By Steve Brawner
© 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
May 14, 2019
Next year’s politics will be dominated in Arkansas by the presidential race, despite Sen. Tom Cotton’s already contested re-election race and several interesting ballot initiatives.
It’s in 2022 that the focus will be on Arkansas races. Sen. John Boozman will be up for re-election, and the state’s most prominent statewide officials will be term-limited.
It’s early, but let’s speculate. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
Supporters of the legislatively referred constitutional amendment that’s most likely to pass in 2020 might want to think about how they’ll distance their proposal from the two that probably won’t.
The one that’s most likely to pass would indefinitely extend a half-cent sales tax for highways. Voters first passed the tax with 58 percent support in 2012 to fund the Connecting Arkansas Program, but it’s due to expire in 2023. Pre-legislative session polling by supporters found an extension had similar support. Gov. Asa Hutchinson made fixing roads a priority this session. The state’s most powerful business groups were big supporters. Lawmakers were hearing from constituents who want the potholes filled.
In response, legislators placed the extension on the 2020 ballot – one of three proposals the Constitution allows them to make.
One problem for highway supporters could be the other two. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
In politics, is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Or if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it?
With one bill dealing with illegal immigration, Arkansas lawmakers went with the first adage, despite Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s concerns.
On the day the Legislature recessed April 10, the House voted to ban Arkansas municipalities from adopting “sanctuary city” policies.
Act 1076 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, is a response to some cities like Los Angeles and Chicago that have declared themselves sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants.
“Sanctuary cities” is a political term, not a precise legal one, but this bill does describe the policies it seeks to counteract. Among its provisions are these: Cities could not limit municipal employees and officials from cooperating with federal immigration agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They also could not grant to illegal immigrants the right to a lawful presence.
No Arkansas cities have enacted sanctuary policies, so lawmakers are using an “ounce of prevention” to fix something that’s not broken. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
How does a freshman Democrat in a Republican-dominated Arkansas Legislature pass a bill on an emotional issue like illegal immigration?
By making it about less emotional issues like economic development and professional licensure. Also, handwritten notes help.
House Bill 1552 by Rep. Megan Godfrey, D-Springdale, will let the Board of Nursing grant licenses to students covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy – those young people brought to America illegally by their parents.
The bill became necessary after the board stopped granting licenses in 2017 because it believed it needed clearer legal authority. Some students had the rug pulled from under them after they had enrolled in nursing school.
Illegal immigration is the hot-button issue most associated with electing President Trump. The Legislature is 75 percent Republican. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
That “phhhbtt!” sound you may have heard is the air coming out of the State Capitol dome. After nearly three months of being separated during the week from their families, and in many cases, their full-time jobs, legislators are ready to go home.
The plan is to recess April 10, and then reconvene for cleanup work in May.
It’s wrap-up time. And last Wednesday, a big item was crossed off the to-do list when legislators approved funding for the agency administering Arkansas Works, the program that purchases health insurance for about 234,000 Arkansans as of February 1. There’s usually much drama associated with this, but it only took two House votes to pass the funding measure, and that’s despite a court ruling that had removed a work requirement.
This week, legislators were deciding how to spend your money under the state’s Revenue Stabilization Act. They also added a third proposed constitutional amendment to Arkansans’ ballot in 2020 – this one to make it harder to amend the Constitution. The other two would permanently extend the half-cent sales tax for roads and change legislative term limits.
House Bill 1763 by Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, the governor’s transformation initiative, also needs to finish working its way through the process. The slow pace would be expected for a 2,049-page bill that will reduce the number of state agencies from 42 to 15. Continue reading