Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave her annual address to the state legislature Wednesday. The speech kicks off the biennial fiscal session. For 30 calendar days, the state House and Senate meet to pass and debate budget bills.
In her speech, Sanders laid out her session priorities. The governor has a limited set of requests for the $6.7 billion budget this year. Much of the speech was dedicated to celebrating work she had already done and asking lawmakers to “think of” the citizens she brought to the speech.
LEARNS
The largest portion of the governor’s budget requests funds Arkansas LEARNS, a massive education bill that gives tax dollars to families to fund private, religious or homeschool education. The governor's budget asks for a $122 million increase for LEARNS this year to $370 million total, and for an additional $70 million to be earmarked for the future.
When Sanders talked about the law, she referenced special guests assembled in the gallery, including a high school senior named Kevin.
“Before the LEARNS Act, Kevin’s family would never have been able to afford private school tuition,” she said. “Because of the EFA program created by LEARNS, Kevin was able to enroll in Cornerstone Christian.”
Sanders also touted elementary school principal Brandy Howell, who she met during a visit to her school.
“Principal Howell called out: ‘Learning is what?’ I expected the students to say something like ‘fun’ or ‘exciting.’ Instead, they responded: ‘required!’”
She asked lawmakers to “think” of these guests as they gave millions more to fund the voucher program in the coming budget.
Crime
In previous sessions, Sanders has requested $750 million for a new prison in the west Arkansas city of Charleston. Though the state has already purchased the land for $3 million, lawmakers have repeatedly failed to pass appropriations to begin construction. Multiple attempts to pass funding have failed to meet the required two-thirds vote threshold for budget bills. The 2025 session saw five failed attempts to pass the funding.
Charleston locals have decried the prison proposal. They say they do not have enough jobs to support their own residents, let alone staff a large prison. They also don't want the facility in the quiet town.
Sanders did not mention funding for the facility in her State of the State address, focusing more on work she has already done on crime.
“We put a law-and-order and rehabilitation-focused majority on the Board of Corrections, ensured the most violent criminals serve their full sentence, opened 1,500 new beds at existing prison facilities, and created a recidivism pilot program to get inmates back in the workforce and kept off the streets once they’ve served their time,” she said.
Sanders did ask for a budget item increasing salaries for corrections officers. The new pay plan will cost the state $53.4 million.
Taxes
Sanders is requesting a slim budget for this fiscal year. Her letter to lawmakers limited spending to a 3% increase.
“I tasked our state agencies to do more with less so we can deliver savings while still providing quality services and investing more in our key priorities,” she said.
She plans to continue phasing out the state income tax, saying the state is 20% of the way, having returned “more than a billion dollars to taxpayers.”
Response
Democratic Sen. Fred Love of Little Rock delivered the party’s response. Love, who hopes to unseat Sanders in the 2026 gubernatorial election, started his rebuttal by saying Sanders is out of touch with her constituents.
“There is a growing gap between what the governor says and what Arkansas families are actually experiencing,” Love said, criticizing Sanders for pushing plans for the 3,000-bed prison in Charleston while fuel and housing costs are on the rise.
Sanders did not mention the proposed prison by name in her address, but has previously urged lawmakers to approve funding for it, despite opposition from residents. Love said while legislators may not vote on the prison this session, it’s still at the top of Sanders’ priority list.
He also criticized the state’s Education Freedom Account program, the part of the Arkansas LEARNS Act also known as school vouchers. Love said the program doesn’t expand opportunities, but instead writes a check to families already paying for private school tuition.
Love then spoke against Sanders’ plan to phase out the state income tax, saying the plan will only benefit the wealthiest people in the state.
“Every time we cut the top rate for millionaires and billionaires, it gets harder to fund schools, childcare, healthcare and services for our seniors. That’s the tradeoff Republicans don’t want you to see,” Love said.
He then moved to broadly condemn conditions plaguing Arkansas, including the state’s growing agricultural crisis, high maternal mortality rates, and growing numbers of domestic violence shelters closing doors.
Love ended his speech highlighting Sanders’ connection with President Donald Trump, under whom she served as White House Press Secretary during his first term.
“She has relationships at the highest levels. Where is the fight for Arkansas?”
In response to media questions, Love said his party does not have a planned alternative budget proposal, but said there may be a new proposal in a special session following the current fiscal session.
