MonticelloLive

In a meeting Friday at 3:00 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce, members of the state legislature from southeast Arkansas shared with those present their plans and porgress for this year’s session. Representatives Eddie Cheatham, Gregg Reep and Alan Maxwell and Senators Jimmy Jeffress and each summarized what they were seeking to accomplish and then fielded questions from the crowd of about 30 in attendance.

Jeffress related that the Arkansas Senate had passed a bill favoring Governor Mike Beebe’s grocery tax cut of from 6% to 3%. It now goes to the House for passage. However, Maxwell related that the House would rather see the tax cut be applied on final tax returns rather than directly at the grocery store. The House seeks to place a bill before the Senate that would, in effect, give a grocery tax credit line item on people’s tax returns.

Jeffress said, “Whatever the outcome, there will be some kind of tax relief coming out of this session.”

Maxwell shared that he planned to work hard with the southeast Arkansas delegation to promote bio-fuels alternatives for the area, as well as working closely with industries like Potlatch to research and develop alternative energy sources.

After sharing that the sales tax on off-road diesel will be eliminated this year, Reep said that he “might as well be the one to fall on the sword” and related that he and other members of the assembly would be introducing a bill to create a state lottery. He said that 100% of its funds would go toward education. In addition to making money available for teacher salaries through “bonuses,” Reep said that the lottery income would be used to help provide scholarships for low to middle income Arkansas high school students attending in-state institutions of higher education, including four-year colleges, technical schools, and junior colleges.

Saying that Arkansas does not have a “sufficiently educated workforce,” Reep said that he hopes the lottery monies raised for education will help solve that.

Jeffress commented that getting the lottery on the ballot would be an extensive effort and claimed that Mississippi casinos helped to fund the Arkansas Family Council’s effort to fight the gambling initiative during the last election. He said that the Mississippi casinos did not want the competition in Arkansas.

The legislators were peppered with questions including the following:

Question: How would the 3% tax cut on groceries be replaced in the state budget?
Response: The state’s current economic growth rate will make up for the cut. It was acknowledged that this assumes continued growth at the same rate. Concerns were also voiced about the escalation of property taxes in the area as a result of three consecutive years of property reassessments. Tommy Newman pointed out that it appeared the state was providing a tax cut and then getting it back through increased property taxes.
Question: What does this Session intend to do to provide more for education needs on the local level?
Response: Current budget expenditures reveal that the state spends about $28 per student in Arkansas public schools. However, a representative from the Monticello School District related concerns that this allocation was inadequate even to cover federally-mandated expenses. It currently costs the district about $100 per student to meet the mandates.

Richard Goddard, chief executive officer of Drew Memorial Hospital, raised the issue of increasing health care costs. He also urged the delegates to look into a new insurance package that was being offered to senior citizens called Medicare Advantage. He said that the plan did provide cheap insurance and health care, but he was afraid that many seniors who sign up for the plan were not aware that they were also leaving the Medicare system completely and could not re-enter after signing up for this plan.

Other items of note included:

• Delegates voiced support for the University of Arkansas at Monticello and pledged to continue working for its programs and development.
• The local delegation is diligently working to obtain the rail from Snow Lake to replace deteriorating rail, as well as lay new rail in Southeast Arkansas. The rail may be used to replace line between Warren and McGehee, provide rail to the Yellow Bend Port, and also to the Intermodal Facility.
• Reep noted that he believes there is more communication and a better spirit among this assembly, especially as it relates to the Governor’s office than in prior years under Governor Mike Huckabee.

Delegates will return next month for another Legislative Update Session. The public is invited to attend and participate.

86th Arkansas General Assembly Resources:

• Arkansas Senate Site
• Arkansas House of Representatives

Update, 2/6/06: In an earlier version of this story, we reported that the Snow Lake Rail line had been secured already. That was erroneous. The delegation is still working on that. The story has been changed to reflect the adjustment.