Legislation passed during the special session was signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Wednesday afternoon.
One law funded the Game and Fish Commission, one cut taxes and another expanded the tax credit for homeowners. These pieces of legislation made it through the final legislative hurdles Wednesday with almost no discussion or controversy in either chamber. Only a few Democrats voted no on the tax cut. Shortly after, both the Senate and House adjourned sine die.
The governor signed a resolution to oppose The Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024. This amendment would legalize abortion in the state. The resolutions the governor signed are symbolic and don't actually stop canvassers from continuing work to collect signatures.
A second resolution to oppose The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024 died in the house. This amendment would put parameters on private schools getting tax money.
Sanders was particularly excited about the law cutting taxes. She said they will give “half a billion dollars” back to 1.1 million taxpayers.
“Our income tax is now 3.9%,” she said. “Of the southern states that have an income tax, Arkansas has the lowest in the region.”
The governor has been promising to phase out the state income tax since her campaign. She said there are no plans for tax cuts in the immediate future, but she will “continue to look for opportunities to phase our income tax down.”
She says this is all part of combating inflation by “balancing the budget.”
Democrats in the legislature criticized the tax cuts during the session, saying they primarily benefit the state’s highest earners and corporations.
Note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly said that the resolution opposing the Education Rights Amendment was signed. It failed in the house.
