Prison questions, higher ed, and no tax cut yet

By STEVE BRAWNER

A 3,000-bed prison. Medicaid. Maternal health. Higher education. Following up the LEARNS Act. Bills pertaining to social and cultural concerns.

Those will be among the issues to watch when 135 Arkansas legislators meet in their three-month biennial regular session starting Jan. 13.

We’ll start with the 3,000-bed prison, which lawmakers approved as part of a comprehensive law-and-order package in the 2023 legislative session. It was Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ second biggest initiative after the LEARNS Act educational reform law. At the time, it wasn’t particularly controversial. 

It is now, after Sanders announced that the prison will be built in Charleston in western Arkansas. Local elected officials and community members were not informed of the decision beforehand, and there’s been a backlash. 

Local opponents say their community doesn’t need the promised jobs and doesn’t have the workforce to support the facility. Prisons in Alabama and Utah cost far more than their original estimates and far more than Sanders’ original $470 million price tag. The rural site lacks road access and water and sewer services. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, an opponent, likened it in an interview to building a city with a population of 3,800 “in the middle of nowhere with nothing supplying it.”

What will happen? Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, who is skeptical of the location, told a Charleston audience Jan. 3 that the Sanders administration would need legislators to approve spending more money before it could build the prison in Charleston. He said some are currently opposed, as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. On the other hand, lawmakers passed the bill to be tough on crime and to relieve the backlog of prisoners in county jails, so beds will have to be built somewhere. Incoming Speaker of the House Brian Evans, R-Cabot, told KARK’s Capitol View television show that the prison’s location is “solely an executive branch decision.” He believes it will be built at the Charleston site.

Medicaid will be another big issue facing lawmakers. With Arkansans’ personal incomes increasing, the state qualifies for less in federal funds. Either lawmakers will need to find more money from elsewhere in the budget, or they’ll have to cut expenditures, which means services. Reimbursements are already too low for many medical providers to financially justify serving that population.

A related issue is the state’s maternal health needs. Arkansas has among the nation’s highest rates of maternal and infant mortality. It’s one of the only remaining states, along with Wisconsin, that does not offer 12 months of Medicaid coverage to mothers after birth. Sanders has said there are other ways to cover that population and has convened a working group to study the issue. Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, has filed a bill that would provide the coverage for 12 months. The Senate sponsor is Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, who sponsored Sanders’ LEARNS Act.

Speaking of LEARNS, there will be some legislation to tie up some loose ends from the 2023 legislation. How big and loose those ends will be remains to be seen. Also remaining to be seen is the extent of the changes Sanders will seek to the state’s higher education system. The higher ed funding formula likely will see new incentives for colleges and universities to address workforce needs. It won’t be as dramatic as LEARNS, but it could be substantial.

What’s left? Bills already have been filed that would repeal state law requiring fluoridated drinking water. That could be an interesting public health debate. Lawmakers can ask Arkansas voters to approve up to three constitutional amendments. We’ll see what they propose. Finally, lawmakers almost certainly will propose bills related to controversial social issues that will get a lot of attention.

What we won’t be seeing, yet, is major legislation to cut state income taxes. Three state income tax cuts under Sanders and others under Gov. Asa Hutchinson have cut into revenues, and there are too many unknown costs with the prison and the LEARNS Act. Sanders could call a special session later in the year once the budget and revenue picture is clearer.

Finally, lawmakers at the end of the session will pass a balanced budget through the Revenue Stabilization Act, a budgeting mechanism created in 1945. No matter how crazy sessions become at the beginning or middle, they always end with that comforting exercise in fiscal responsibility. 

Until then, buckle up.

Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 17 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.