Here they come
by January 11, 1999 12:00 am 73 views
We’re about to better understand how college coaches feel during rebuilding years with lots of new, unproven players.
The arrival of the 1999 Arkansas General Assembly brings 58 new faces to the capital city to consider the state’s business and laws. The much-anticipated age of term limits is upon us, and the session opening today will offer a gauge to measure the impact.
The state Senate is affected minimally in this session — only one senator is new to the Capitol, and four others moved up from the House — so it’s fairly predictable. State Sen. Mike Beebe, D-Searcy, serves as the ringmaster, while state Sen. Nick Wilson, D-Pocahontas, keeps things lively and maintains power through relationships in the House of Representatives and a vast knowledge of the bureaucracy.
With a majority of the House members being new and a number of them eager to make their presence known in quick fashion, anything goes in the 100-member chamber. Lobbyists are hustling to make their acquaintance and understand what buttons to push to achieve favorable votes. We should watch for the formation of voting blocs as the newcomers find ways to flex themselves against the remaining establishment.
Gov. Mike Huckabee will be stronger in this session than he was two years ago. Having survived the harsh awakening to the realities of dealing with a partisan Legislature, he’ll learn to pick his battles. He can’t expect to get by this time avoiding difficult issues, particularly in the highway debate.
The biggest money issue at stake in this session involves deregulation of the electric industry. Entergy Arkansas and the electric cooperatives of Arkansas have been trying to hammer out consensus legislation — much the same way the state’s telecommunications interests did two years ago. Major industries will be watching this battle far more closely, and legislators who felt somewhat burned in the aftermath of the telecommunications agreement also will pay closer attention.
Other news
On a few other legislative fronts:
• The debate over mental health insurance parity requirements could be interesting. Mental health providers want their patients’ illnesses to be covered by health insurance plans on par with physical illnesses. If required to provide parity, insurance companies would pass along those costs through higher premiums.
• A property tax reform recommendation is certain to develop. Legislators will be hard-pressed to submit to voters a proposal that is substantial enough to fend off another major initiative yet small enough not to create budgetary problems for the state and public school districts.
• The urge to spend the tobacco lawsuit settlement funds will be strong. How about someone standing up to say the money should go toward existing health care programs instead of adding new ones?
• A highway plan is a must, but there is much fighting yet to be done. At this writing, the governor had former Republican Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison on his short list for an appointment to the Arkansas Highway Commission. This creates all sorts of fun possibilities for good-ol’-boy highway politics, which would have a true watchdog in Hammerschmidt.
Finally, I’m watching for the recommendations of the Murphy Commission, the entity composed of state business heavyweights and embraced by the governor. After more than two years of study, we should expect some recommendations and action for the reinvention of state government.
We have plenty of details to monitor. n
Jeff Hankins is the publisher of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal and publisher and editor of Arkansas Business.