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

“Symbols matter.”

That was the argument offered by Rep. Charles Blake, D-Little Rock, for his bill that would change the meaning behind the star representing the Confederacy on the Arkansas state flag.

Based on a 1924 design, the flag has four blue stars in its center area. The three below the state’s name commemorate its belonging to France, Spain and the United States prior to statehood. The one above commemorates its belonging to the Confederacy.

Blake, who is African-American, says that era shouldn’t be forgotten or commemorated. His House Bill 1487 would change the star’s meaning but not the flag itself. Instead of the Confederacy, it would represent the Native American tribes who first occupied the landscape. Continue reading →

By 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 →

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 →