MonticelloLive

A Pulaski County circuit judge ruled in favor of truth in advertising last week, when he ordered a Kentucky company to pay fines and restitution for deceiving Arkansas customers.

The company promised to help Arkansans obtain prescription drugs for discount prices or for free. What the company failed to tell its customers was that they qualified for the discount prices anyway, and would not have had to pay if they applied on their own for the discounts.

They didn’t need the company in order to apply for prescription drug benefits,  since they could apply themselves for discount programs.

The judge ordered the company to disclose that fact, in large and bold type, whenever it communicated with an Arkansas customer.

According to information from the Pulaski County trial, the company charged people in Arkansas $195 for help in applying for discounted prescription medications.

The judge ruled that the company violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act 37 times.

The judge ordered the company to pay restitution to the customers, and barred the company from accepting any new customers from Arkansas until it has made all the restitution payments.

The company also was ordered to pay $12,500 to the state attorney general’s office for legal fees.

The state attorney general’s office has a consumer protection division that investigates complaints about fraudulent business practices. Also, the attorney general has an anti-trust division that investigates price fixing and unlawful restraint on fair trade.

A special division within the attorney general’s office investigates health care providers who fraudulently bill the state Medicaid program.

Pesticide Pickup

A state agency will collect old pesticides for free in five Arkansas counties later this year, in the fall. The purpose is to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals that eventually end up in underground water supplies.

They are Arkansas, Ashley, Jefferson, Lincoln and Lonoke Counties. The state Plant Board will administer the collection program, which last month collected 171,000 pounds of unwanted pesticides.

Highway Construction
The Arkansas Highway Commission awarded $79.1 million in contracts for 52 projects at its April meeting. In March the Commission awarded $45 million in highway and bridge contracts and in February $30 million in road work was approved.

The state maintains 16,440 miles of highways and 7,144 bridges in Arkansas. Also, state employees inspect and conduct load analyses on 4,364 county-owned bridges and 885 city-owned bridges.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department received $396 million in revenue from user fees and state motor fuels taxes last year. In addition Arkansas gets about $505 million a year in federal funding, which is designated for specific purposes. The department’s full time work force is 3,658 employees.