The Joint Budget Committee’s Special Language Subcommittee on Thursday advanced a bill that would appropriate $4.2 million more to the state Department of Corrections to reimburse county jails for holding state inmates and fund the appropriation with $4.2 million in state general revenue in fiscal 2024 that ends June 30.
The subcommittee voted to send House Bill 1086 to the Joint Budget Committee. The state’s chief fiscal officer would be required to transfer $4.2 million from the state’s general revenue allotment reserve fund to the county jail reimbursement fund under the bill.
The department’s fiscal 2024 appropriation for refunds and reimbursements totals $26.8 million. In the proposed general revenue budget for fiscal 2025 that begins July 1, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposed keeping the general revenue allocation for county jail reimbursement at $25.7 million.
Chad Brown, chief financial officer for the Department of Corrections, told lawmakers that the additional $4.2 million for county jail reimbursement would get the department through the end of fiscal 2024. The department had more than 2,200 inmates in county jails in July before having about 1,900 in November and then having more than 2,000 recently, he said.
— Michael R. Wickline
Legislators endorse bill for help groups
The Joint Budget Committee’s Special Language Subcommittee on Thursday endorsed a bill that would appropriate $2 million for the state’s grant program for pregnancy help organizations in the coming fiscal year that starts July 1.
Senate Bill 64 by Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, would increase the annual funding for the grant program from $1 million to $2 million. The subcommittee voted to send the bill to the Joint Budget Committee.
The state initially provided $1 million in grants to 23 pregnancy help organizations in late 2022 through 2023, and later provided all but $27,037 of $1 million to 27 pregnancy help organizations this year, state Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin said Wednesday.
“We anticipate the remaining amount will be distributed equally to the 27 organizations,” Hardin said.
Under SB64 the state’s chief fiscal officer would be required to transfer $2 million from the state’s general revenue allotment reserve fund to the Pregnancy Help Organization Grant Sub-Fund in the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund account to provide funding for the pregnancy help organization grants.
— Michael R. Wickline
Fund transfer for UAMS falls short in committee
A proposal to shift $500,000 set aside for the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement in the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences’s appropriation to create a certified nurse midwife program at UAMS fell short of winning the support of the Joint Budget Committee on Thursday.
State Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, proposed the amendment to UAMS appropriation for fiscal 2025. She said the state has to prioritize its funding and that other states have started certified nurse midwife programs to reduce their maternal mortality rate. The proposed two-year certified nurse midwife program would start in 2026 and produce its first graduates in 2028, she said.
She maintained her proposal is not designed to punish Arkansas Center for Health Improvement officials for recommending people wear masks, get vaccinated and take other steps during the covid-19 pandemic.
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement has an operating budget of around $7 million and $500,000 represents about 7% of its operating budget, said Michelle Kitchens, director of governmental affairs and community outreach at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.
Twenty-two lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee voted for the proposed amendment, while 12 lawmakers on the committee voted against it. The proposed amendment required the votes of 29 Joint Budget Committee members for approval.
— Michael R. Wickline
Two funding bills fall short in House
Bills granting spending authority for Arkansas PBS and the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission failed to clear the state House of Representatives on Thursday.
House Bill 1095 would re-appropriate $1.16 million to Arkansas PBS from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Grant and Trust Fund in fiscal 2025. The House voted 67-23 in favor of the bill, which fell eight votes shy of the 75 required for approval.
In November, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee approved a request for Arkansas Legislative Audit to investigate Arkansas PBS’ procurement policies. Afterward, Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, said he voted against the bill because he does not think the state should fund public broadcasting.
The House also failed to pass Senate Bill 35 to grant spending authority to the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission in fiscal 2025. The commission oversees the seven programs funded by the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000.
The House voted 73-16 for the bill, which fell two votes short of the 75 votes required for approval. The appropriation would grant spending authority of $352,400 to the commission.
— Neal Earley
