AR Senate Weekly Updates

LITTLE ROCK - Thanks to what is being called the largest federal grant ever received by an institution in Arkansas, numerous communities, hospitals and colleges will get connected with broadband access in the next few years. The grant of $102 million was awarded to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. It will pay for high speed, interactive links between the teaching hospital in Li...

LITTLE ROCK - The state attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit against payday lending companies that operate on the Internet because the interest rates charged to Arkansas residents amounts to 782 percent annually. The companies do business as Arrowhead Investments, Inc., and Galaxy Marketing, Inc. The attorney general also sued an individual named Christopher Hodes, alleging that he con...

LITTLE ROCK - The state Insurance Commissioner announced that Arkansas has created a high risk insurance pool for people who have been without health insurance for six months and who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. The new insurance plan, which started on August 1, was required by the national health care reform law signed by the president in March. Arkansas is on...

LITTLE ROCK - People with disabilities will conduct a mock legislative session in the Senate chamber of the state Capitol on August 18 and 19 to write, debate and vote on bills concerning disabilities. "I've done some research and to the best of my knowledge, I am fairly certain this will be the first event of its kind to be held in the United States," Senator Tracy Steele of North Little Rock...

LITTLE ROCK - Drug abuse is not limited to illegal substances like cocaine and methamphetamine. Law enforcement officials and experts in drug addiction are also concerned about growth in the abuse of prescription drugs. In Arkansas, the abuse of prescription drugs is particularly alarming because it is getting worse among teenagers. A report by a federal agency found that Arkansas led the nati...

LITTLE ROCK - For kids it is the middle of summer, and for the state Board of Education it is time to prepare for the coming school year. At its July meeting the state board approved a Public School Fund of almost $2.6 billion for the 2010-2011 school year. That will provide the bulk of revenue for 244 school districts in Arkansas that educate 465,000 students from kindergarten through grade 1...

LITTLE ROCK - In spite of a decline in revenue last year, the Arkansas tourism industry has grown at an average rate of 5 percent a year since 1990. Arkansas tourism revenues were down by 3.6 percent last year. We did not lose our standing in the national tourist market because so many other states had even worse years because of the severe economic downturn. The growth of the Arkansas hospi...

LITTLE ROCK - The state Board of Health scheduled a special meeting to consider a ban of K-2, a new chemical intoxicant now being sold legally in some retail stores although its effects are similar to those of marijuana. Several cities and counties in Arkansas have already passed ordinances to prohibit the sale of K-2, as have a handful of other states. Under the state Constitution, the Arkan...

LITTLE ROCK - State employees will not get pay raises when the new fiscal year begins on July 1. State employee pay raises traditionally have taken effect at the beginning of the state fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. After July 1, the state will be in Fiscal Year 2011. Budget officials hope that if the economy improves and state revenue increases, a raise may be possible abou...

LITTLE ROCK - State education officials were pleased with this year's results of standardized tests, which showed Arkansas students continuing to improve their scores in math and literacy. They also are pleased that for the fourth consecutive year the academic achievement gap between white students and minority students continues to narrow. The state Education Department released scores from ...

LITTLE ROCK - The growth of the state prison system is unsustainable, the governor and the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court said during an announcement of a far-reaching study of methods to change sentencing laws. The study will be finished by the fall, when legislators prepare next year's budgets for all state agencies, including the Correction Department. According to the governor,...

LITTLE ROCK - In recent years tax revenue from traditional sources for maintaining Arkansas state highways has been flat or in actual decline. At the same time the cost of fixing highways and bridges has gone up. Raising taxes is always politically difficult, and in an economic slowdown it becomes extremely so. However, when highway maintenance is postponed it quickly becomes more expensive. ...

LITTLE ROCK - The financial outlook for Medicaid improved last month, according to state officials who administer the program. This year's Medicaid budget is about $4.2 billion and is estimated to increase to $4.6 billion next fiscal year. Medicaid officials have been concerned about possible budget shortfalls because more people become eligible for Medicaid in a bad economy. Also, the cost of ...

LITTLE ROCK - The Little Rock School District filed a motion in federal court seeking to prohibit the state from approving any more charter schools in Pulaski County, or from expanding any of the county's existing charter schools. The filing has financial implications for all schools in Arkansas for reasons that go beyond the issue of charter schools. For example, it includes a request for add...

LITTLE ROCK - The federal Justice Department has filed suit alleging that the state government of Arkansas discriminates against people with developmental disabilities, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The suit alleges that the state institutionalizes them when instead it should put them in community-based or home-based treatment. Depending on the outcome of the lawsuit, th...