News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Arkansas Legislature gears up for final weeks of 2025 session

Published

4 months ago

March 30, 2025

arkansasadvocate.com – Tess Vrbin, Antoinette Grajeda – 2025-03-30 06:00:00

by Tess Vrbin and Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate
March 30, 2025

Arkansas legislative leaders say they expect long days at the Capitol during the home stretch of the 2025 legislative session, which they anticipate ending by April 16.

“We’re going to start earlier in the day and we’re going to work late in the day” to move bills through committees and through the House and Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said in an interview Wednesday.

For any Senate bills that don’t pass Senate committees this week, “it’s going to be very, very difficult for them to move forward,” he said.

House Speaker Rep. Brian Evans echoed those sentiments Friday, noting that Monday and Tuesday will likely be heavy bill filing days because waiting to file beyond that will make it really difficult for legislation to make it all the way through the process. Many bills already have been delayed due to drafting, amendments and last-minute changes, as well as waiting on fiscal impact statements, according to Evans, who said he wasn’t aware of any urgent or controversial bills that have yet to be filed.

The Cabot Republican said he’s been speaking with House committee chairs about how to clear their calendars and ensure bills that will be heard are placed on the active agenda. The latter is important for transparency and ensuring constituents have time to make arrangements to speak for or against legislation, he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

In addition to finalizing the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget, the Legislature is expected to consider some of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ policy priorities for the session that have not yet become law.

Two such bills are sponsored by Hester: Senate Bill 377, which would eliminate the state’s 0.125% grocery sales tax, and Senate Bill 426, the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act. The latter would mandate that Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal program that deputizes them to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the apprehension and deportation of undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons.

Hester said he hopes to present SB 426 for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. SB 377 is on Monday’s Senate Revenue and Tax Committee agenda.

Regulating minors’ access to cellphones and social media has also been a priority for Sanders. Two bills modeled after federal legislation passed the House with bipartisan support this month: House Bill 1717 is the Arkansas Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, and House Bill 1726 is the Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

Arkansas panel advances children’s online safety and privacy bills modeled after federal efforts

Senate committees will make time to consider both bills even if special orders of business are necessary, Hester said. A special order of business compels consideration before other items on a committee agenda.

Sanders said in January, during her State of the State address, that the Legislature should amend the Social Media Safety Act of 2023 “so that it’s no longer held up in court and can begin to be enforced.” The enjoined law would have been the first in the nation to require minors to receive parental permission before signing up for a social media account.

So far no such amendments to the law have been proposed, but Hester said he expects it to “happen one way or another” since the governor said it is important to her.

“It may be something we don’t have to handle because it’s getting handled in other ways,” Hester said. “Maybe we’re confident that we’re going to end up winning in court. Maybe we’re confident that… President [Donald] Trump’s executive orders will handle it or something that they’re doing on the federal level.”

Compensation, prisons and China

The Senate is set to take up a proposed revamp of the state employee pay plan Monday, which passed the Joint Budget Committee on March 20. Sanders announced the plan in November and said it should make most state employees’ salaries competitive with the private sector and improve recruitment and retention.

Arkansas lawmakers advance $750 million appropriation bill for prison construction

The pay plan has not been controversial, unlike Sanders’ plan to build a 3,000-bed prison on 815 acres the state purchased in Franklin County. Earlier this month, the Joint Budget Committee approved a $750 million appropriation for the project, which has sparked frustration from some lawmakers and Franklin County residents.

Evans said he anticipates the prison appropriation legislation, Senate Bill 354, will continue generating discussion and could take a couple of tries to meet the required vote threshold in the House. Most bills need a simple majority of lawmakers’ support to pass, but budget-related bills need three-fourths of the support of each chamber, or 76 House votes and 27 Senate votes.

“When you’re talking about 100 members, it’s a lot of different opinions, a lot of different ideas, last-minute questions that come up,” he said. “Maybe there’ll be some folks not vote for it the first time just so that they get some extra time, make sure they have all their questions answered.”

Hester said he expects the bill to come before the full Senate on Tuesday. He said he could not predict how the Senate will vote; there is no limit on how many votes an appropriation bill receives before it reaches the three-fourths vote threshold.

