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Arkansas Senate panel recommends ending state affirmative action
A legislative committee Tuesday morning passed a bill to end state affirmative action, but most of the public was left in the dark on the proposal’s language because it wasn’t made publicly available until after the panel voted and adjourned. Senate Bill 71 by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) would do away with programs that encourage […]
Arkansas lawmakers to consider increasing homestead tax credit
The Arkansas Legislature is poised to increase the state’s homestead tax credit; the question: How much? House Bill 1032 by Rep. Lanny Fite (R-Benton) would increase the Homestead Property Tax Credit from $375 a year to $425 in 2024. Fite explained his bill last week to the House Revenue and Tax Committee, but he plans […]
SESSION SNAPSHOT: Drag queens, snow, masks and education at the Arkansas State Capitol
The third week of Arkansas’ 94th General Assembly began with the Senate’s passage of a bill to restrict drag shows the same as strip clubs and porn shops, and it ended with a long, tense hearing over a school bathroom bill. Between the culture war battles, the state House and Senate have started passing legislation […]
Arkansas Supreme Court reverses ruling that struck state law banning mask mandates
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a lower court’s decision to strike down Arkansas’ prohibition on government mask mandates. Thursday’s order tossed Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox’s 2021 ruling on procedural grounds, and it did not contemplate the merits of the arguments in the case. Fox’s ruling had struck down Act 1002 of […]
Arkansas House approves bill to increase vehicle registration deadline from 30 to 60 days
The Arkansas House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to double the amount of time Arkansans have to register new vehicles. House Bill 1150 by Rep. Fran Cavenaugh (R-Walnut Ridge) would increase the period residents have to register newly purchased vehicles from 30 to 60 days. It would also lengthen the deadline for new residents to […]
Two Crawford County deputies in viral arrest beating video arrested on federal charges
The two West Arkansas sheriff’s deputies captured in a viral video beating a suspect during an arrest last year were taken into custody on Tuesday after a federal investigation. A grand jury charged former Crawford County sheriff’s deputies Levi White and Zack King with felony civil rights violations in the Aug. 21 arrest of Randal […]
Arkansas House passes law to expand eligibility for disabled veteran license plates
The Arkansas House voted Monday to expand the pool of disable veterans eligible for special license plates. Without dissent, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 1101 by Rep. Andrew Collins (D-Little Rock). It allows any veteran who has been determined to be at least 10% disabled due to their military service to register for […]
SESSION SNAPSHOT: Culture wars and the first bills of the Arkansas legislative session
Week two of the Arkansas General Assembly has come to an end, and it feels like the session is now actually underway. Thursday had it all: a tense committee hearing on a divisive social issue, a school choice rally, a rally in support of drag performers and action on dozens of bills destined to become […]
Judge revokes Cherokees’ Pope County casino license; fight at Arkansas Supreme Court looms
This article was updated Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at 5:40 p.m. A judge has stripped Legends Resort and Casino and Cherokee Nation Businesses of the license to operate a casino in Pope County. The long-awaited ruling will be appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which will again decide the fate of Arkansas’ fourth and, for […]
SESSION SNAPSHOT: What you need to know from the first week of the 94th Arkansas General Assembly
POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE ruled most of the first week of the 2023 legislative session at the Arkansas State Capitol. Lawmakers and legislative leaders were sworn in on Monday, but that was just an opening act for Tuesday’s inauguration of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders — the state’s first female governor — set the tone for […]
Arkansas legislative Democrats promise to fight, acknowledge bleak numbers
Democratic leaders know they don’t have the numbers to win many battles in the Arkansas Legislature, but they still plan to try to find common ground with Republicans and fight bills they oppose. Arkansas Democrats hold essentially no power as a group after Republicans solidified supermajorities in both the state House and Senate during November’s […]
Sarah Huckabee Sanders sworn in as Arkansas’ first female governor
This was updated at 5:55 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2023. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her first speeches as Arkansas’ 47th governor described herself as part of a new generation of Republicans eager to limit the role of government. With her swearing in by the state’s chief justice, Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas, […]