Weekly Updates

The Crime Information Center (ACIC) is one of the most important agencies in law enforcement, although many people are unfamiliar with it.

Its primary duty is to operate a massive data system for 250 law enforcement agencies in Arkansas. When local officers take the fingerprints of a criminal suspect, they look for a match in a massive data base with prints submitted by the FBI, the National Crime Information Center and the other 49 states. ACIC is responsible for the entry of all Arkansas criminal files to the national system.

The Arkansas legislature has tried to apply lessons learned by other states when it enacted school safety laws over the past several years. The Senate and House Committees on Education heard an update from the chair of the commission, who said that “collectively we’ve passed some of the most comprehensive school safety legislation in the country.”

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission broke records for job creation and investment last year. Thirty companies invested close to $6 billion and announced the creation of 5,359 jobs. The average salary of those new jobs is $29 an hour.

The state will continue to accept applications from families who want to fund their children’s tuition with Education Freedom Accounts, and perhaps as early as February the state will begin accepting applications for next school year.

One of the ongoing developments in state government over the past six months has been the efforts of the Human Services Department to reduce the number of people on Medicaid. The goal is to return the health coverage program to levels more closely resembling those prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic the federal government issued emergency regulations that prohibit the state from dropping people on Medicaid, regardless of whether or not their financial circumstances changed.

Since last year enrollment has gone up at most of the publicly supported institutions of higher education in Arkansas. The academic year began about a month ago and headcounts for this year are based on enrollment as of the 11^th day of class.

The state Transportation Department has written a plan to reduce carbon emissions by improving traffic flow and connecting highways more efficiently with railroad terminals and ports. The department is due to receive $87 million from the federal government, between now and 2026, for projects that reduce carbon emissions.

Even though Arkansas has taken major steps to improve foster care over the past several years, the Division of Children and Family Services intends to do even better at recruiting foster families and providing services to children at a younger age.

In a four-day special session, the legislature lowered state taxes by almost $250 million this year. Legislators also approved the governor’s proposal to prohibit state and local government officials from requiring proof of Covid vaccinations in order to qualify for services, employment or education. Arkansas had a ban in effect, but it expired in August.

Thanks to a Senate bill that became law earlier this year, thousands of Arkansas students will qualify for free lunches at school. Act 656 of 2023 was approved by an overwhelming majority of senators. It benefits children from families with low incomes by eliminating the requirement that they pay a reduced price for lunch. Instead, lunch is free.