arkansas legislature
SESSION SNAPSHOT: The LEARNS Act becomes Arkansas law
Every public school teacher in Arkansas will now make $50,000. In three years, the Natural State will have a universal voucher program that could shake up the education landscape in unprecedented ways. By 2025, third graders not reading at grade level could be held back. Those are just a few of the many sweeping changes […]
SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas LEARNS zooms through the Senate in Week 7
It felt like the Arkansas Legislature’s 2023 legislative session hit full stride this week. It was a whirlwind with the introduction and Senate passage of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sprawling education bill. There were also long, tense meetings on a range of other bills from paper ballots to solar energy that probably would’ve gotten more […]
Arkansas Senate committee OKs bill to regulate paper ballots and hand counts
A group of state senators on Thursday voted to require Arkansas counties that opt to hand count election returns to first run ballots through vote-counting machines. Senate Bill 250 sponsor Rep. Kim Hammer (R-Benton) and state election officials said the legislation would ensure that preliminary, unofficial election results are reported quickly. Counties would still have […]
SESSION SNAPSHOT: Tough love at the Arkansas Capitol as bills stall, fail in Week 6
We start our recap of the sixth week of the 2023 Arkansas legislative session wishing you a happy #arlegvalentines. As for the news, there was a lot of it, but fewer major announcements, hearings and debates than in recent weeks. Here are some highlights from Week 6: Lawmakers filed a host of election legislation on […]
SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas Legislature rolls through Week 4 with ice and amendments
The fourth week of the Arkansas General Assembly’s 2023 legislative session brought lots of ice and amendments. Senate Bill 43, which targeted drag shows, has demanded the most attention of any legislation through the first month of the session, but by the time the House and Senate adjourned for the weekend, it had been so […]
States that limit business with banks that ‘boycott’ fossil fuels could pay high costs, study says
Republican state policymakers’ efforts to boost fossil fuels by prohibiting their governments from doing business with companies that take sustainability into consideration has the potential to cost states millions, according to a study released Thursday. Researchers looked specifically at the possible effects on Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and West Virginia if they passed Texas-like […]
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 […]
New Sevier County hospital wins $6.25 million grant after legislative panel debate
State lawmakers approved $6.25 million in federal recovery funds for a rural Southwest Arkansas hospital on Tuesday, but not before a couple of senators complained about last-minute funding requests that seemed to bypass legislative procedures. Not receiving the funds “would really put us in a financial bind,” hospital CEO Lori House told the Arkansas Legislative […]
Lawmakers approve $20 million for Arkansas court management system upgrade
A legislative subcommittee on Tuesday approved $113.9 million in federal COVID relief funds to upgrade the state’s court management system and support broadband projects. The Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts will use $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to accelerate development of a new system to replace its outdated one over the […]
Arkansas Legislature OKs $50,000 for Sarah Huckabee Sanders transition
A legislative committee on Thursday approved a $50,000 allocation to fund Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ transition expenses. In a brief meeting with little discussion, the Governor’s Emergency Fund Review Committee signed off on the transfer from the Governor’s Emergency Fund, leaving $450,000 in the account. State Budget Director Robert Brech said that Gov. Asa Hutchinson […]
Arkansas lawmakers mulling improvements to mental and behavioral health policy
Arkansas legislators are compiling a report to recommend legislation during the 2023 session aimed at bolstering mental and behavioral health services for Arkansans of all ages and incomes. The Joint Health Services Subcommittee met Monday to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the state’s existing mental and behavioral health care resources, in accordance with a […]