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Electric cars? Say what? April 14, 20213:39 pm The House today on a voice vote rejected an amendment to an appropriation bill to allow the state to spend up to $50 million, should federal infrastructure money arise, to build electric vehicle charging stations in Arkansas. The division was bipartisan. Republicans spoke both for and against. Must Arkansas be last in everything, Rep. Les Eaves (R-Searcy) asked in supporting the amendment. Rep. Delia Haak (R-Centerton) said the state is a “black hole” for drivers of electric vehicles because of a shortage of charging stations and drive arou...

Today I’d like to talk about the federal Payroll Protection Plan or PPP, which has kept many Arkansas companies alive during the pandemic. Congress passed the CARES Act to help Americans navigate the pandemic. PPP was one of the programs Congress authorized to assist businesses with loans. The Small Business Administration (SBA) distributes the loans through local banks. Little Rock business owners such as Vikita Eason and Chris and Samantha Tanner say that without the loan program, they may not have survived. Vikita was able to pay the two employees of her boutique, and she assisted the th...

A state Senate bill that would exempt Arkansas residents from paying state income taxes on their unemployment benefits was passed in the House on Monday and is one step closer to Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s signature. SB236, co-sponsored in the House by State Rep. Joe Jett, R-Success, would save unemployed taxpayers $51 million this year, he said. It passed with 92 yes votes, two no votes and three present votes. The bill was passed with an emergency clause. The primary bill sponsor is Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe. SB236 returns to the Senate to concur in an amendment to include more sponsors a...

Alcohol wins one, loses one in House Rules Committee Alcohol wins one, loses one in House Rules Committee The House Rules Committee took up two alcohol sales bills today and rendered a split decision. The Committee on a voice vote defeated HB 1148 by Rep. Fran Cavenaugh (R-Walnut Ridge), which would allow cities to have local option elections on alcohol sales with petitions signed by 15 percent of the people who voted in the last mayoral election — either to go wet or dry. Currently, an entire county must vote wet on a petition of 38 percent of registered voters before localities can ha...

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 week’s 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 week’s work at the State Capitol, as lawmakers finished a busy first week. The session kicked off Jan. 11, with lawmakers sworn ...