Jett, Collins-Smith Talk Tax Cuts, The Private Option & NEA’s Political Swing

While the private option and tax cuts will be big session issues in the 90th General Assembly, two Northeast Arkansas legislators say other topics will also have significance for the region that has seen political allegiances swing.

State Rep. Joe Jett, D-Success, and State Sen.-elect Linda Collins-Smith, R-Pocahontas, each spoke to Talk Business & Politics about the upcoming legislative session, which begins Jan. 12.

Jett, who starts his second term in the House, said there will be several issues on the plate for legislators to deal with.

“The private option, everyone is talking about it. There is also education and prisons. It will be a lot like the 89th (General Assembly),” Jett said. “We will have to work through the issues.”

Collins-Smith said the private option will be the overarching issue for legislators to deal with in January. She said the issue was big for voters in her recent campaign.

“In 2012, I was about 300 votes short (against State Sen. David Wyatt, D-Batesville). This time, I got a lot more votes than that,” Collins-Smith said. “I heard about Obamacare or the Private Option. People would talk about their rates going up, their benefits going down and their policies being cancelled. There are a lot of folks who fall in between and can’t get on Obamacare.”

Jett said at least $100 million in tax cuts are tied to the private option, with another $100 million being proposed by Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson.

“I am not opposed to it,” Jett said. “I just want to see where it goes from here.”

Jett said other spending priorities include $60-$80 million needed to plug holes in the state’s school facilities fund, funding highway projects as well as funding for the state’s teacher insurance program. He said state House Democrats had a goal of getting appointed to the House Education Committee to work on the facilities and insurance issues.

Collins-Smith said funding for the private option has far exceeded the budget limits set for the bill from what she’s read.

“The legislature did not look at factual numbers but pie in the sky,” Collins-Smith said. “The Forbes’ article said it was $20 to $30 million over budget this year.”

Collins-Smith said the budget issues could create other problems as well.

“I am a very compassionate person. My family, we are a group of givers instead of takers. But how do we fund it? How do we pay for it? Obamacare, it has put a lot of people at risk,” Collins said. “What about Medicare for the elderly? Taking care of the mentally ill? What about East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging? It is either raising taxes or cutting services. I am not in favor of raising taxes. I am in favor of ending the program.”

OTHER ISSUES
Collins-Smith said she also wants to work on making the state more business-friendly, reforming the state’s tax code and looking at the Common Core education initiative.

“We have to work as a team,” Collins-Smith said, mentioning both state and federal legislators. “I believe in limited government. People want government out of their business. I believe Common Core is hated across my district from the ditch digger to the doctor and his wife, and everyone in between. As for turnout (in the recent election), it was not because President Obama was on the ticket. It was because his policies were.”

Jett, who is also on the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development committee, said legislators will also look at the Turner Grain issue.

The grain company, based in Brinkley, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after questions arose involving possible allegations of fraud and is believed to be under investigation by the FBI.

Jett said the committee will take up a bill, patterned after an Illinois law. The law, created in the early 1980’s after problems there, allowed the state to go from a bonding program to an indemnity fund, Talk Business & Politics reported earlier this month.

Jett said he would also like to work on a bill to strengthen the penalties for copper thefts around the state.

The thefts have been a problem in Northeast Arkansas, especially among farmers with irrigation systems and pivots.

Speaking of irrigation, the state will likely face the issue of water usage in the future. A water irrigation bill will probably make its way through the legislature, Jett said, noting the issue impacts everyone including farmers.

POLITICAL SHIFTS
Collins-Smith said the political shift from Democrat to Republican, which she personally made in 2013, has moved into Northeast Arkansas.

“People have awakened to the hope of the Republican Party. I am part of a team with the task to make policy changes and to give our people some relief,” Collins-Smith said.

“We can do a better job and people are hungry for something better. I am excited for the future. There are items we can address but we have to be wise. We have to look at tomorrow instead of today,” Collins-Smith said.

Jett said while backlash against President Obama definitely hurt Arkansas Democrats Nov. 4, he doesn’t believe the backlash against his party will be long-term.

“People were mad about President Obama, no doubt about it,” Jett said. “The Republicans definitely fielded some good candidates. For folks to say Republicans did not benefit from the backlash, they do not know what they are talking about.”

Jett said local Democrats, like Clay County Judge Gary Howell (who ran unopposed this year), benefitted in a tough political climate because voters “know them. They go to basketball games or to church with them.”

“For people in my area, they have not rapidly become Republicans overnight. They just vote for the best person for the job,” Jett said.

He said he is not willing to give up on the future of his party in Arkansas.

“The pendulum can swing back the other way. I am not giving up on Democrats. I hear talk about people switching parties. But I have not heard anything about it with my colleagues,” Jett said.