Sanders urged passage of the appropriation in an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette op-ed Friday and called on state lawmakers to “[r]eject the tired excuses of politicians who don’t want criminals behind bars. Fund the prison, public safety, and a better future for all Arkansans.”

Sanders has also expressed support for a package of bills that will ban certain interactions between state entities and the Chinese government. She and other Republicans have criticized China’s activities in the state, including its past ownership of farmland in Craighead County.

Only one of the six bills has been signed into law and the rest are at various stages of the legislative process, but Hester said there is “nothing more popular with constituents than pushing back on China and what they’re doing to us.”

Arkansas governor unveils anti-China legislation package

Constitutional amendments and education

Prior to last week’s recess, the House State Agencies Committee spent three weeks considering 20 proposed constitutional amendments. Evans anticipates the committee will begin ranking the proposals this week and likely send the top five to the House for further consideration. The Senate has 24 proposals to consider.

The Arkansas Legislature can refer three proposed constitutional amendments to voters during a legislation session, with each chamber generally selecting one and jointly selecting a third, Evans said. However, it’s not a requirement that lawmakers always refer three amendments, he said.

“I think it’s really, really important to understand that just because we can do three, does not mean that we have to do three,” he said. “But also with the understanding that if we are going to present something forward, refer something out to the public to vote, I think it needs to be something that is really important statewide.”

Also this week, Evans said he anticipates Rep. Keith Brooks, a Little Rock Republican who succeeded him as chair of the House Education Committee this year, will run the biannual public school funding bill, which dictates per-student funding. House Bill 1312 was expected to be considered prior to the break, but was held up because it was awaiting a fiscal impact statement, Evans said. Fiscal impact statements explain how much money a bill would cost to implement, and they are compiled by either the Bureau of Legislative Research or the Department of Finance and Administration.

The per-pupil funding amount for the current school year is $7,771. If lawmakers approve HB 1312, the amount would increase to $8,162 for the 2025-2026 school year and $8,371 for the following academic year.

New bill would dissolve Arkansas State Library and its board, set new library funding criteria

Overall, the session has been “very smooth,” according to Evans, who said he’s noticed “a different feel, a camaraderie in the House” when it comes to “good policy for all Arkansans.”

“Where things tend to get difficult is when you start looking at policy that’s more culture-driven,” he said. “So while we’ve had a few of those things that have crept up this session, there hasn’t seemed to have been as many. And so the body has really been able to just focus more on policy and members representing their districts, and how that policy’s going to affect their district rather than the culture of the district.”

One such “culture-driven” bill is Senate Bill 536, which Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, filed March 20. It would dissolve the Arkansas State Library and its board after the board did not take what Sullivan said were appropriate actions to keep “age-inappropriate” materials away from minors.

Hester supports SB 536 and has expressed support for Sullivan’s past promises to abolish the library board, which has repeatedly refused to divest from the American Library Association and to withhold funding from libraries where “sexually explicit” materials are within children’s reach.

“I don’t know how clear we could have been with the library board that they need to take stances to not provide pornography to kids, and they are insistent on it,” Hester said Friday.

The General Assembly resumes its work Monday morning. Meeting schedules, agendas and livestreams are available on the Arkansas Legislature’s website.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

The post Arkansas Legislature gears up for final weeks of 2025 session appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Police: McGann admitted to killing the couple, DNA match found at the scene

Published

4 days ago

July 31, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-07-31 22:42:45

SUMMARY: Andrew McGann admitted to killing Clinton and Cristen Brink in a random, brutal attack while they protected their young daughters. DNA from the crime scene matched McGann, who acted alone. Police described the case as one of the most heinous in their 27 years, emphasizing the couple’s efforts to shield their 7- and 9-year-old daughters, who were not targeted. Investigators narrowed the search using over 500 tips, identifying McGann through a black Kia Stinger and witness photos. Knives and clothing linked to the suspect were recovered. Authorities are still investigating McGann’s motives and any possible crimes in other states.

