by - July 2, 2014 6:29 am
32 hours. Three calendar days. Two locations. One special session. Arkansas lawmakers wrapped up a short special session passing bills to address a public school employee insurance crisis, prison overcrowding…
by - July 1, 2014 1:25 am
With a touch of fanfare, Arkansas lawmakers made quick work of the first day of the 89th General Assembly’s second extraordinary session. The House of Representatives met in the Old…
by - June 29, 2014 6:28 pm
I have called the Arkansas General Assembly to Little Rock for an extraordinary session, often referred to as a special session. There are legislative issues to be addressed before the…
by - June 29, 2014 6:24 pm
A co-chair of a task force on teacher health insurance says after this week’s special session, his group plans to study privatizing the troubled school benefits program. Appearing on this…
by - June 24, 2014 8:10 pm
Talk Business & Politics has confirmed that Arkansas House members will meet in the historic Old State House during a special session, which Gov. Mike Beebe has officially called for…
by - June 23, 2014 7:57 pm
Fort Smith Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Benny Gooden told the district's school board Monday (June 23) that should a special session take place to address teacher insurance costs, he fears…
by - June 19, 2014 1:01 pm
Gov. Mike Beebe said Thursday (June 19) he’s not calling a special session on changes to the public school employee insurance program until he sees a roll call from each…
by - June 17, 2014 7:29 pm
The House and Senate leaders of a task force charged with addressing soaring school employee health insurance rates said Tuesday (June 17) they believe they will have the votes they…
by - June 10, 2014 5:16 pm
All part-time school and state employees as well as many spouses of full-time employees would be ineligible for insurance benefits under two draft bills discussed during a meeting of the…
by - May 19, 2014 6:02 pm
House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, isn’t a lame-duck speaker just yet. In an interview on “Talk Business & Politics,” Carter said he’ll fight a potential impeachment push regarding the same-sex…
by - May 13, 2014 6:38 pm
A special legislative session could be called to address rising school employee health insurance costs by the end of August, the chairman of a task force that is meeting about…
by - October 20, 2013 2:29 pm
Ask yourself this question: “Are Arkansas school teachers state employees?” Now ask the next five people you meet that same question? Are your informal survey(s) as split evenly as mine? I’ll…
by - October 20, 2013 12:48 pm
For only the second time as governor, I have called legislators to the State Capitol for a special session. These sessions are meant to be narrow in focus and efficient…
by - October 19, 2013 10:13 am
Arkansas lawmakers wrapped up a three-day special legislative session that lasted less than 36 hours. The rare session aimed to make short-term and long-term fixes to the public school employee…
by - October 16, 2013 11:07 am
Gov. Mike Beebe will call a special session to begin on Thursday (Oct. 17) at 3 p.m. to address a shortfall in the state public employees health insurance program. State…
by - October 4, 2013 12:16 pm
Last week, House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, and Senate President Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, charged the heads of the legislative education and insurance committees to come up with a framework for…
by - September 29, 2013 6:16 pm
The chairman of the House Education Committee and the head of the state’s school administrators say that ongoing discussions are winnowing choices for how to handle a crisis in the…
by - September 25, 2013 8:09 pm
A consensus exists to solve the teacher insurance crisis, but a consensus solution has far from materialized. Lawmakers and public school stakeholders have been holding non-stop meetings and conversations all…
