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Arkansas Budget Bill Boosts Human Services, School Funding

3 min read

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas’ public schools, child welfare system and Medicaid program are set to receive funding increases while additional money is being tucked away for unexpected needs under a proposed $5.3 billion state budget unveiled Sunday.

House and Senate leaders released the proposed Revenue Stabilization Act , the budget bill that’s set for votes this week as lawmakers near the end of this year’s session. The proposal, which prioritizes spending based on expected funding, closely mirrors the budget Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed in March.

“I think it’s a good solid budget for us to be able to move forward on,” House Speaker Jeremy Gillam said. “I think it continues a lot of worthwhile initiatives and I think it continues us on a solid path.”

The proposal calls for a $142.7 million spending increase for the fiscal year that begins July 1, with nearly $112 million of that going toward the Department of Human Services and $23.7 million going toward public schools. The DHS funding increase includes $88 million in additional funding for Medicaid and $20 million more for its division of child and family services.

Gillam said he expected the House to vote on the budget bill Wednesday, with legislative leaders hoping to wrap up the session by week’s end. The budget deal marks the end of a session that had been highlighted by a fight over the funding of the state’s hybrid Medicaid expansion. The Senate last week rejected an attempt to override Hutchinson’s veto of a budget measure that would have ended the “Arkansas Works” program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents.

“My priorities for the fiscal session were to establish the balanced budget with the approval of Arkansas Works and to increase the funding for our state foster care needs,” Hutchinson said in a statement released by his office. “These goals have been accomplished.”

The proposal also calls for setting aside $13.8 million in revenue for the state’s rainy day fund, which legislative leaders said they hope to continue building up in future years in case of an emergency or economic downturn. Legislative leaders on Friday announced that the fund would be tapped to restore budget cuts of about $1 million each to Arkansas libraries and for senior citizen centers. The fund currently has about $31 million in it.

“We need to be prepared for what comes our way in the future and probably just like families do,” Gillam said.

Even though the session is nearing its end, lawmakers are expected to convene again later this month to take up Hutchinson’s plan to increase funding for the state’s highway system. The Republican governor has called for tapping into surplus money and diverting some vehicle sales tax collections toward road needs.

“This will allow a short fiscal session and then we will all need to work together to address the funding challenges for our highways,” Hutchinson said. “The agreed-to budget lays the foundation for meeting the short-term highway needs without raising taxes.”

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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