The House and Senate will meet briefly this week as both chambers vote to approve the state’s spending plan and wrap up the fiscal session.
The governor has already signed hundreds of appropriation bills into law, including the funding bill for the state’s private-option program, and the bulk of the Legislature’s business is complete.
Both chambers also plan to meet next week for the ceremonial end of the session, and the House will select a speaker-designate, but the Legislature is expected to send all remaining legislation to the governor by Wednesday afternoon.
The spending plan, containing most of the provisions set out in Gov. Mike Beebe’s proposed $5 billion general revenue budget, passed in the Joint Budget Committee on Friday.
Both chambers are off today, but will convene at 3 p.m. Tuesday and again Wednesday morning.
House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, told members Friday that he expects a short week.
“It looks like if we meet on Tuesday, that Wednesday morning at some point will be the last day, if everything goes smoothly, and I think it will … Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning and hopefully that will get the plane landed,” Carter said.
The budget plan increases state spending by $109 million to $5 billion with the largest amounts going toward public schools, human-services programs and prisons.
Joint Budget Committee co-Chairman Rep. Duncan Baird, R-Lowell, said Friday that the Legislature’s work for this fiscal session is mostly complete.
Baird said the House will vote Tuesday on the remaining supplemental appropriations that were approved by the Joint Budget Committee last week.
Those measures include $5 million to the state Department of Education’s revolving-loan fund for school buildings for open-enrollment charter schools; $5 million to the state Education Department’s broadband matching grant program to help school districts install fiber-optic lines; $5 million to the state Department of Correction to cover employees’ pay for banked holidays they’ve already worked; and $3.7 million to the Correction Department to reimburse counties for holding state prisoners in their jails.
The House already approved supplemental appropriations of $2 million to the Department of Health for its breast-care program; $719,873 to the Correction Department to finance 14 positions and operating funds to open space for 200 more prisoners; and $500,000 to the state Department of Community Correction to reimburse counties for holding state prisoners in county jails.
Baird said that after both chambers vote on their own versions of the spending plan, the measures will move to the opposite chamber for votes Wednesday.
The Senate must also approve an amended version of the Department of Environmental Quality’s funding bill Tuesday to be voted on in the House the next day, Baird said.
Baird said there is little time left to make changes. Everything has to be passed out of the House by Tuesday, including the funding bill for the state Board of Examiners in Counseling, to be voted on in the Senate on Wednesday, he said.
Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, asked the House to not pass that appropriation bill Friday because he was still waiting on information from the board. Nickels and Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, had requested the information and discussions with the board after the Legislative Audit Division questioned travel expenses the board approved for the executive director.
“In my view, to meet the schedule that the speaker has laid out, we really need to take final action on the bill on Tuesday,” Baird said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 03/10/2014