The Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s online directory of minority-owned firms now lists some 275 certified companies, and Pat Brown’s team is busy certifying women-owned businesses. read more >
The toughest job for a task force looking at an overhaul of Arkansas' tax code will be resisting pressure from a list of lobbying groups hoping to protect exemption. 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 >
Arkansas' governor on Thursday approved a ban on a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure - restrictions that are expected to face a legal challenge. read more >
A bill that would establish education savings accounts in Arkansas is breaking new ground in school choice legislation, according to its sponsor. But critics say it could pose major fiscal problems for Arkansas if passed in its current form. read more >
A legislative subcommittee gave a thumbs-up to a five-year, $34.5 million advertising contract to CJRW to market the Arkansas Scholarship lottery. But first, lawmakers got a primer on the limitations they face in reviewing contracts. read more >
After grilling Lottery Director Bishop Woosley and State Procurement Director Edward Armstrong for nearly an hour over the process that awarded a $34.5 million, five-year lottery advertising contract to CJRW, a legislative subcommittee votes not to approve the contract. Later, the full committee kicks the matter back to the subcommittee. read more >
Arkansas' delegates hope having Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket will energize a state party that's been routed by Republicans over the past three elections. read more >
The Arkansas Democratic Party has selected its delegates for the national presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia. read more >
The Arkansas Senate voted Wednesday to allow a Ten Commandments display to be built near the Capitol, a move the lawmaker has called a nod to history but critics have said would amount to the state endorsing religion. read more >
By allowing school districts to avoid being merged with their neighbors when they fall below the state's minimum enrollment, the Arkansas Legislature signaled that the shadow of a long-running education funding case no longer looms large. read more >
A key component of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to overhaul the state prison system and reduce an inmate backlog received bipartisan support from a Senate committee Wednesday. read more >
The Arkansas Board of Education voted Wednesday to take control of Little Rock schools less than six months after a federal judge granted more independence to the historically embattled district and ended a quarter-century of payments to boost integration. read more >
A proposal aimed at allowing Arkansas colleges and universities to extend in-state tuition rates to some immigrants who came to the country illegally has failed before a state Senate committee. read more >
The state's largest business lobbying organization is joining advocates in urging Arkansas lawmakers to approve extending cheaper in-state tuition rates to some students who came to the country illegally. read more >
A pair of outside consultants on Monday offered mixed reviews of Gov. Mike Beebe's proposal to provide a company with $125 million in state financing to build a steel mill in the northeast part of the state. read more >
A spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe said he's not opposed to extending cheaper in-state tuition rates to some students who came to the U.S. illegally as children, despite concerns about it violating federal law. read more >
Democratic Sen. Joyce Elliott and Republican Sen. Johnny Key haven't agreed on much during the first nine weeks of this legislative session, and have split on proposals to restrict abortions in Arkansas, voter ID requirements and competing bills to rewrite the state's school choice law. read more >
Removing race as the main factor in deciding whether a student can transfer to another school district in Arkansas would give parents more control on educational choices for their children, one lawmaker said Wednesday, but opponents warned the idea could lead to segregation. read more >
The bill by Democratic Sen. Joyce Elliott of Little Rock comes weeks after Gov. Mike Beebe said he'd sign such a measure if passed by the Legislature. read more >
