A proposed constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot originated in Northwest Arkansas and would benefit this region the most if voters approve it, local lawmakers said.
That amendment is just one of a range of benefits and potential benefits Northwest Arkansas will see out of the just-concluded session, regional lawmakers said.
Sen. Jon Woods and Rep. Lance Eads, both R-Springdale, were lead sponsors of Senate Joint Resolution 16. The proposed constitutional amendment allows cities to issue bonds for economic development projects and allows cities with populations of 500 or more, incorporated towns, school districts and counties to form compacts for economic development.
It would allow a city, for example, to issue bonds backed by city sales tax revenue to build a road or other infrastructure to attract a new business. It requires voter approval in the 2016 general election to take effect.
Requests for the proposal came directly from supporters such as the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, Woods said. Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, said Northwest Arkansas is in a better position to benefit from the proposal than most areas.
"We have the resources to take advantage of this, more than other areas that need it more," Lindsey said. Northwest Arkansas has the tax base to support those projects, he said. Other cities in greater need of economic growth do not.
As a major population center, Northwest Arkansas will also receive a disproportionate amount of benefit from tax cuts passed in the session, lawmakers said.
"We all know we'll be getting money in our pockets from a $100 million state income tax cut, and we'll certainly benefit from that," said Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville.
A direct benefit Northwest Arkansas will see from the 2015 legislative session is construction of a State Police troop headquarters. Woods and Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, co-sponsored a bill that finances a new building for Troop L of the State Police in Lowell. The current headquarters in Springdale is too small and outdated.
Allowing a plumber or electrician to have three apprentices at a time instead of one during the training and certification process should ease a chronic shortage of those skilled trades in fast-growing Northwest Arkansas, Dotson said.
"Being able to get a license to make a living might not seem that important overall, but for the individual and the family involved, it's huge," Dotson said.
That's just one of a series of workforce-related bills mentioned by lawmakers interviewed Monday from Benton and Washington counties. Those bills will be particularly helpful to Northwest Arkansas with its growing economy, the region's lawmakers said.
In other issues, raising the county reimbursement rate to jails was a big issue for the state as a whole, but it was especially important to Northwest Arkansas with its large population and proportionate share of prisoners, said Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville.
Changes were made to laws for charter schools, publicly funded schools that have more flexibility on course requirements and other state regulations, Collins said. For instance, charter schools will be eligible for state taxpayer money for buildings.
Bills to expand drug courts, which offer supervision including drug testing to nonviolent offenders as an alternative to prison, were passed but didn't get as much money allocated to them as supporters had hoped, Woods said. Lawmakers who support that concept and similar mental health courts hope to return to the issue in the next session, Woods said.
Rep. Sue Scott, R-Rogers, was a leading sponsor for a new law that will set up a state "Youth Justice Reform Board." The board will seek to improve coordination between the courts, law enforcement and private and public groups with an interest in youth.
Some lawmakers said the issues that concerned their constituents the most weren't the ones that made headlines.
"I got more calls on pole attachments than on religious freedom," said Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, referring to a bill that would have allowed cable companies to tie on to municipal utility poles at a reduced rate. That bill never came to a vote. The religious freedom bill would have allowed people to claim an exemption to state and local laws if they pleaded a religious principle. The measure drew national coverage.
Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, was lead sponsor of a bill that allows surviving family members of firefighters who die from certain types of cancers to be eligible for pension benefits. That legislation stems from the death of Bud Planchon of Fayetteville, a Springdale firefighter.
NW News on 04/07/2015