Arkansas Lawmakers to focus on prisons, workforce

The weather early next week is expected to be cold, but lawmakers may be warming up to discussing workforce training, economic issues and criminal justice reform when the legislature reconvenes Monday.

Several bills were filed Friday by Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, to revamp and overhaul the state’s workforce education and training programs. Senate Bill 368 would create a statewide workforce development system. The bill would also create a 10-member Career Education and Workforce Development Board that would be made up of people from different industries.

The industries include several with ties to workforce training including agriculture, construction, energy, healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, financial services, hospitality, transportation logistics and rehabilitation services.

According to the bill, the board “shall develop and monitor a state plan for vocational-technical education which shall include at least the establishment of at least one area vocational center in each education service cooperative service area and in Pulaski County.”

Much of the policy issues would be addressed by the board after consulting with the Arkansas State Board of Education, the state Department of Education and education service cooperatives. Under the bill, the board would continue to have general supervision of all programs involving vocational, technical and occupational education; and have control over handling the state’s adult education funds.

Two other bills (Senate Bills 369 and 372) would remove the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board from determining service areas for two year colleges, while Senate Bills 370 and 371 would allow school district to use funding to partner with colleges and universities to offer concurrent classes or other options.

English said last week that the overhaul was needed due to officials wanting to know how money was being allocated.

BUILDING BETTER FUTURES
A workforce training bill that would help people with intellectual disabilities receive job training is expected to be debated this week in the House. Rep. Mary Broadaway, D-Paragould, sponsored House Bills 1255 and 1256, in part due to the work she and her husband did on behalf of their now 22-year-old son with autism.

Broadaway told the House Education Committee that the bill was a “two year labor of love” for their family and that the program would help others. The project, called the Building Better Futures program, would “allow students with intellectual disabilities to broaden their career opportunities through education and job training.”

There are three programs in the state that help people in similar circumstances, Broadaway said. House Bill 1255 is expected to go to the House Monday, while the House Education Committee is expected to take up House Bill 1256 Tuesday.

The Senate is also expected Monday to take up the budget for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The bill, Senate Bill 111, includes a $200 million appropriation for so-called “superprojects” and a $50 million line-item for the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund.

Finally, expect to see the first glimpse of legislation dealing with criminal justice reform. Lawmakers and the governor have been discussing an omnibus overview to prison overcrowding, sentencing guidelines, and long-term approaches to dealing with the state’s criminal justice system.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former prosecutor and law enforcement agency director, should be deeply in command of the facts as he approaches this debate in the legislature.