87th General Assembly Overview
EDUCATION
Education remains the legislature’s highest priority. While most budgets were flat, we continued to invest in Arkansas children by providing an increase in education funding - a slight one, but an increase nonetheless. Per-pupil funding currently is at $5,719. Legislation this year boosts that to $5,905 for the next school year and to $6,023 for the 2010-2011 school year. Even small, incremental increases are important. Additionally, we provided $15 million to assist teachers with the costs of their health insurance.
ARKANSAS SCHOLARSHIP LOTTERY
In November of last year, Arkansans voted to have a state-run lottery, with all of the net proceeds going to fund college scholarships. Arkansas ranks near the bottom in the number of its citizens with a college degree. Increasing the number of Arkansans who are college graduates is central to a healthier, wealthier Arkansas where our citizens can obtain the jobs and salaries that they deserve. I am proud that a large portion of the scholarship money will go toward “nontraditional students” – those who may not have gone to college, or failed to finish, because they started families or needed to leave because they needed a job.
It was our job to enact legislation setting up the state lottery, and we accomplished this task. We hope we can sell the first lottery ticket sometime this fall, with the first lottery-funded state scholarships available for the 2010-2011 school year. We join 42 other states with lotteries.
The basic eligibility requirements for receiving a lottery scholarship include: graduating from an Arkansas high school with at 2.5 GPA or better or receiving a 19 or better on the ACT. Lottery proceeds will add to, not take the place of, other scholarship funds available to students. Arkansas offers several different scholarships with various eligibility requirements, which are sometimes confusing or people are unaware of these scholarships all together. To solve this problem, we have instructed the Department of Higher Education to create a website that will allow an applicant to make a single application for each scholarship the person is eligible to receive.
The lottery will be run by a state lottery commission – with its nine members appointed by the governor, the speaker of the House, and the Senate president pro tempore. The Commission’s responsibilities include, among many other things, hiring a lottery executive director and key staff and deciding what types of games we will participate in, including multi-state games like Powerball.
A 12 member Legislative Oversight Committee will oversee the operation of the lottery. I have accepted an appointment by Speaker of the House Robbie Wills to be a member of this important committee. Good luck to all who choose to play the lottery and please play responsibly.
HEALTHCARE
Healthcare will likely be the hallmark of the 87th General Assembly. The legislature passed the most comprehensive healthcare legislation that has been passed in Arkansas in generations. Funded by a tax increase on tobacco products, the 23 item healthcare package includes establishing a statewide trauma network. Arkansas is one of only three states without a trauma network, and the only state without a Level 1 trauma hospital. Experts estimate that this network will save approximately 200 lives each year, as well as prevent permanent injury and lessen the long-term effect of such injuries in hundreds of more Arkansans. Having a trauma system will ensure that injury victims get to the right hospital with the right staff on duty, not just on call, during the precious hours immediately after a traumatic injury.
This healthcare package includes expanding the ARKids First health insurance program to another 8,000 children in families of low and middle incomes. It is estimated that some 70,000 children in Arkansas do not have health insurance. Additionally, home health care programs will be expanded, providing an alternative to nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. Community health centers will receive state funding for the first time ever to help their mission of providing care to some 500,000 Arkansans without health insurance. More adults will be eligible for free or reduced price dental care. School nurses will get additional resources. Families with children who have been diagnosed with autism will have more options for treatment. Flu shots will be provided free of charge to anyone who wants one, and extra money is going to programs to prevent and treat those who’ve suffered strokes or have breast, cervical, ovarian, prostate, colorectal and skin cancer. These are just a few of the health benefits covered by this legislation.
TAX CUTS
A weakened and uncertain economy restricted much of what we could do, especially in terms of tax cuts. Two years ago, lawmakers passed the largest tax cut in Arkansas history, a total of $319 million through cuts in property taxes, income taxes on the working poor, and a cut in the state sales tax on groceries. We didn’t have that luxury this time, but we were able to take another penny off the state sales tax on groceries. That rate has gone from 6 cents on the dollar to 2 cents in two years. We also were able to give manufacturers another tax break on the energy they consume. This is an effort to save critical manufacturing jobs in Arkansas.S
FEDERAL STIMULUS MONEY
Some $3 billion in federal stimulus money will be flowing into the Arkansas treasury over the next 27 months for health care, social services, better highways, education and many other programs and needs.
According to the latest figures, Arkansas will receive:
- $954 million for human services and Medicaid programs, including food stamps, Head Start, homeless prevention and child care.
- $475 million for public schools and higher education, including Pell Grants, school lunches, and educating homeless children.
- $454 million for housing and labor, such as tax credits for low-income housing, unemployment benefits, and workforce retraining.
- $443 million to make up for any budget cuts to K-12 and higher education.
- $379 million for transportation, including public transit.
- $88 million for energy conservation and weatherization programs, including grants to homeowners who make energy-saving improvements.
- $50 million for improvements to water-treatment plants and environmental cleanup.
- $34 million for public safety and community programs, including victims’ assistance programs, domestic violence shelters, community policing and block grants for economic development projects that would hire those of low- and middle-incomes.
Some of the stimulus money has already been received, including several million dollars to increase unemployment benefits. The state Highway and Transportation Department has received bids for a number of “shovel-ready” projects where work will be started soon. The department is slated for $351 million in federal stimulus money and has identified 104 projects for that money, including repaving lanes, fixing off-ramps and addressing other needs. No new roads will be built with stimulus funds because there’s a limited time to spend that money.
The department also has set aside $10.5 million for building a new welcome center in West Memphis, as well as $14.2 million for Metroplan in central Arkansas and $1.5 million for the West Memphis area.
Arkansas will get $25.1 million in stimulus funds to subsidize child care services for low-income families. The funds are part of a $2.3 billion allotment from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and $2 billion will be used by states to provide vouchers to families for child care. The money can also be used by child care centers and home-based programs for quality improvements.
PUBLIC SAFETY
We passed several bills intended to make our streets safer and to protect drivers. Act 308 makes failing to wear your seat belt a primary offense – meaning an officer can make a traffic stop on this violation alone. We also passed Act 181 which prohibits a driver from sending text messages while driving, and Act which require drivers under age 20 to use a hands-free device on cell phones.