From the Arkansas Advocate:
Once lawmakers conclude their work on the budget next month, they’re expecting a special session immediately afterward to cut income taxes, according to the Arkansas Senate’s leader.
Cave Springs Republican Bart Hester said Tuesday that details are still being discussed, but the goal is to again cut taxes for Arkansans. Lawmakers have approved three rounds of cuts during Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ first term. Sanders has not said whether she plans to call a special session this year for another round of tax cuts.
Before potential cuts can happen, the Legislature must first decide on budgetary matters during the fiscal session, which begins April 8.
One item likely to generate debate is the governor’s request for more than $309 million for the Educational Freedom Account program. The cost of the state’s school voucher program, which is now open to all K-12 students, has continued to increase since it was created in 2023 by a wide-ranging education law called the LEARNS Act.
In an interview with the Arkansas Advocate Tuesday, Hester discussed what he expects to see out of the upcoming fiscal session and the push for more tax cuts. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Arkansas Advocate: What can we expect from this year’s fiscal session?
Hester: The expectation is it will last approximately three weeks. The plan is to run relatively smoothly. We put together a very detailed two-year budget and we really meet right now in the middle and say, “is everything right? Are there any adjustments that need to be made?” There’s not any significant adjustments. We’re going to have to increase the funding for LEARNS and for the EFAs and we’re going to have to increase the funding for Medicaid, but outside of that we’re in really good shape.
Arkansas Advocate: What do you expect the biggest hurdle will be in the Senate?
Hester: The EFAs are always something that will create a lot of debate, which is part of LEARNS, and we are increasing the spending quite a bit. The real argument is we increase spending significantly every year in public education and you never hear people argue about can we afford it. We believe that education of every kid is valuable and worth our resources.
Arkansas Advocate: The funding for the Franklin County prison stalled in the Senate last year. Do you anticipate that being an issue this year? Or do you think you’ll even consider prison funding this session at all?
Hester: Prison funding has to be top of mind because the people of Arkansas are not as safe as they should be without a new prison. So with the number one priority of government being safety of its citizens and protection we have to get this figured out. We’ll just have to wait and see if some Republicans have a change of heart on public safety or if Democrats do, then it could go from zero to 60 really fast. But as things sit right now, I don’t see a significant fight for that in session.
Arkansas Advocate: Do you think the votes will ever be there for a Franklin County prison site?
Hester: I do. When they start to see crime happen in communities and people saying, “why is this guy back on the street?,” members voting against that prison will have to answer for that.
Arkansas Advocate: Should the governor start considering alternatives like another site or expansion?
Hester: We’ve always been looking at other alternatives. It’s easy for someone that’s opposed to say, “pick somewhere else,” but there’s nowhere else in Arkansas, zero places that you see the local mayor, the local county judge, the sheriff, the JPs, the city council, they’ve all signed a resolution saying, “bring the prison to us.” If you move it from Franklin County to Benton County or Pulaski County or anywhere, the fight is the same. It will not be easier anywhere else. If some community wanted it, we would see their mayors and county judges and everybody screaming, “bring it to us.” I’ve yet to see it.
Arkansas Advocate: Has there been any talk of lawmakers trying to run bills on non-fiscal related issues?
Hester: I haven’t heard any serious discussion on anything non-fiscal related. Now it doesn’t mean that something’s not going to come up, but I have not heard of anything yet.
Arkansas Advocate: How much do you think uncertainty about the economy will affect the fiscal session and talks about the budget? Are you worried about Arkansas’ revenue taking a hit from things like the Iran war and rising gas prices?
Hester: The reason Arkansas is in such a fiscally strong shape is we are always worried about the unknown and we’re preparing for the unknown. We have roughly $3 billion in savings right now, and we could have a downturn in the economy and the people of Arkansas don’t have to be worried about us losing any services that we’re currently offering. So we’re going to continue to budget really fiscally conservatively, find ways to let people keep more of the hard-earned money that they make. The Iran war is the right thing to do for the safety of Americans, there’s just no question about that. Any short-term negatives will be far outweighed by the long-term positives.
Arkansas Advocate: Tax cuts continue to be a priority for the governor. Do you anticipate a special session this year to cut taxes again?
Hester: We do. We are talking to members about gaveling out of the fiscal session and immediately gaveling into a special session.
Arkansas Advocate: The same day?
Hester: Same day or next day. Or maybe if the fiscal ends on a Thursday, maybe we’ll gavel in Monday for a special. We’re looking at that on continuing to cut income taxes in Arkansas. Certainly world events, the national economy will play a role. We’re going to cut taxes. Now whether we’re going to cut them one-tenth or a full point depends on the comfort level we have with the budget forecast.
Arkansas Advocate: Are there other things you would consider doing during the special session or is it focused on tax cuts?
Hester: Solely focused on tax cuts. On a deal like that, I never put fake handcuffs on myself if something needs to happen for the state of Arkansas. I hope it’s just income taxes, but if there’s something that needs to happen, I’m for handling it if we’ve got the time and availability.
Arkansas Advocate: What kind of tax cuts are we looking at?
Hester: Overall it would just be income related. We are debating on what that looks like at this time. The popular thing right now that’s top of mind to people is not their income taxes anymore because we’ve cut those back so much, but it’s their property taxes because the valuations of our homes have increased so much over the last few years. That’s a real concern. That is primarily handled through the constitution in Arkansas. So to adjust those would require constitutional amendments.
Arkansas Advocate: One of the things that ends the fiscal session is picking a new leader. You’re stepping down, so where do you see things heading with the Senate president race after the primary results and Sen. Blake Johnson’s loss?
Hester: There’ll most likely be two candidates run for that. Sen. Ron Caldwell has announced. There will be another candidate for sure, if not more than one in that race. We probably won’t know publicly who that is for another week or two, but there will be a race for leader of the Senate, for majority leader and for majority whip, minority leader and minority whip.
