Larry Teague

The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday passed legislation easing restrictions on the use of deadly force in self-defense, sending the measure to the House. read more >

An aging unemployment system and a desire to get money to unemployed people quickly contributed to problems with the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance rollout in Arkansas, DWS leaders say. read more >

When Gov. Asa Hutchinson unveils his proposed 2018-19 budget this week, most of the attention will be on the state's Medicaid program and the future of the hybrid expansion that's provided coverage to thousands of low-income residents over the past few years. read more >

Ten Republicans and six Democrats have been named to serve on a legislative task force that will recommend tax cuts before the 2019 session. read more >

When Arkansas voters mandated the Legislature meet annually, the plan was for lawmakers to take up a wide range of issues one year and focus primarily on the budget the next. The same voters can be forgiven if they see little daylight between the two types of sessions nowadays. read more >

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson backed off his plan to present two budget proposals. But that doesn't mean the Legislature won't have a slew of competing ideas on how to spend the state's money. read more >

State Auditor Andrea Lea agreed to pay inexperienced out-of-state attorneys a fee nearly twice as high as other states have committed to pay in a pursuit of unredeemed U.S. Treasury bonds. read more >

A state Senate leader warned colleagues on Tuesday that Arkansas' compromise Medicaid expansion was at risk, as lawmakers tried to map out a timeline for deciding the future of the health care program. read more >

A legislative panel has endorsed transferring $150,000 from other funds to continue paying trial court assistants from around Arkansas for the next two months. read more >

Gov. Mike Beebe and the state’s first Republican-controlled Legislature since the 1870s presided over a period of mostly settling in as the 89th General Assembly convened last week. read more >

Arkansas Republicans who won control of the Legislature partly on a vow to cut state taxes say they're in no rush to take up any proposed reductions yet. read more >

Republican Rep. Duncan Baird of Lowell has been named the House co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee. read more >