Preparation for the 2012 Fiscal Session

The Joint Budget Committee, of which I’m a member, will begin holding budget hearings on January 17, 2012 in advance of the 2012 Fiscal Session.  The meetings will be held Tuesday through Thursday in Room A of the Big Mac building.  They’ll begin at 9:00 AM each morning and are open to the public.

The directors of the “Big Six” agencies will come to the committee to make their budget requests for the 2013 Fiscal Year: Higher Education, Education, Correction, Community Correction, Health, Human Services.  The committee will vote to make recommendations for each agency, which will then be drafted as appropriations for consideration by the General Assembly during the Fiscal Session.

Back to School Sales Tax Holiday – 2011

During the 2011 Regular Session, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a Back to School Sales Tax Holiday, which was sponsored by Rep. Matthew Shepherd (R-El Dorado).

The first annual sales tax holiday will be from Saturday, August 6, 2011 at 12:01 AM to Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM. During this two day period there will be no state or local sales tax collected on selected items.

Here is a complete list of details from the Department of Finance and Administration: Details

Congressional Redistricting

On Wednesday, the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee met to discuss Congressional Redistricting.  Here is the map I presented:

The map would move several counties and split two, Boone and Perry.  It would also leave Fayetteville and all of Washington County in the 3rd District.  The target population for each district is 728,980 and here are the populations and variance from the target as drawn:

1st: 728,621 (-359)
2nd: 728,937 (-43)
3rd: 729,297 (+317)
4th: 729,063 (+83)

Arkansas Redistricting Information

Earlier today the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committees of the state House and Senate met at the Capitol to discuss redistricting.

Presenters from the Secretary of State’s office and the Bureau of Legislative Research outlined the laws and procedures related to the redrawing of Congressional, Legislative, and Court districts.

Final figures from the Census won’t be available until next year, but here are some estimated figures:

Arkansas has an estimated 2010 population of 2,889,450, which would make the ideal congressional district population 722,363, the average state House district population 28,895, and average state Senate district population 82,556.

The 3rd Congressional district has an estimated population now of 818,027, which exceeds the ideal population by 95,664.

Although the figures are only estimates, it’s safe to say that Northwest Arkansas has experienced tremendous growth from 2000 – 2010 and, as a result, will see an increase in the size of it’s legislative delegation.  According to Census estimates, Benton County grew from 153,406 to an estimated 225,504, and Washington County grew from 157,715 to estimated 200,181.

Attached are the documents from the presentation.

Attached: Redistricting

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