Arkansas Senate Passes Private Option, House Fails Again
by February 20, 2014 12:37 pm 79 views
As expected, the private option health insurance plan secured passage in the Arkansas State Senate on Thursday (Feb. 20).
The Republican-crafted plan constructed with support from Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe needed 27 votes – a supermajority – in the Senate and that’s what it received. The final vote tally for SB 111 was 27 for and 8 against.
On Tuesday, Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock) reversed her opposition to the private option funding bill in exchange for an overhaul of the state’s workforce training programs.
With passage in the State Senate, the only remaining obstacle is the Arkansas House of Representatives, which has twice failed to pass the measure.
House Speaker Davy Carter (R-Cabot) said that his chamber would once again vote on the bill and he thought the approval of the Senate would add votes in support of the private option. He stopped short of saying he thought the House would pass the bill in a vote later today, but has said the House will vote “every day – for the next 25 days if that’s what it takes – until we pass the bill.”
UPDATE: The House failed for a third time to pass the private option funding bill. It failed on a 72-25 vote. The measure needs 75 votes for passage.