Opinion

January 28, 2022 LITTLE ROCK – Last year Arkansas joined a rental assistance program to help people who have lost jobs or businesses from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. So far, the state Department of Human Services (DHS) made 31,373 payments, totaling $64.6 million.

From July 2020 to July 2021, there were 1,619 reports of newborns born in Arkansas with an illegal substance present in their system. This is a 20% increase from the year before.

While young people sporting the National FFA Organization’s trademark blue corduroy jackets are a familiar sight across Arkansas, they are not typically seen on Capitol Hill. Recently, they were spotted in the halls of Congress as FFA’s national officers visited lawmakers.

As Governor, I’m a member of the National Governors Association, which was founded in 1908 to promote bipartisanship. In politics, we call that “reaching across the aisle.” I became chair of the National Governors Association last summer, and in that role, I have seen more clearly than ever that if we are going to overcome big challenges, we must set aside our differences to get things done.

Little Rock– The state Division of Children and Family Services intends to try out a new method of intervention, by assigning cases to a team of workers instead of to an individual. The Division is part of the state Department of Human Services (DHS).

As a member of the Joint Budget Committee, we have spent the last two weeks reviewing agency budget proposals in preparation for the 2022 Fiscal Session. This week, the hearings focused on requests for public safety and for the Department of Human Services.

President Biden marked one year in office on January 20. So far, his agenda hasn’t lived up to his own lofty rhetoric and unbridled confidence when he was asking voters to send him to the White House.

Today I’d like to talk about two doctors and the mask-making company they started in Mountain Home. Dr.

Little Rock– The legislature has begun budget hearings in preparation for the 2022 fiscal session, which begins on February 14. Legislators will consider the governor’s proposed balanced budget of about $6 billion for Fiscal Year 2023, which officially begins on July 1.

Pre-fiscal budget hearings began this week with the Governor outlining his balanced budget proposal calling for a 3.3% increase in spending. We will be reviewing the proposal while we continue to hear requests from state agencies and commissions in the days ahead.