jonathan dismang

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 […]

Sen. Jonathan Dismang

Executive order further delays ARPA funds distribution

BY: - January 25, 2023

An executive order from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders prompted the withdrawal Wednesday of more than a dozen requests for federal pandemic relief funds that had been pending for months on a legislative panel’s agenda. The order issued Tuesday by Sanders abolished the ARPA Steering Committee and the Governor’s Infrastructure Planning Advisory Committee. The steering committee’s […]

Arkansas state Rep. Michelle Gray (R-Melbourne) talks with another House member during a meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council Friday morning, Dec. 16, 2022, in the Big MAC Building on the grounds of the state Capitol.(Photo by John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate-12.16.2022)

Arkansas Legislative Council approves rural hospital aid, court system funds

BY: - December 16, 2022

Arkansas legislators gave final approval on Friday for a new Southwest Arkansas hospital to receive $6.25 million in federal relief funds and voted down an attempt to take up several more federal aid requests. The Arkansas Legislative Council’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee green-lit the American Rescue Plan Act funds for Sevier County Medical […]

The Sevier County Medical Center under construction. (Photo from https://www.seviercountymedical.com/about)

New Sevier County hospital wins $6.25 million grant after legislative panel debate

BY: - December 14, 2022

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 […]

Arkansas Senate suspends Clark for “frivolous” complaint, changes rules for future ethics filings

BY: - September 27, 2022

The Arkansas Senate voted to sanction Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale), who was not present at Tuesday’s Senate meeting, for filing a “spurious, frivolous and retaliatory” ethics complaint against Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff). The 26-4 vote came after three Senate Ethics Committee meetings and two full Senate meetings, bringing an end to several weeks of […]

Arkansas Senate delays decision on possible sanctions for senator’s complaint

BY: - September 16, 2022

The Arkansas Senate did not reach a decision Friday about whether to censure Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale) after he tried to present a case to his colleagues that the ethics complaint he filed against another senator was not “frivolous and retaliatory,” as the Senate Ethics Committee found last week. Senators did, however, vote unanimously to […]

Senator Jimmy Hickey speaks into a microphone

Arkansas lawmakers OK funding for Camden hospital, continue debate on federal pandemic relief

BY: - September 16, 2022

Arkansas legislators on Friday approved a request from the state Department of Human Services for up to $6 million in federal pandemic relief funding to support a Camden hospital at risk of closing.  However, the Arkansas Legislative Council also sent three of four committee-approved projects back to its Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee. Some […]