Police: McGann admitted to killing the couple, DNA match found at the scene

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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Trump’s big proposed cuts to health and education spending rebuffed by US Senate panel

Published

4 days ago

July 31, 2025

Staff Editor

arkansasadvocate.com – Ariana Figueroa, Shauneen Miranda – 2025-07-31 15:42:00

by Ariana Figueroa and Shauneen Miranda, Arkansas Advocate
July 31, 2025

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Thursday largely rejected Trump administration proposals to slash funding for education programs, medical research grants, health initiatives and Ukraine security assistance.

Instead, senators from both parties agreed to increase spending in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill for fiscal year 2026, as well as the Defense bill, and rebuked the White House’s move to dismantle the Department of Education.

The pushback against President Donald Trump was significant as Congress heads toward a possible standoff and partial government shutdown when the fiscal year expires on Sept. 30.

In response to the Trump administration’s separate cancellation of grants and freezing of funds approved by Congress, senators also included language in the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill to create deadlines for formula grants to be released to states on time.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said the bill to fund the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education “prioritizes funding to make Americans healthier and supports life-saving medical research through targeted funding.”

The measure provides $116.6 billion for HHS, an increase of $446 million in discretionary funding over the previous fiscal year. Included is a $150 million increase for cancer research and a $100 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research, as well as a ban on an administration cap on indirect costs at the National Institutes of Health, according to a summary from Democrats. The cap on how much NIH pays research universities and medical schools for indirect costs is the subject of a permanent injunction in an ongoing lawsuit.

Trump’s budget proposal also cut funding for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to $4.2 billion, but senators voted to instead allocate $9.1 billion for the agency.

Also included is $8.8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and nearly $12.4 billion for Head Start.

The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, said that while the bill rejects many of the funding cuts from the Trump administration, it’s “only half of the equation.”

“We have an administration right now that is intent on ignoring Congress, breaking the law, and doing everything it can without any transparency, to dismantle programs and agencies that help families,” she said. “There is no magic bullet that will change that unfortunate reality.”

Murray also expressed her disappointment that the bill did not fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Trump sent what is known as a rescissions request to Congress, approved by both chambers, that yanked $1.1 billion in previously approved funding over the next two years for the agency, which funds NPR and PBS.

The Labor-HHS-Education spending bill for fiscal year 2026 passed out of the Senate committee with a bipartisan 26-3 vote.

Senators also passed the Defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 on a 26-3 vote.

Dismantling of Education Department spurned

The bill text tightens requirements so that Education Department staffing levels must be sufficient to carry out the agency’s missions, and its work cannot be outsourced to other agencies or departments to fulfill statutory responsibilities, according to Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the spending panel dealing with Labor-HHS-Education spending.

The agency saw a reduction in force, or RIF, earlier this year that gutted more than 1,300 employees and hit wide swaths of the department. The Supreme Court cleared the way earlier in July for the agency to temporarily proceed with those mass layoffs.

The bill also provides $5.78 billion for School Improvement Programs — which support before- and after-school programs, rural education, STEM education and college and career counseling, among other initiatives.

Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request had called for $12 billion in spending cuts at the Education Department but the committee allocated $79 billion in discretionary funding.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended Trump’s sweeping proposals while appearing in June before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee.

During Thursday’s markup, Murray called the president’s proposal to defund the Department of Education “absurd.”

“I still hope we can do more when it comes to demanding accountability, transparency, and that this administration actually follows our laws,” Murray said. “We all know President Trump cannot dismantle the Department of Education or ship education programs to other agencies. Authorizing laws prevent that.”

The agency has witnessed a dizzying array of cuts and changes since Trump took office, as he and his administration look to dramatically overhaul the federal role in education and dismantle the department.

The bill maintains the same maximum annual award for the Pell Grant from the previous award year at $7,395. The government subsidy helps low-income students pay for college.

Trump’s budget request had called for cutting nearly $1,700 from the maximum award.

Health spending

Baldwin said the overall bill is a “compromise.” She pointed to how Republicans and Democrats agreed to increase funds for the 988 Suicide hotline by $2 million and by another $20 million for substance abuse recovery.

