By Steve Brawner, © 2024 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

When legislators gather at the Arkansas State Capitol starting April 10 for their every-two-year fiscal session, they’ll be considering the governor’s budget, her plan for increasing state employee salaries, and the state’s growing collection of noisy crypto mines.

But in contrast to those crypto mines, the session itself could be relatively quiet.

Voters created the biennial fiscal session through a constitutional amendment in 2008. It occurs in even-numbered years between the longer regular sessions. Those occur in odd-numbered years.  

Fiscal sessions are supposed to focus on budget matters. Legislators can consider other issues with a two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate, but they generally try to save those discussions for the regular session. The fiscal sessions can last no more than 30 days. Lawmakers can extend them once by no more than 15 days with a three-fourths vote by both chambers.

Lawmakers will be considering Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ proposed general revenue budget of $6.31 billion for fiscal 2025. That’s an increase of $109.3 million, or 1.76%, over the previous one. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the state has averaged 3% in recent years, so it’s considerably less. 

Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, told me in a text that, “Skepticism over such a small budget increase has calmed down for the time being.” He expects the session to be “pretty uneventful.”

Sanders’ budget projects a surplus of $376.6 million. That amount is more than the $240.5 million surplus expected this year but less than the absurdly large surpluses of recent years. In fact, in fiscal year 2022 the state had a surplus of $1.628 billion. 

That surplus occurred when federal COVID dollars were pouring into the state’s economy and before Sanders and lawmakers enacted a couple of rounds of income tax cuts. The state’s revenue collections are down this fiscal year compared to the same point last year. But it’s still spending less than it collects.

With those lower surpluses, lawmakers do not expect to cut taxes this fiscal session. Instead, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that they plan to wait until after the fiscal year ends June 30. They then would cut taxes in a special session called by the governor later this year. They will know a little more about where the state is financially at that point. 

The Democrat-Gazette used as sources Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado; Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy; and Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia. 

Those are very good sources. Dismang and Jean have been co-chairmen of the Joint Budget Committee for a while. Both are committed budget-balancers. Dismang, in fact, is an accountant. 

Lawmakers also will consider Sanders’ proposed temporary pay plan for state employees. It would create a one-time 3% salary increase and raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour. Then she hopes to overhaul state employee salaries in the 2025 session.

Lawmakers must approve the plan. It falls outside the budgetary process, so it will require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to be considered. The discussion could be among the session’s more interesting ones.

Also likely to arise is an attempt to change a law passed last year that allows crypto mining companies to operate in Arkansas. 

Crypto mining is a process where independent operators verify digital transactions funded by cryptocurrency services like Bitcoin. Passed by lawmakers last year, Act 851 forbids local governments from limiting their noise or imposing requirements that differ from those applied to other data centers. 

That hastily passed, ill-considered law has turned out to be a huge problem. The fans cooling these facilities’ many computers collectively emit a high-pitched whine that makes life unpleasant for anyone living nearby. Some Faulkner County residents are suing one of the companies, saying the mine is diminishing their health and quality of life. 

A number of crypto mining bills are being drafted. We will see what kind of consensus, if any, arises. 

Asked what might come up other than the budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, told me in a text that legislators could discuss “maybe something with crypto but not sure.” When I asked if the session otherwise would be quiet, he texted, “yes.”

Following that, I thanked him – for answering the question, and for the answer itself. 

We all could use a quiet 30 days this political year, don’t you think?

Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 16 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.