despite opposition from Washington County Judge Marilyn Edwards, among others. House Bill 1647 by Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, would require water systems to enter negotiations [...]
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Gov. Mike Beebe informed the Joint Budget Committee this morning that he recommended moving $1.5 million out of the tobacco use cessation program and putting it in drug courts for juveniles. That’s a direct result of Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins. Pritchard had been working on a bill to do just that, and he had been [...]
Monday, March 30, 2009
The bill to grant the in-state tuition discount to college students who are not documented residents of the United States failed Monday in a 13 to 21 vote in the Senate, with one not voting. Sponsor Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, did succeed in getting the vote tally expunged, which means she will be allowed [...]
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Senate Bill 799 by Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, just sailed out of the Senate Education Committee with no debate. The bill would grant in-state tuition at state-run colleges and universities for students who live in Arkansas but aren’t documented as legally living in the United States. Usually these are students who grew up here [...]
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
$118.2 million: That’s how much net available revenue will drop from the previous year for the current state fiscal year, which ends June 30, the state finance director just announced. This figure includes a revised, lower increase in revenues from the tobacco tax, which was raised earlier this year. The governor will recommend maintain existing [...]
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Yet another attempt to pass a mandatory helmet law for motorcycle riders bit the dust this morning. House Bill 1481 lost in a clear voice vote in the House Transportation Committee this morning after more than a hour’s debate.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, is supposed to run her scholarship bill for college students who are not documented legal residents this afternoon. The Senate Education Committee will meet upon adjournment of the Senate today.
Monday, March 23, 2009
We’re in the last three weeks of the session, which looks on target to end April 10. Cautious lawmakers are getting their bills through the process to make sure they aren’t caught short if the session ends April 3, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Most of the big bills for Northwest Arkansas are [...]
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
This session started with three-quarter majorities on raising the tobacco tax. Then Wednesday each chamber passed the agreed-upon lottery bill by unanimous vote of all members present. Forget the Internet and blogging. What’s killing newspapers in Arkansas is all this peace, love and harmony at the Legislature. Where’s a good fight over general improvement money when [...]
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Gov. Mike Beebe signed the one-cent reduction in the state sales tax on groceries Wednesday, a move he said as important for maintaining the momentum of tax cuts and for establishing faith in government as it was in direct impact to families. “As important as reducing the grocery tax is, as much relief as it can [...]
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The federal government has given conflicting verbal answers on whether states can stop paying added unemployment benefits under the stimulus plan when the stimulus money runs out, Gov. Mike Beebe told the 3rd District Legislative Caucus at their regular Wednesday breakfast meeting this morning. “If they don’t get any better about providing answers in writing, it [...]
Monday, April 13, 2009
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