91st General Assembly opens; leaders call for civility, teamwork in taking up key issues

The first day of the 91st General Assembly on Monday saw leaders urging lawmakers to be civil as they consider issues such as tax cuts and the future of Arkansas' Medicaid expansion.

House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, also named committee leaders on Monday, including appointing party-switchers to lead two key committees. Rep. Joe Jett of Success was reappointed as chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, and Rep. Jeff Wardlaw of Hermitage was named chairman of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. Jett and Wardlaw were re-elected as Democrats in the Nov. 8 general election but afterward switched to the Republican Party.

One hundred representatives and 17 senators who were elected last year took their oaths of office Monday, the start of the regular legislative session.

Republicans have expanded their majorities since the 2012 election, when they gained control of the state House of Representatives and state Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. The House has 76 Republicans and 24 Democrats, and the 35-member Senate has 26 Republicans and nine Democrats.

Gillam evoked Team of Rivals -- a book about President Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet, which included political opponents -- in the speaker's call for collaboration and civility among representatives.

"As you look around this chamber today, you may see a member who successfully defeated your bill two years ago, or backed your opponent last fall, or maybe one who criticized your legislation on Twitter last week," Gillam said in remarks that lasted seven minutes. He spoke after members re-elected him, unopposed, to a second term as the House leader. Gillam is the fifth speaker to serve two terms.

"We assure a better future by not silencing some of the greatest minds in our state by refusing to consider their ideas," he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, told senators that this year's session is going to be full of challenges, some of which are currently unknown. Dismang was re-elected in November to a second term as president pro tempore; he is the second to serve two terms.

"But as a body, we are going to be pushed. ... As in the past, I am very confident that we will be able to successfully arise to the challenges," he said. "To do that, we'll need to focus on what I believe will be the most important component of our success, and that's civility.

"The person to your left, the person to your right, the person across the room, R or D, or the person that you disagree with the most, each of you share a common vision ... that is, you want better for Arkansas," Dismang said. "I believe the most important thing for us in this chamber is to respect the diversity among each of the members."

In addition to reappointing Jett as chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee and appointing Wardlaw as chairman of the House Public Health committee, Gillam appointed Rep. David Hillman, R-Almyra, as vice chairman of the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee. Hillman switched from Democrat to Republican after the fall election. Gillam also promoted Rep. Mike Holcomb, R-Pine Bluff, from vice chairman to chairman of the House Public Transportation Committee. Holcomb switched parties in August 2015.

Interviewed after the House adjourned, Gillam said he had considered lawmakers' "skill sets" and "chemistry" when appointing Republicans to head 15 committees.

None of the former Democrats were promised committee leadership roles, Gillam said, adding that he would have considered them had they stayed with the minority party.

"I considered every member that made it onto committees at various points, and looked to see what the right fits were," Gillam said. "Everybody started with a blank slate."

Jett said Monday that he was "absolutely not" asked to switch parties to retain his chairmanship. Before Jett switched, Democrats during a November session worked together to take control of the Revenue and Taxation Committee on the basis of seniority. His decision left the committee with 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

Wardlaw said he didn't have time to be interviewed by a reporter about his appointment.

House Democratic leader Michael John Gray of Augusta said it was "not unexpected" to see the former Democrats appointed as committee leaders.

"There were a lot of people in his own party that would still question the appointments that were made," Gray said of Gillam.

"I think he's got a lot to navigate," Gray said. "I think he left leadership in place who are leaders in their field, and as long we all respect the democratic process, then chairmen are just a cog in the wheel."

Dismang told reporters that the challenging issues for lawmakers include setting the state's general revenue budget for fiscal 2018; deciding how deeply to cut taxes; and deciding how much to change on Amendment 98, which allows the medical use of marijuana in Arkansas.

"Do we do anything further with Medicaid and its expanded population? How do we reform the current Medicaid program? I think there is just numerous things out there that are going to get looked at that I think are significant issues," he said.

Dismang, who serves on the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, said, "I think if there is room in the budget for tax cuts, then we should provide that relief to the citizens of Arkansas."

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson wants the Legislature to cut rates for Arkansans with taxable incomes of less than $21,000 a year. The proposal is projected to reduce general revenue by $25 million in fiscal 2019, which starts July 1, 2018, and $50 million a year thereafter.

"Generally speaking, I am supportive of what he is trying to do," Dismang said.

Hutchinson also proposes that recipients of military retirement benefits be exempted from paying state income taxes, a proposal projected to reduce general revenue by $13 million a year. It's part of a larger $19 million-a-year plan to reduce some taxes and increase others. The plan would reduce the tax on soft-drink syrup but raise the sales tax rate on candy and soft drinks. It also would apply the sales tax on the full cost of "manufactured housing" and require unemployment-benefits recipients to pay income taxes on that compensation.

"There would have to be significant adjustments made on the expenditure side [to finance additional income tax cuts], and I am going to be open to that and look for those presentations from the members. But at this point, I think $50 million is what you would consider reasonable," Dismang said.

Jett said the House tax committee will focus on Hutchinson's proposed income tax cut.

"We're going to sit down and work through the governor's plan, see where the members are at, and just go from there," he said. "We'll take it one day at a time."

Some lawmakers are leery about cutting income taxes with net general revenue in fiscal 2017, which started July 1, running about $8 million below forecast. Other lawmakers want a larger tax cut than Hutchinson proposed and want to cut income taxes for Arkansans who make for than $75,000. The 2015 Legislature cut individual rates for Arkansans with taxable income between $21,000 and $75,000.

Gillam declined to offer a forecast of how the expanded Republican coalition in the House would respond to competing tax cut proposals.

Republicans have been deeply divided about the state's version of Medicaid expansion since the Republican-controlled Legislature and then-Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe in 2013 authorized the program to provide health insurance to low-income Arkansans. The program is now called Arkansas Works and provides coverage for more than 300,000 Arkansans. The state is covering 5 percent of the cost of the program this year, and its share will gradually rise to 10 percent by 2020.

During the past four years, it's been difficult to get the required three-fourths vote in the House and Senate to reauthorize funding for the program.

Dismang, who is one of three legislative architects of the state's Medicaid expansion, said he "would think that because of [looming] changes on the federal level" to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which provides funding for the Arkansas Works program, "members would be more apt to wait and see what happens on the federal level before they oppose the program."

Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee Chairman Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers said, "I am still opposed [to the program] unless we get some waivers from Washington, specifically block grants, and then I'll take a look at it.

"But I am hoping we can wait until after Washington does their thing and then we see where we are," she said.

Asked whether there are 75 votes in the House for reauthorizing the use of federal and state funds for the Medicaid expansion, Gillam said he did not know, and that lawmakers' views were uncertain because of the changing administration in Washington.

"I couldn't handicap where the members are at on that. We're just now really getting here," Gillam said.

Information for this article was contributed by Brian Fanney of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A Section on 01/10/2017

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