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Fair ~ High: 78°F ~ Low: 64°F Saturday, May 25, 2013 |
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Help for Arkansas Schools Approved by Lawmakers
Posted Thursday, May 23, at 9:24 AM Arkansas school districts applied for state aid in paying for 381 capital projects over the next two years, and 263 of them were approved. The Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Commission distributed more than $212 million to Arkansas schools for projects such as new roofs, heating and air conditioning systems, building renovations and additions...
Medical Funding Will be Overseen Thanks to legislation approved during the 2013 regular session, the state will set up an Office of Inspector General charged specifically with investigating fraud and abuse in the $5 billion-a-year Medicaid program. Under Act 1499 of 2013, the inspector general must have at least 10 years' experience investigating fraud, prosecuting fraud, auditing or comparable experience in detecting fraud in the health care industry...
A Look Back at Historic Session Although the governor vetoed three Senate bills that would change Arkansas election laws, several other important election bills were enacted during the 2013 legislative session. On April 23, the final day of the 100-day session, the governor vetoed Senate Bills 719, 720 and 721. If the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the House Speaker agree to call the legislature back into session before May 17, lawmakers could consider overriding the vetoes...
General Session Featured Good Cooperation Although much about the 2013 legislative session was new and different, it was like previous sessions in the long hours and hectic pace at which legislators worked to finish business on difficult and challenging issues. The 89th General Assembly was the first in 138 years that had a Republican majority. ...
Voters to Decide Three Issues The Joint State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee chose three proposed constitutional amendments to refer to voters. If the Senate and House both agree with the committee's decision, the three will be on the 2014 general election ballot. However, other measures could emerge from the 2013 session. In each regular session, the legislature may refer up to three proposed amendments for Arkansas voters to decide in a statewide election...
Insurance, Money continues to dominate session With the eyes of the nation watching intently, the Arkansas Senate approved legislation to expand health insurance coverage to 250,000 adults. Arkansas would be the first state in the union to propose a "private option" model for the uninsured. The option would provide them private health insurance rather than adding them to government Medicaid rolls...
Tax Cut Legislation Advances The House Committee on Revenue and Taxation advanced HB 1585 to reduce state income taxes. It would cut the state's seven percent income tax rate to 6.875 percent on taxable income of $44,000 and above. The seven percent rate now applies to taxable income of $34,000 and up...
Lawmakers Wrestle with Finances, Teacher Benefits As lawmakers turn their focus to fiscal matters, several bills to lower state taxes made steady progress through the legislative process. The total amount of tax cuts that will be enacted during the 2013 legislative session is estimated to be more than $100 million a year. Some legislators are pushing for cuts of up to $150 million a year. Arkansas operates under a balanced budget law, so any reduction in taxes will mean a proportionate reduction in state government spending...
Hard Work on New School Choice Law The Senate Education Committee is putting long hours into making sure that Arkansas' new school choice law strikes the right balance. Co-sponsors of the school choice bill want parents to have every opportunity to send their children to the best possible schools in their area, regardless of district boundaries. School choice is good for families, and it also creates competitive incentives for school administrators to improve their schools...
Lawmakers Look to Compromise on Medicaid The legislature and the governor appear to have come closer to a compromise on how to enroll an additional 250,000 low-income Arkansans into the state Medicaid program. At the beginning of the session the governor proposed expanding Medicaid by adding about 250,000 working class Arkansans. They are adults making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level...
Legislative Session Rolls On The Senate approved two far reaching anti-abortion bills, overriding the governor's veto in the process. Also last week, the Senate voted to restructure lottery scholarships to make sure the Academic Challenge Scholarship program is financially secure...
Update on Legislative Activity The Senate passed legislation to require voters to present a photo ID in order to get a ballot, and to set up a process by which voters can get a free identity card at their local county clerks' office. Senate Bill 2 takes effect January 1, 2014. Acceptable forms of photo ID include a driver's license, a passport, a student ID issued by an accredited college or university in Arkansas, a permit to carry a concealed handgun, a military identification document, an employee badge and a public assistance identification card.. ...
Flurry of Activity on House Floor In every regular session the legislature may refer three proposed constitutional amendments to Arkansas voters. Last week saw the deadline for legislators to introduce proposed amendments, and 37 were filed. The 18 filed by senators were referred to the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs and the 19 filed by representatives went to the House State Agencies Committee. The proposals are in the form of Senate and House Joint Resolutions...
Legislative Session Updated The Senate approved legislation that replaces the Arkansas law on methods of executing inmates who have been convicted of capital murder. SB 237 is a bipartisan bill that sets out procedures to be used by the Correction Department when administering a lethal injection of drugs when executing convicted inmates...
Good Economic News for NEARK The state Capitol was the scene for some very good news when the governor, legislators and officials of the state Economic Development Commission announced that a steel mill would be built in northeast Arkansas that will hire about 525 workers. The plant will take about 20 months to build, and about 2,000 people will be hired during construction. The 525 permanent jobs will have an average salary of more than $70,000 a year...
Action Picking Up in Legislative Session In a unanimous vote for each bill, the Arkansas Senate approved three pieces of legislation to help military families and veterans who need nursing home care. Senate Bill 15 adopts the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. ...
Path of Legislative Session Coming Into Focus After a busy opening week at the Capitol, the major issues of the 2013 regular legislative session began coming into focus. In his State of the State speech to a joint session of the Senate and House, the governor outlined his legislative agenda. At the top of the list was expansion of Medicaid to add 250,000 people to the 780,000 Arkansans who now qualify for services. The complexity of the issue guarantees that it will be on the front burner from now until the final days of the session...
Early Days of Legislative Session Will be Busy On the first day of the 2013 regular session of the legislature, the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court is scheduled to administer the oath of office to 15 freshmen senators and 20 returning senators. Of the 35-member Senate, 26 have previous legislative experience as members of the House of Representative...
A Different Approach to Foster Services On an average night more than 4,100 Arkansas children will stay in a foster home. They were placed by employees of the Department of Human Services (DHS), which works with about 1,150 foster homes. Arkansas is the first state in the country to begin a new approach toward working with children who have been abused or neglected. DHS applied for and received a waiver from federal regulations, which means department caseworkers will have more flexibility in responding to the needs of children...
Healthcare A Major Issue for Lawmakers When the 89th General Assembly convenes on Jan. 14, one of the most difficult questions facing the legislature will be whether to expand the Medicaid program. The issue is complex and hundreds of millions in tax dollars are at play. Legislators with strongly held political beliefs have staked out positions on opposing sides of the issue. ...
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State Senator Robert Thompson (D) of Paragould serves in the Arkansas Senate.
Hot topics Help for Arkansas Schools Approved by Lawmakers(0 ~ 9:24 AM, May 23)
Medical Funding Will be Overseen
A Look Back at Historic Session
General Session Featured Good Cooperation
Voters to Decide Three Issues
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