The spending bill will also provide $1.6 billion for State Opioid Response grants, which is a formula-based grant for states to address the opioid crisis.

Senators rejected the Trump administration’s request to cut National Institutes of Health research by 40% and instead included a more than $400 million bump in funding for a total of $48.7 billion.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff said that he was grateful that the committee worked on a bipartisan basis to reject major Trump cuts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in his home state.

“I made (it) very clear that I would not accept the destruction of the CDC,” Ossoff said. “I am grateful that Republicans and Democrats on this committee are coming together to defend this vital institution based in the state of Georgia.”

Advocates for medical research praised the legislation.

“Chair Collins and Vice Chair Murray deserve special recognition for their leadership in making this a priority. Thousands of ACS CAN volunteers from across the country have been writing to their lawmakers on this issue and it’s deeply encouraging to see their voices have been heard loud and clear,” Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said in a statement.

AmeriCorps, Job Corps funding sustained

Trump’s budget request also proposed $4.6 billion in spending cuts at the Department of Labor.

The spending bill also maintains funding for Job Corps, a residential career training program for young adults, at $1.76 billion.

Trump’s budget request sought to eliminate the program entirely.

The administration says the program is “financially unsustainable, has an exorbitant perparticipant cost, risks the safety of young adults, and has often made participants worse off,” according to a summary of the budget request.

The spending bill also includes $15 billion for the Social Security Administration, an increase of $100 million from the president’s budget request, to address staffing shortages.

The administration also proposed the elimination of AmeriCorps.

However, senators kept funding for AmeriCorps for fiscal year 2026 at $1.25 billion.

Defense spending also increased

The Defense appropriations spending bill for fiscal year 2026 that senators worked on represented an increase from the president’s budget request.

“I think not only the prior administration, but this administration as well, have underestimated the level of challenge that we have,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell, chairman of the Defense appropriations panel.

The Kentucky Republican said the bill provides $851.9 billion for fiscal year 2026.

He said the topline is higher than the president’s budget request because “we cannot seriously address these challenges while artificially constraining our resources” — challenges such as the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East.

The bill also rejects the Trump administration’s effort to slash funding to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“Shutting off engagement with Ukraine would undermine our military’s efforts to prepare for the modern battlefield,” McConnell said.

During the markup of the defense spending bill, Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, introduced an amendment to require the Department of Homeland Security to reimburse costs to the Department of Defense for immigration enforcement.

As the Trump administration aims to carry out its plans for mass deportation of people without permanent legal status, it’s intertwined the U.S. military and immigration enforcement, ranging from deploying the National Guard to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles to housing immigrants on the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military base.

Durbin said that so far, DHS has cost the Defense Department $900 million, from personnel costs to housing immigrants on military bases.

Durbin said the cost to house 180 people on Guantanamo Bay cost the Department of Defense $40 million over three months.

His amendment failed on a 14-15 vote.

The post Trump’s big proposed cuts to health and education spending rebuffed by US Senate panel appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The article presents a mostly factual report focused on bipartisan Senate actions rejecting proposed Trump administration budget cuts, emphasizing increased funding for education, health research, and defense. While it maintains balance by including quotes from Republican and Democratic senators, the framing highlights opposition to Trump’s spending cuts and dismantling of agencies like the Department of Education. The language subtly favors the bipartisan coalition resisting the administration’s austerity measures, underscoring the benefits of preserving social programs and research funding. Overall, the tone leans slightly left by stressing protection of government services against conservative budget reductions.

News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Camden officials react to murder of small town teenager

Published

5 days ago

July 30, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – THV11 – 2025-07-30 10:08:31

SUMMARY: Eighteen-year-old Braden Robersonson was found dead near Camden, Arkansas, after disappearing last Thursday. The community is deeply shaken by the tragedy, especially since Camden is a small town of about 10,000 people where everyone’s lives intersect. Three individuals—Bryson Vaughn, Melanie Pipkin, and Cameron Hildebrand—have been arrested and charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence. Local officials and residents are mourning the loss and emphasizing respect for the family’s privacy while coming together to support each other. A candlelight vigil is planned at Timothy Methodist Park to honor Braden’s memory.