Members of the House of Representatives talk before the State of the State address at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock on April 8, 2026. Republican state Reps. Justin Gonzales and Richard Womack, Clark County’s delegates, are pictured in the upper row of seats. | Arkansas Advocate photo by Katie Adkins
By ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA | Arkansas Advocate
Arkansas lawmakers ended the fiscal session this week as expected, and will return to the Capitol Monday for a special session focused on tax cuts.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a proclamation Thursday that set the special session’s agenda, which includes cutting individual income and corporate tax rates.
State lawmakers warmed up their tax-cutting skills during the fiscal session by approving a proposal to increase the state’s homestead property tax to $675. This represents a $300 increase to the tax credit since Sanders took office in 2023.
During their three weeks of work that culminated in approving a $6.7 billion state budget Wednesday, lawmakers debated approving spending authority for a variety of things including corrections, public television and education.
Arkansas prisons
With legislative leaders acknowledging prior to the session that there likely weren’t enough votes to secure additional funding for a controversial Franklin County prison, lawmakers shifted their attention to other options for addressing prison capacity.
This included reappropriating nearly $74 million set aside by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson to expand the Calico Rock prison for “costs associated with prison expansion.”
The legislation specifically prohibits the funds from being used for the Franklin County prison. Sanders has said she would like the money to support the expansion of a recidivism pilot program outside of Little Rock.
Lawmakers also rejected an effort to eliminate Joe Profiri’s job as the governor’s senior advisor. Profiri, who was hired to the post after being fired as corrections secretary, has been criticized for not being responsive with elected officials and local residents over the Franklin County prison, which appears to be on hold for now.
Public television
The Arkansas public television network’s budget bill, which has historically faced resistance in the House, was sent to the governor this week.
However, it was delivered to Sanders without legislation that would have allowed the state to match up to $550,000 in private donations to Arkansas TV. The House rejected the measure twice on the final day of the session.
The bill comes as the station has paused plans to cut ties with PBS following federal funding cuts. The pause comes amid public pushback to keep PBS programming.
Efforts are underway to raise money for PBS membership dues that Arkansas TV leaders have said aren’t sustainable because of the loss of federal funds. An anonymous donor has pledged a $3 million three-year matching grant to help cover the dues.
Dues for the fiscal year that begins July 1 will be about $2.1 million for Arkansas TV.
School vouchers
The newly approved state budget that increases spending by 3% includes $309 million for the state’s school voucher program. That’s $122 million more than the previous budget, but matches what was ultimately spent on this year’s program.
Lawmakers also set aside $70 million in surplus funds to support anticipated growth of the program, which allows state funds to be used on certain educational expenses, such as private school tuition and homeschool curriculum.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns about the effects of the program’s growing cost, but an effort to restrict the program failed in committee.
Higher education
The University of Arkansas’ Fayetteville and Little Rock campuses faced resistance receiving spending authority for the year due to a handful of lawmakers pushing back over certain policies.
Rep. Brit McKenzie, a Rogers Republican, tried to block UA Fayetteville’s appropriation bill over concerns that students will be charged a fee to cover the board of trustees’ directive to generate $3.4 million in additional funding for the athletics department. The money is expected to help the university stay competitive when recruiting student-athletes who are allowed to be paid under new NCAA rules.
Lawmakers eventually approved budget bills for UA’s Fayetteville and Little Rock campuses.
Van Republican Rep. Ryan Rose supported the latter once it agreed to begin the process of eliminating academic minor programs that aren’t viable due to low enrollment, including gender studies. Officials will submit its plan to trustees, who have the final say, by September.
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro withdrew his proposal to prohibit distributing funds to UA Fayetteville’s King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies. Sullivan said he will investigate the center, which he believes has “significant issues,” through a subcommittee he chairs that focuses on higher education.
Economic incentives
An unexpected addition to the budget was a proposal to transfer up to $300 million into an economic development incentive fund for a manufacturing project officials hope to attract to West Memphis.
Some lawmakers criticized the last-minute nature of the request and redistributing millions of taxpayer dollars to profitable companies, while others argued the project should be supported because it could create thousands of jobs.
The Legislature ultimately approved the measure, which includes $150 million for incentives and $150 million for necessary road improvements. None of the state money will be released unless the project is awarded or accepted.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, a Searcy Republican who co-chairs the budget committee, said the state’s economic development commission is under a nondisclosure agreement and can’t share project details.
Odds and ends
Lawmakers approved legislation that provides details about the process for providing funding and splitting assets when an isolated school district forms after separating from another district it was previously consolidated with.
The provision was included as special language, instructions added onto bills that often change policies. Mountain View Republican Senator Missy Irvin said the legislation was needed to ensure a handful of school districts could open without issue in the fall.
Special language typically only lasts for a year, which gives lawmakers additional time to craft bills with more permanent solutions during the next legislative session.
Next year’s budget also includes $3.5 million for pregnancy help organization grants. Republican lawmakers have touted the importance of these centers since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and made abortion almost entirely illegal in Arkansas.
The state’s used tire recycling program will receive $2.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year. The underfunded program has for years struggled with remaining sustainable as revenue from fees haven’t kept pace with the rising cost to transport and process old tires.