Lawmakers Debate Surplus Funds
by March 7, 2014 5:08 am 76 views
State lawmakers spent the tail end of the week debating how to spend nearly $125 million in surplus funds for the next biennium.
A litany of funding requests ranging from education to prisons are being considered.
A package of nearly $22 million for charter schools, broadband in schools, new prison beds, and reimbursements to county jails are part of the surplus funding requests. The Joint Budget Committee approved most of the limited spending proposal for the surplus, but left around $100 million untouched for emergency purposes.
The Revenue Stabilization Act (RSA) is the core funding bill that lawmakers will have to approve in the current fiscal session before adjourning.
That measure outlines priority spending for more than $5 billion to fund state government services. Earlier this week, an impasse in the Arkansas House was averted when 76 legislators approved the funding for the private option health insurance program.
The $971 million funding bill was a key component to overall budget discussions. The RSA measure will be considered by the Arkansas House and State Senate early next week.