Governer?s ‘Partnership’ Should Help (Commentary)

Gov. Mike Beebe now sits as the state’s leader.
We welcome him and look forward to a new kind of leadership that will see a closer “partnership” with the General Assembly.
Much has been made of former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s absences from the state as he preps for a presidential run, but he never was a legislator as was Beebe, who served 20 years in the state Senate, nor did he ever work closely with the Legislature.
Beebe’s tenure in the Senate before becoming attorney general will give him a much better chance of advancing some of his goals.
Conflict will arise, of course, but Beebe set the tone in his state of the state address a governor who will give direction while seeking that partnership with the legislators in meeting the needs of Arkansas.
Beebe had a reputation in the Senate as a compromiser.
In today’s highly charged partisan circles, that’s a dirty word, but it shouldn’t be.
It will be interesting, however, to see if he can make compromises work from the governor’s office.
In addressing the state for the first time, Beebe said he wanted to reduce the sales tax on groceries by 50 percent, or 3 cents per dollar, beginning “now.”
He also wants to phase out Arkansas’ sales tax on utilities for manufacturers, starting with a 1/6 reduction.
And he hopes to increase the homestead credit on property taxes to $350 from the current $300.
He would apply $50 million from the general improvement fund to recruit and retain business.
Beebe said he backed legislation that allows the state Department of Economic Development to negotiate with businesses in real time to attract them to Arkansas.
“We have got to be armed with the same weapons that our sister states are armed with if we’re going to compete for the jobs,” he said.