Into the head of the stretch
Couple of things to look for as the legislative session enters the head of the stretch: Next week a prominent business group called Accelerate Arkansas, through the sponsorship of Sen. Bob Johnson of Bigelow, current Big Man in the Senate, will begin the push on four appropriations bills from the General Improvement Fund. Tens of millions will be sought to provide seed capital for knowledge-based and technology-based companies as well as research money and special pay for science, math, engineering and technology teachers. The point is that Arkansas is getting behinder and behinder on the knowledge-based and technology-based new economy, and we'd better spend this surplus while we've got it to try to jump-start ourselves in that sector with home-grown brainpower. There is wide support, from the governor down. I will columnize on this further next week. Second: There is wide interest in seeking legislative reform through one of the three referred constitutional amendments. To that end, Sen. Shawn Womack's SJR 12 is the most comprehensive. It would hold budget sessions in even-numbered years separate from regular sessions, provide for annual rather than biennial budgeting, require a uniform (and nearly prohibitive) three-fourths legislative majority to pass any tax increase and allow "local legislation," meaning, primarily, General Improvement bills for local projects. Couple of good things; couple of bad things.