Lawmakers to gather, formally adjourn session

By The Associated Press

With no vetoes to override and no technical corrections needed, Arkansas lawmakers plan to make quick work out of their return on Friday to formally end this year's legislative session.

"My understanding is it's only going to be a few folks and a few minutes," said Sen. Gilbert Baker, co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee.

The Legislature recessed its session on April 9, capping 88 days of work that included passing a tobacco tax increase to fund a statewide trauma system and creating a state-run lottery to pay for college scholarships.

Unlike past years where lawmakers have had to override vetoes or make technical corrections of bills, legislative leaders said they don't have any unfinished business to take care of before gaveling out and heading home. Beebe didn't veto any of the bills approved by lawmakers during this year's session.

In 2007, lawmakers returned to the Capitol to approve a revised plan to spend $780,000 on six local projects that Beebe had vetoed.

The session ends with lawmakers uncertain about the state's economy. Next year, they'll be holding their first fiscal session under a constitutional amendment calling for annual legislative meetings, approved by voters last year.

During the session, legislators approved a $4.5 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that relies on $100 million from the state's surplus to help pay for gaps in the state's budget. Beebe has said that if the economy worsens by next year, they won't have that one-time money to rely on again and may have to look at potential budget cuts.

House Speaker Robbie Wills said the performance of the economy in the coming months will shape the tone and agenda of next year's session, which begins in February. In that session, lawmakers will also set the amounts for the scholarships expected to be funded by the state-run lottery, which legislative leaders say they hope to have up and running by the end of the year.

"If things really go off the track, we could be in for a quick but intense session (next year)," Wills said. "I hope that we're just simply overseeing the budget and we're not in a crisis mode."