Category Archives: Legislature

Who’s passing your laws in Little Rock?

Legislature, Politics, State government

LegislatureBy Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Who are the 135 legislators passing laws affecting current and future Arkansans?

Typically these days, they’re white male Baptist Republicans with college degrees, according to the Arkansas Legislature’s website and some internet searches. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

Racial and gender categorizations cannot be avoided, so let’s cover them first. The Legislature is composed of 102 Republicans and 33 Democrats. Of the Republicans, 82 are white males and 20 are white females. Of the Democrats, 11 are African-American males, five are African-American females, and six are white females. 

That leaves only 11 white male Democrats, which once would have described the entire Legislature. In the 100-member House of Representatives, there are only six.  Continue reading Who’s passing your laws in Little Rock? →

Arkansas joins call to amend the Constitution

Health care, Independents and third parties, Legislature, Politics, State government

Arkansans of the Year, Convention of States

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

This past week the Legislature did something either completely irrelevant or extremely significant.

It passed a resolution adding Arkansas to the slowly growing list of states calling for a convention to consider constitutional amendments to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit its power, and enact term limits.

The U.S. Constitution can be amended two ways under its own Article V: Congress starts the process, or the states do. The states have never succeeded in doing it.

But Arkansas became the 13th of a necessary 34 states to approve this particular resolution. This occurred after the House said yes Wednesday, and then the Senate, which had already approved it, agreed to add the names of House sponsors Thursday. Continue reading Arkansas joins call to amend the Constitution →

Governor hits the gas pedal on highways

Legislature, Politics, State government

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Coming into this legislative session, highways for Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson were a priority, not the priority. Reducing the top tax rate from 6.9 percent to 5.9 percent came first.

But the past week proved the two couldn’t be separated.

After Hutchinson’s tax cut easily passed through Senate committee, it failed to gain a three-fourths majority in the full Senate. Several senators wanted to know how the state could increase funding for highways while cutting taxes. The tax cut did pass on its second try, but only after a few holdouts were assured a responsible plan was coming.

I recently wrote that the tax cut was coming first because it was “easy” and that highways would come afterwards. Boy, I missed that one. It soon became obvious that the three-fourths majority would be even harder to attain in the House until legislators saw a highway plan. So the governor and legislative leaders hit the gas pedal on highways and revealed a plan Monday. Continue reading Governor hits the gas pedal on highways →

Why third parties? Because power corrupts

Independents and third parties, Legislature, Politics, State government

Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Works, Jeremy Hutchinson, Mickey Gates, Jim Hendren, tax cuts, Senate Bill 163By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

There is a legal case and a moral case against Senate Bill 163, which would make it harder for third parties to get on the ballot in Arkansas. The legal case may not be as strong as I thought it was, but the moral case ought to be strong enough.

First the background. In Arkansas, parties can appear on the ballot by winning 3 percent of the vote in the previous presidential or gubernatorial election. Failing that, they can collect 10,000 signatures.

Senate Bill 163 by Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, would increase the required number of signatures to 3 percent of the vote in the last gubernatorial election. In 2020, that would be almost 26,750 signatures, which would be a lot to collect.

The Libertarian Party is currently the only viable third party in Arkansas. It advocates for very limited government. It runs to the right of Republicans on economic issues and to the left of Democrats on some social issues, such as the war on drugs.

Libertarians have been inching toward that 3 percent in recent elections. In 2018, their gubernatorial candidate won 2.9 percent.

That’s too close for comfort for Republicans in the Legislature. They want to make sure a Libertarian candidate doesn’t attract enough votes to sway some future close election to the Democrats. Continue reading Why third parties? Because power corrupts →