The Arkansas Legislature began their fiscal session yesterday. Speaker Brian Evans and Senate President Bart Hester welcomed Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders into the chamber to present her State of the State Address.
Sanders notes that this is her first address to the legislature since Trump began his second term.
“He has made quick work of many of his campaign promises – our country’s border is no longer open, tax cuts from his first term are now permanent, our enemies abroad actually fear us, he exposed government waste, and the commonsense values that made our country great are once again guiding us forward into another Golden Age of America.And President Trump has no greater friend than the people of Arkansas.”
The fiscal session is intended to focus entirely on the state’s budget and bills that concern finances. Sanders began the policy portion of her speech discussing the LEARNS Act.
“Reading scores have risen in every single grade level but one AND literacy coaches are now working in every D- and F-rated school.Three years ago, our schools were ranked 43rd in the country. Now, we’re ranked 36th – and I know we will keep moving up.”
Sander shares the stories of multiple students across the state who have utilized the school vouchers that are available to students in Arkansas as part of the LEARNS Act. Her budget proposed spending up to $370 million in the next fiscal year to provide public money to allow students to attend private school or be homeschooled. She says that the LEARNS Act is about more than just providing this program.
“It was also THE largest investment in public schools in Arkansas history.”
The LEARNS Act also raised teacher pay to a floor of $50,000 and provided teachers with 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.
In addition to education, Sanders encourages the legislature to consider boosting funding of law enforcement.
“In 2024, I announced a new state employee pay plan to give our heroes in law enforcement and our corrections officers raises they deserve. In this year’s budget, we’re fully funding that commitment.”
Governor Sanders also discusses her Arkansas Forward initiative which aims to deliver savings and cut excess spending in government, the elimination of the grocery tax, and her plan to cut taxes again.
“As soon as we pass our budget, I will call a special session to cut income taxes for the 4th time in 4 years. This will allow us to immediately cut taxes by another two tenths of a point and return more than $180 million to Arkansas taxpayers this year.”
A notable omission from the State of the State Address was the proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County.
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