LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are convening at the Capitol and their top agenda item is taking up Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' $6.3 billion proposed budget for the coming year.
The session also could include efforts to tweak or outright repeal a law dealing with cryptocurrency mining operations.
Sanders, a Republican who took office last year, is scheduled to kick off this year's session on Wednesday with an address to members of the House and Senate.
“Our preference is to keep it very limited, and that's been our practice” since voters approved annual sessions in 2008, House Speaker Matthew Shepherd said.
Here's a look at what to expect during the fiscal session:
SANDERS' PLAN
Sanders last month proposed a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that increases state spending by 1.76% over the previous year. Nearly all of the $109 million increase would go toward education and is related to a law Sanders signed last year that created a new school voucher program.
“As Governor, I’ve promised to Arkansans to limit the size and growth of government while still investing in areas of greatest need like education and public safety," Sanders said in a statement. "My proposed budget accomplishes this with only a 1.76% increase over last fiscal year, far below the 3% year-over-year increase our state has averaged in the recent past, and my top priority this fiscal session is its passage.”
House and Senate leaders have said they think there is support for the budget plan in the majority-Republican Legislature. But Democrats have said they hope to highlight their concerns about the voucher program's costs.
“This is the first year of the law. What does this portend for future years?” Senate Minority Leader Greg Leding said.
NOT THE BUDGET
Changes to the cryptocurrency mining law and temporary adjustments to pay plans for state employees are likely to come up, despite a requirement that non-budget bills gain a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate to even be considered in even-numbered years.
There has been backlash from some communities to limits enacted last year to local governments' ability to regulate cryptocurrency mines, which are data centers requiring large amounts of computing power and electricity.
Sen. Joshua Bryant, a Republican who sponsored the measure last year, said he's working on legislation to address concerns that the limits interfere with addressing complaints about the mines’ noise and impact on the community. Bryant said the legislation also is aimed at preventing Chinese ownership of these facilities.