Governor outlines budget priorities, will seek two-tenths of a percent tax cut

If there was any doubt that Gov. Sarah Sanders’ father was a preacher, it was erased on Wednesday (April 8).

Sanders, who addressed the 95th General Assembly as the group of senators and state representatives opened its biennial fiscal session, weaved stories of faith and personal inspiration into an outline of her policy record and calls for spending priorities. She even included a letter that her father, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher and now U.S. Ambassador to Israel, shared on Easter. Her mother, Janet, was in the Arkansas audience on Wednesday.

Sanders revealed toward the end of her speech her desire to cut state personal income taxes by another 0.2% in a special session at the end of the fiscal session.

“Today, I am asking all of us to make the right but tough decisions,” she said. “We can care for our people and still hold the line on expansion of government. No new Medicaid coverage mandates. No additional long-term ongoing expenses.

“If we do that together, as soon as we pass our budget, I will call a special session to cut income taxes for the fourth time in four years. This will allow us to immediately cut taxes by another two-tenths of a point and return more than $180 million to Arkansas taxpayers this year. When we do this, together we will have cut 25% off of our state income tax in just the last four years and given back more than $1.5 billion to our people.”

Sanders and the state Legislature have continued a 10-year effort started by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to reduce the state’s personal and corporate income tax with a long-term goal to eliminate it altogether. Over the past decade, Arkansas has cut the individual income tax rate from 7% to 3.9%.

The governor spent a lot of the speech sharing stories of Arkansans helped by her LEARNS Act. She touted school choice, teacher pay, and improving literacy rates as accomplishments, while she seeks $194 million in new funding for Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), her school voucher program that has already consumed $300 million in state funding. EFA funding is the largest increase Sanders is seeking in her $6.8 billion budget.

She highlighted a recent national survey that showed 89% of Arkansas teachers are satisfied with their jobs.

“You can’t have great schools without great teachers,” she said. “While other states struggle to recruit and retain them, Arkansas is now the best state in America to be a teacher.”

Sanders also thanked lawmakers for providing more funding to feed school children when school is not in session. She thanked legislators for increasing pay for state employees. And she complimented policymakers for increasing funding for public safety, although she avoided the subject of the controversial $750 million Franklin County prison.

Sanders and lawmakers have acknowledged that votes are not currently there to move forward with that project, and there is discussion that all parties may explore other options in the fiscal session.

The governor said her Arkansas Forward initiative, aimed at cutting costs in state government by eliminating waste and finding more efficiencies through technologies, is on track to help save as much as $300 million.

She also referenced her 10:33 program, a recently revealed effort to reduce recidivism and help those trapped in a cycle of drugs and poverty find jobs and escape their drug dependencies. The program is named after Luke 10:33, the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Bible.

“Arkansans love God and one another, and we must never forget what truly makes our state unique and special … our faith,” she said. “We can be confident in our future not because we are great and strong, but because Christ is great and strong within us.”

Sanders did not shy away from her affiliation with President Donald Trump. She served as his press secretary during his first term. In her State of the State speech, she said the president was fulfilling his campaign promises.

“Since I stood before you in this chamber last year, President Trump was sworn in for a second historic term,” Sanders said. “He has made quick work of many of his campaign promises — our country’s border is no longer open, tax cuts from his first term are now permanent, our enemies abroad actually fear us, he exposed government waste, and the commonsense values that made our country great are once again guiding us forward into another Golden Age of America … And President Trump has no greater friend than the people of Arkansas.”

State Sen. Fred Love, D-Little Rock, the Democratic nominee for governor, will face Sanders in November. He delivered a response to the governor’s speech after Sanders spoke.

He criticized the spending in the LEARNS Act, arguing the money could be better targeted to help Arkansans.

“The governor’s proposed budget asks for over $309 million for the school voucher program, plus a $70 million set-aside, with no end in sight,” Love said. “Nearly $400 million of public money is flowing away from our public schools.

“And a state-mandated report found that only 12% of students in the program came from public schools. Eighty-eight percent were already in private school or homeschooled. We’re not expanding opportunities. We’re writing checks to families who already have options, while classrooms that need help aren’t getting it.”

The Democratic challenger also took shots at Sanders for not doing more to help Arkansas with her ties to the Trump administration.

“Republicans can find the money for tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest,” Love said. “But they can’t find the money to keep a family farm alive in the Delta, or a domestic violence shelter open in Southeast Arkansas. Our governor served in the White House. She has relationships at the highest levels. Where is the fight for Arkansas? Arkansas deserves better, and Democrats are fighting for a better Arkansas.

“Democrats are fighting for your public schools so that every kid in every community is set up for success. Democrats are fighting for your health care so you don’t have to choose between going to the doctor and making ends meet, and so moms, babies and seniors are taken care of in this state. Democrats are fighting against the billion-dollar Franklin County prison and are fighting for real solutions in education and the economy that actually make our communities safer and more prosperous. And Democrats are fighting for a fairer budget and a government that measures success by your quality of life, not by headlines.”

Libertarian Colt Shelby is also seeking the governor’s office this year.