One big difference between a president’s typical State of the Union address and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ State of the State address April 8 is this: What the governor proposed will actually happen.
While the State of the Union often features a laundry list of policy proposals applauded only by the president’s party, Sanders’ State of the State at the beginning of this year’s fiscal session didn’t offer many policy specifics. And while there were standing ovations and opposition sit-downs, it didn’t have a partisan vibe.
In fact, don’t expect a lot of fireworks during the fiscal session, for three reasons. First, fiscal sessions, which happen every even-numbered year, are designed to last 30 days and focus on relatively boring budget matters. Lawmakers can get into other topics, but most don’t want to. Second, Sanders is in her first term and still likely to pass most of her priorities through a supportive Legislature. Third, Sanders has taken the most contentious item, her proposed 3,000-bed Franklin County prison, off the table for now. It just doesn’t have the votes, and may never have them.
We can be fairly certain, then, that lawmakers will agree to Sanders’ request for full support of the educational freedom accounts in her 2003 LEARNS Act. Those accounts provide families of any income level about $7,000 per child annually for private and homeschooling expenses. Continue reading