The Arkansas House and Senate on Monday handily approved bills that would increase the state budget by $197 million in the fiscal year starting July 1.
They also signed off on measures distributing the state’s surplus of $300 million to various projects across the state.
On the 99th day of the 2013 session, the Senate also voted to designate Senate Republican Whip Jonathan Dismang of Searcy as its leader for 2015 and 2016.
With no debate or discussion, the Senate voted 28-6 to approve the budget bill, Senate Bill 22, sponsored by the Joint Budget Committee.
In a subsequent 80-15 vote, the House approved an identical budget bill, House Bill 2233, sponsored by Rep. Duncan Baird, R-Lowell, with no debate.
In a 28-6 vote, the Senate approved a measure distributing “general improvement” money. Senate Bill 364, also known as the General Improvement Distribution Actof 2013, was sponsored by the Joint Budget Committee and sets aside hundreds of millions of surplus tax dollars “for various projects and purposes.” The House later voted 79-13 to approve an identical bill, House Bill 2232, by Baird.
The measures set aside $107 million of the surplus for the state’s Medicaid program, and $100 million for projects to be determined by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. Among other things, they include $3.5 million each for certain projects at Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas and University of Arkansas Community College at Hope; and $3 million each for certain projects at Arkansas Tech University, Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and University of Central Arkansas.
The budget bills largely mirror Beebe’s proposed budget with the public schools and the Medicaid program getting most of the increase. State employeess who don’t work at the state’s higher-education institutions would get a 2 percent cost-of-living raise under the proposal. They haven’t received cost-of-living raises in fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013.
Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, later said the state’s budget for fiscal 2014 is fair.
“I thought there would be more clash over the budget itself, but we spent so much time on so many other issues that the truth is it is very difficult to cut the budget from the Legislature side,” said Lamoureux, who served in the Senate since December 2009 and was in the House from 2003-09. “You can cut it, but you really don’t knowwhat you are doing. If you cut the prison budget or you cut too far, you do real harm.”
Lamoureux said he wanted to have a state budget for fiscal 2014 that Beebe and legislative leaders agreed on, and “other issues took priority over fighting over that.”
Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said he voted against SB22 and SB364 because the measures allow for “too much government growth,” adding that he opposes the “private option” that the Legislature has authorized to allow the use of federal Medicaid dollars to purchase health-insurance coverage for about 250,000 low-income Arkansans.
He’s one of six Republican senators who voted against Monday’s budget measures.
House Republican leader Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs is among the Republican representatives who voted against HB2232 and HB2233.
SB22 and HB2233 divided the projected general revenue into A, B and C categories with the first $4.786 billion going to the A category, the next $131 million to the B category and a final $6.65 million to the C category. The three categories total $4.924 billion - up from the current budget of $4.727 billion.
The measures prioritize the distribution of state general revenue to state agencies on the basis of these three categories.
The state’s revenue forecast for fiscal 2014 fully funds categories A and B, and tax collections beyond that could cover Category C. The proposed budget factors in $10 million in reduced revenue from tax cuts in fiscal 2014 and sets aside $18 million in rainy-day funds.
Under the proposed budget, the Public School Fund providing state aid for the state’s 239 districts would increase by nearly $47 million to $2.046 billion. That would all be in the A category.
The state Department of Human Services would get a nearly $95 million increase to $1.226 billion, with the state’s Medicaid program getting an $85 million increase to $890 million. All but $1.7 million for the department’s Behavioral Health Services Division would be in Categories A and B. Beyond that $1.7 million, Category C also includes $2.6 million for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, $1.587 million for the state Health Department and $687,500 for the state Department of Correction.
The funding for the state’s higher-education institutions would increase by $7 million to $736 million with all but the $2.6 million for uncompensated care at UAMS in Categories A and B.
The Correction Department would get a $14 million increase to $312 million under the budget proposal. The Department of Community Correction would receive a $7 million increase to $76 million.
SB364 and HB2232 would give Beebe discretion to spend about $100 million of the state’s surplus on state projects and give the House and Senate each $35 million to spend on their favored projects. Each of the 35 senators received $1 million apiece for their favored projects.
The measures also provide $107 million in onetime funding to the state’s Medicaid program, more than $30 million in projects at the state’s higher-education institutions, $13 million in lease paymentsfor the Correction Department, $8 million to bolster the catastrophic fund for teacher health insurance benefits, and $7.5 million in state funds to match a possible federal grant to help construct a veterans home.
NEXT SENATE LEADER
The Senate voted unanimously to select Dismang as the Senate president pro tempore-designate. He was the only senator to seek the post.
Barring a Democratic takeover of the Senate, he is expected to hold the job during the 90th General Assembly.
Last November, the Senate elected Lamoureux as the Senate president pro tempore for 2013 and 2014 after Republicans gained control of the Senate, although it had selected Democratic Sen. Larry Teague of Nashville in 2011 as the Senate president pro tempore-designate. Teague agreed in 2011 to support Lamoureux to be the Senate’s leader if the Republicans gained control of the chamber.
Dismang has served in the Senate since 2011 and was in the House from 2009-2011.
He told senators that he would consider himself to be the leader of the Arkansas Senate - not as the leader of the Senate Republicans - as the Senate president pro tempore in 2015 and 2016. He is the Senate Republican whip.
The Senate is made up of 21 Republicans and 14 Democrats.
Information for this article was contributed by Sara D.Wire of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 04/23/2013