Talk Business & Politics

Arkansas House members on Tuesday (April 20) approved the 2021-22 appropriation bill for the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Medical Services on the fifth attempt paving the way for lawmakers to end the legislative session next week.

The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee on Monday (April 19) passed SJR 10, a proposed change to the state constitution for voter consideration. The resolution could be one of three proposals that legislators refer to voters for the 2022 general election.

Aconstitutional amendment that would make it harder to amend the Arkansas Constitution or pass an initiated act passed the House of Representatives. Members voted 74-18-1 on Thursday (April 15) to advance House Joint Resolution 1005.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a pair of identical bills Monday (April 12) that will raise the state’s median teacher salaries by $2,000 and create a fund to help lower-paying districts reach that amount.

Leon Jones, Jr., who recently resigned his position as executive director of the state’s Fair Housing Commission, said two months ago he planned to run for Arkansas Attorney General in 2022 on the GOP ticket. On Tuesday (April 6), he made it official.

Wasting no time, the Arkansas legislature overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto of HB 1570 on Tuesday (April 6). The governor vetoed the measure on Monday calling it a “vast government overreach” and “well-intended” but “off course.”

Arkansas is one of the only states without some type of hate crime law on the books, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said more than once it’s a top priority for him during the current legislative session. SB622, filed Thursday (April 1), will attempt to solve that problem.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday (March 30) lifted the statewide mask mandate even as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged governors to not lift such restrictions. Gov. Hutchinson also on Tuesday opened vaccine eligibility to all Arkansans age 16 and older.

Businesswoman and civic leader Supha Xayprasith-Mays will seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022. She announced her intentions to run Friday (March 26).

Arkansas’ jobless rate in February was 4.5%, down from 4.6% in January and below the 3.8% in February 2020. The slight decline in Arkansas’ jobless rate in February was the result of fewer in the workforce and not a gain in jobs.