AROUND ARKANSAS Legislature: New faces, but a lot of the challenges are familiar


Te Arkansas Legislature is marked by new leadership and a host of new faces –but they face old and familiar challenges. How do we adequately fund public educa-


tion? How do we control dramatic growth in the number of inmates in state prisons? How do we pay for Medicaid and human services for the state’s most vulnerable citizens? How do we maintain and improve highways? How can we lower taxes fairly to generate new business in- vestments and create jobs? Senator Paul Bookout of Jonesboro is the


new President Pro Tem of the Senate for 88th General Assembly, which convened on the sec- ond Monday of the year as required by the Ar- kansas Constitution. Te Speaker of the House is Rep. Robert Moore of Arkansas City. Te 35-member Senate has 13 new members and the 100-member House has 46 new mem- bers.


Te governor has proposed a reduction in the state sales tax on groceries by half a cent. It is now at 2 percent and would drop to 1.5 percent if the legislature agrees to the governor’s proposal.


Legislators have floated other tax reduction ideas, including a repeal of the capital gains tax, income tax relief for single parents in low- income brackets and reducing the sales tax on used car purchases. Also, some legislators want to reduce the taxes that manufacturers pay on energy and utility costs.


A major concern facing legislators will be funding of the Medicaid program, which has been relying on a trust fund to make ends meet. Medicaid officials predict that the fund will be depleted in two years. Medicaid pays for health care services for


low-income families and people with disabili- ties. Also, it pays for about 75 percent of the costs of nursing home care for the state’s elderly. About 750,000 Arkansans are eligible for some form of Medicaid. Tere are 27,000 providers, such as physicians, rural health clinics, hospi- tals and home health agencies. Medicaid is run by the Human Services Department, which is budgeted for a funding increase of 0.6 percent under the governor’s proposed budget. Te governor proposed increasing school funding by 2.9 percent. According to educa-


tion and budget officials, a 2.9 percent increase would be enough to maintain school funding at constitutionally adequate levels. Te state Correction Department, which


runs state prisons, is slated to receive a budget increase of 2.2 percent under the governor’s plan. Te Department of Community Correc- tion, which operates work release programs and drug courts and supervises convicted offenders on probation or parole, would get a 6.1 percent increase in funding. Te legislature will consider proposals to


more efficiently use parole and probation in order to free up prison beds for the most dan- gerous offenders. A large part of the task entails identifying which inmates to make eligible for parole, based on their record of committing vio- lent crimes.


Te legislature will consider proposals by


the Blue Ribbon Highway Finance Commit- tee to find revenue for highway maintenance. Also, legislators will look at ways to improve the graduation rate of public colleges and universi- ties in Arkansas.


Public education tour focuses on cigarette butt litter in Arkansas Keep Arkansas Beautiful (KAB) and the Hot


Roberts, who has served on Keep America


Springs/Garland County Beautification Com- mission have partnered to help fight the No. 1 form of litter in the world: cigarette litter. Te Arkansas Cigarette Litter Prevention


Tour is specifically designed to educate Arkan- sans about the harmful effects of cigarette lit- ter. Te tour features an SUV “wrapped” with a cigarette litter prevention message, along with free information, pocket ashtrays and portable ashtray giveaways. “Our goal is to visit as many Arkansas cities as possible to educate people about the impact of cigarette litter and provide solutions to com- bat this problem,” said Adam Roberts, executive director of the Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification Commission. “Cigarette butts are the most-littered item in America, representing nearly 30 percent of all items collected in cleanup initiatives. Focusing on small improvements such as reducing ciga- rette litter creates safer and more economically vibrant communities.”


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Beautiful’s National Cigarette Litter Prevention Advisory Board for two years and won the Ar- kansas Department of Environmental Quality’s ENVY award for his work on cigarette litter prevention. Te Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification Commission has won three na- tional awards and is also a recipient of four Cig- arette Litter Prevention Program grants from Keep America Beautiful. Tis new venture for Keep Arkansas Beauti-


ful and the Hot Springs/Garland County Beau- tification Commission is funded by a grant from the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation. “In Arkansas, cigarette litter accounts for nearly 60 percent of all calls made to the Litter Hotline,” said Robert Phelps, director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful. “By raising awareness of this issue, we intend to reduce the amount of cigarette litter in Arkansas.” As a certified state affiliate of Keep America


Beautiful Inc., Keep Arkansas Beautiful works to inspire and educate individuals to reduce lit-


ter, recycle and keep Arkansas beauti- ful. It operates as a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and is overseen by a nine- member commission appointed by the gover- nor.


Te organization recently received a Keep America Beautiful (KAmB) State Affiliate Inno- vation Award, recognizing KAmB affiliates for developing innovative programs and partner- ships that further KAmB’s mission. KAB is funded by 1 percent of the eighth- cent conservation tax and, by utilizing vol- unteers, returns to the state a cost benefit of $15.34 in community service for each program dollar spent, according to a press release. For more information about KAB, call toll-


free 888-742-8701, visit KeepArkansasBeauti- ful.com, or stay connected at Facebook.com/ KeepArkansasBeautiful or YouTube.com/ DontLitterAR.


COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2011


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