jonathan dismang

Rep. Matthew Shepherd, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sen. Jonathan Dismang

The Arkansas special session tax cuts explained

BY: - September 11, 2023

UPDATE: Senate Bill 8 passed the Senate on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. It is now under consideration in the House of Representatives. The Arkansas Legislature on Monday gaveled into an extraordinary session at the call of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.  The Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation quickly passed an income tax cut package through […]

Arkansas governor calls special session to alter FOIA, cut taxes

BY: - September 8, 2023

This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, to include comments from the Arkansas Press Association. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is asking the state Legislature to convene next week to cut income taxes, ban vaccine mandates for state employees and significantly curtail what state government records are available to the […]

Arkansas General Assembly cuts top individual and corporate income tax rates

BY: - April 5, 2023

The Arkansas House of Representatives sent more than $100 million in cuts to the top individual and corporate income tax rates to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk Wednesday. The legislation reduces the top individual income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%. It decreases the top corporate income tax rate by two percentage points to 5.1%. […]

Arkansas senator’s demotion after “frivolous” ethics complaint will end next year

BY: - April 5, 2023

Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, will regain his seniority in the Arkansas Senate shortly after the general election in November 2024. A majority of senators agreed in a voice vote Wednesday that Clark, who was demoted last year to the lowest level of seniority for the 94th General Assembly, will be allowed to participate in the […]

Amended proposal to increase some Arkansans’ food stamp asset limit goes to Sanders’ desk

BY: - April 4, 2023

Legislation meant to help some Arkansans save money while still receiving federal nutrition assistance is on Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk after clearing the state Legislature on Tuesday. Senate Bill 306 initially would have raised the resource limit to $12,500 for Arkansans to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly called food stamps. […]

Rep. Matthew Shepherd, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sen. Jonathan Dismang

Arkansas House advances another tax cut, phasing out the ‘throwback rule’

BY: - April 4, 2023

UPDATE: The full House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1045 on Tuesday at about 7:40 p.m. State representatives on Tuesday voted to phase out the state’s so-called “throwback rule.” The rule is an obscure tax policy that requires multi-state corporations based in Arkansas to report income from other states where revenue […]

Anti-abortion activists celebrate Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court ended a woman's right to abortion.

SESSION SNAPSHOT: With a week to go, the Arkansas Legislature kicks it into high gear

BY: - March 31, 2023

It happens every legislative session. As adjournment nears, Arkansas lawmakers cram their biggest priorities through before it’s too late. House and Senate floor sessions go longer, and committees meet well into the night. Trying to keep up with all the legislation advancing, failing and stalling felt like drinking through a fire hose at times this […]

Rep. Matthew Shepherd, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sen. Jonathan Dismang

Arkansas lawmakers to again consider cutting top individual, corporate income taxes

BY: - March 30, 2023

With a week left in the legislative session, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and leading lawmakers reached an agreement to pursue a $124-million income tax cut targeting Arkansas’ top individual and corporate income tax rates. A bill filed Thursday proposes reducing the top individual income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7% — a cut budget officials […]

SESSION SNAPSHOT: The Arkansas Legislature takes a break

BY: and - March 17, 2023

The Arkansas House and Senate adjourned on Thursday for a week off, and the Spring Break probably comes at a good time. Each legislative session hits a point — meetings go longer and patience grows shorter. This week, there seemed to be an uptick in bills failing on the floor of both the House and […]

Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) describes a bill he sponsors, Senate Bill 306, that would raise the asset limit for federal nutrition assistance in Arkansas on the Senate floor March 16, 2023. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas Senate approves proposal to increase food stamp asset limit

BY: - March 16, 2023

A proposed increase of Arkansas’ asset ceiling for federal nutrition assistance passed the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 306 initially would have raised the resource limit to $12,500 for Arkansans to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly called food stamps. The bill was amended to lower the proposal to […]

Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang of Searcy (at lectern) gestures toward Sen. David Wallace (R-Leachville) as Dismang presents Senate Bill 295 on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The bill will establish new financial rules for utility customers who sell excess solar-generated electricity to the grid maintained by large utilities. (Photo by Wesley Brown/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas Senate passes amended net metering after companion bill stalls on House floor

BY: - March 7, 2023

A thrice-amended bill that opponents say would upend the state’s burgeoning solar industry easily passed the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday. Senate Bill 295, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy), passed on a vote of 24-9 and was immediately sent to the House, where a twin bill awaits on the lower chamber’s floor that will likely […]

Arkansas state Sen. Breanne Davis (R-Russellville) answers questions from fellow senators Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, about the governor's education overhaul bill, also known as Arkansas LEARNS. Davis is lead sponsor of Senate Bill 294. The bill, filed late Monday and heard in committee on Wednesday, passed the Senate by a vote of 25-7, with one senator voting present and two not voting. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate 02/23/2023)

Arkansas Senate advances governor’s sweeping education legislation to House

BY: - February 23, 2023

The Arkansas Senate on Thursday approved Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ wide-ranging education plan despite bipartisan requests to slow the legislative process. Senate Bill 294, also called the LEARNS Act, stems from Sanders’ campaign promise to make major changes to the state’s education system. The legislation covers teacher pay, school safety, career readiness, literacy, “indoctrination,” school […]