Legislators praise Hutchinson, note successes and ‘wrong’ policies

Legislators from the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas areas give Gov. Asa Hutchinson high marks on his first legislative session. Most who responded to questions from The City Wire were positive about session results, but one legislator is concerned that some actions may take the state in the “wrong direction.”

Key and controversial issues addressed during the regular session of the 90th General Assembly of the Arkansas Legislature have focused on tax policy (lower capital gains), Medicaid system (Private Option), workforce training overhaul, attempts to reform and reduce costs within the criminal justice system, “rehoming” policy by the Department of Human Services, education policies and budgets, gun laws, $40 million for “earmarks,” and religious freedom legislation.

Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, believes Gov. Hutchinson, a Republican, had a good session.

“I believe Governor Hutchinson and his staff have performed well. They arrived with a good plan, and they swiftly moved through the high points of their agenda by working with all member of the legislature to accomplish their main goals and objectives,” he noted.

Lindsey, a veteran legislator who also has decades of community and economic development experience during his time with the Northwest Arkansas Council, reflected on changes that will result from the session.

“During this 90th Session of the General Assembly, we have seen the beginnings of a fundamental change in how our state government serves the people of our great state. Some of that change is good, for it causes us to rethink and refine how we, as a state, serve our people, and do a better job. I believe our system of public education will adapt to change, and become stronger and more capable of delivering a high quality education to every child in this state, no matter where we live,” Lindsey said.

But he was critical of legislation involving social policy, particular on the “religious freedom” front. HB 1228, a bill dubbed the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” was approved by the Arkansas House and Senate and sent to the Governor’s desk. The concern among some is that the bill could open the door to discrimination against gays and lesbians. Many in the Arkansas business community asked Hutchinson to veto it. A similar bill in Indiana resulted in backlash from businesses and organizations that do business in the Hoosier state. Hutchinson, who has said he would sign the bill. on Wednesday called for a compromise version in an attempt to avoid what has happened in Indiana.

“I believe some of the policy changes initiated in this session take us in the wrong direction. Examples might be found in the area of civil rights and the ugly specter of discrimination,” Lindsey said.

Continuing, he noted: “In future years, we will continue to rethink and refine how state government works. Some of the bad ideas and concepts will be discarded, and new initiatives will take their place. That is the evolutionary process of how our democracy works.”

Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, also praised Hutchinson and his staff.

“He obviously has a lot of experience, both in Congress and as a high ranking administration official in a federal agency. He has been fair and when necessary he has been firm. He will be able to say, without fear of contradiction, that his first legislative session was a very successful one,” Stubblefield noted.

And while he believes the session was a success, Stubblefield said issues not fully resolved that may see more action in 2017 will include Medicaid reimbursements, “fine tuning the changes” to workforce education, more capital gains tax cuts, and highway funding.

Rep. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith, said highway funding and the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship program are likely to be issues for the 2017 session. Boyd, a pharmacist, also listed several bills (HB 1386, SB 717 and SB 698) that will help with a societal problem.

“Each of these will help curb the serious challenge of prescription drug abuse in the Fort Smith metro area,” Boyd said.

Rep. Mat Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, said part of Hutchinson’s success was tied to the Governor’s office being inclusive with legislators.

“It really was a good job by the Governor and his staff. To answer the question more directly, I know on key legislation I was honored to be invited to meetings with the Governor, with key staff, and with agency directors. To get as much done in such a short time, it goes without saying that communication between the executive branch and the legislative branch was at an extremely high and productive level,” Pitsch said.