Send Larry Walther, secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, will chair the governor s American Rescue Plan Steering Committee.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday set up a 14-member American Rescue Plan Steering Committee to oversee the spending of $1.57 billion of the about $5 billion in federal pandemic aid coming to Arkansas.
The $1.57 billion is the amount going directly to state government; the rest will go to educational institutions, cities, counties and the state Department of Human Services.
About $285 million in funding will flow through the state Department of Finance and Administration to Arkansas communities with less than 50,000 residents, department spokesman Scott Hardin told Arkansas Business by email on Wednesday. The money allocated to each community is based on a formula that was established in guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, he said.
Medicaid expansion, constitutional amendments, law enforcement barracks project on agenda this week in legislature A proposal for the stateâs new Medicaid expansion program and a $4.6 million proposal to build barracks at the Law Enforcement Training Academy at BRTC will be among several items on the agenda this week as lawmakers head back to the capital. (Source: ABC/NBC) By Region 8 Newsdesk | March 7, 2021 at 1:40 PM CST - Updated March 7 at 10:48 PM
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) - A proposal for the stateâs new Medicaid expansion program and a $4.6 million proposal to build barracks at the Law Enforcement Training Academy at BRTC will be among several items on the agenda this week as lawmakers head back to the capital.
Lawmakers introduce âHigher Education Consumer Guide Actâ (Source: KAIT) By Region 8 Newsdesk | February 25, 2021 at 6:08 PM CST - Updated February 25 at 8:20 PM
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) - A bill was filed Thursday in the Arkansas legislature, seeking to answer a question that many parents and prospective college students ask almost on a daily basis: how much will it cost to go to college?
They include Reps. Frances Cavenaugh (R-Walnut Ridge), Deborah Ferguson (D-West Memphis) and Michelle Gray (R-Melbourne).
Lawmakers said in the bill they are attempting to provide information at a key time for parents and students alike.
âThe Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall create a Higher Education Consumer Guide that is designed for use by prospective students and parents and legal guardians of prospective students at a state-supported institution of higher education,â the bill noted.
February 3, 202110:23 am
Rep. Frances Cavenaugh (R-Walnut Ridge) couldn’t get a do-pass motion today for her HB 1189 that would have effectively ended the
regular bonuses Commerce Secretary Mike Preston gets from the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation.
Her bill would prohibit cabinet secretaries from taking money from outside sources for doing their state jobs. They could still work in their professions in unrelated side jobs.
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Preston is paid $182,000. But he’s been bonused by the private foundation every year for five years, $54,800 most recently, on approval by the governor. Cavenaugh said there’s no public accountability for that money and the Foundation wouldn’t tell her the source of the money, which also pays to upgrade Preston’s air travel to business class and for other expenses. She said people deserve to know if a cabinet secretary is working only for the state in their jobs or for someone else.
Arkansas legislature starts week 2 of new session with bills The Stand Your Ground bill as well as several key pieces of legislation will be part of this weekâs work at the State Capitol, as lawmakers finished a busy first week. (Source: ABC/NBC) By Region 8 Newsdesk | January 17, 2021 at 3:40 PM CST - Updated January 18 at 6:45 AM
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) - The Stand Your Ground bill as well as several key pieces of legislation will be part of this weekâs work at the State Capitol, as lawmakers finished a busy first week.
The session kicked off Jan. 11, with lawmakers sworn in for another term at the State Capitol in Little Rock.