Senate News

Statement by Senator Jason Rapert regarding ruling by Judge Kristine Baker, 

The Arkansas Senate Democratic Caucus is calling for the state to take stronger actions to protect all Arkansans from Covid-19, save lives, and limit the economic fallout due to the pandemic.

The level of state government spending determines how much of a surplus is left at the end of the fiscal year. One of the legislature’s most important decisions is how much of a surplus to accumulate, and what to do with it.

Lottery Scholarships Benefit More Than 30,000 Arkansas Students

Last week it was reported that another former detention center, at Lewisville, will be converted into a substance abuse treatment facility for teenagers. Judges who hear juvenile cases said that a treatment center was needed, and were glad to have an option besides locking up troubled youths.

The governor presented a balanced budget proposal to the legislature for next fiscal year. It would authorize about $5.8 billion next year in spending from the state’s general revenue fund, about three percent more than this year.

The state is helping people who have trouble paying their rent because of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the beginning of this year, there were more than 2,000 licensed child care programs in Arkansas. They had slots for 194,000 children.

By mid-April, about half the facilities had closed. Although most have been able to re-open, as of early October at least 20 had closed permanently

A bipartisan group of 14 senators have requested that the CARES Act Steering Committee allocate $20 million in federal relief funding for senior citizens centers across Arkansas.

The Legislative Council approved spending $48.5 million in federal relief money to fund a grant program that will help tourism-related businesses adversely affected by the pandemic. The grants will be available to small businesses that hire up to 250 full-time employees.