Governor pulls transfer request

Program already had funds

LITTLE ROCK -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson's administration Friday withdrew the governor's request to transfer $800,000 in rainy-day funds to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission for a research program because it turns out that the commission already has the funds it needs for the program, state budget administrator Duncan Baird said Friday.

The action came three days after the Legislative Council's Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Subcommittee on Tuesday recommended approval of the Republican governor's request to shift these funds to the commission's Division of Science and Technology for ESPSCOR II. EPSCOR is the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

Hutchinson had requested the transfer of rainy-day funds to the research program in a letter dated July 30 to the Legislative Council's co-chairmen.

Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the commission, said Friday that "since the money was there and we didn't realize it, there is now no need to dip into rainy-day funds" and the state funds match federal dollars.

"The payment had already been made during the [Arkansas Science and Technology Authority/Arkansas Economic Development Commission] transition, but we didn't realize it and the letter requesting payment was written," Hardin said in a written statement. "When we realized the payment had been made and the money was already in the account we just asked that the letter be pulled, which happened [Friday] as it was no longer needed."

In May, the Legislature enacted legislation to merge the Science and Technology Authority into the Economic Development Commission, which became effective July 1.

In other action, the Legislative Council on Friday signed off on Hutchinson's other requests for transferring $13 million in rainy-day funds to several programs after the subcommittee recommended approval of the requests.

That leaves the state with $44 million in leftover rainy-day funds, Baird said.

The council approved the governor's requests for transferring $7.4 million to the state Department of Correction to open up 200 more prison beds at the Ester Unit in Pine Bluff, $2.6 million to the Department of Correction for leasing inmate bed space in Bowie County, Texas, and $2.1 million to the Economic Development Commission's Science and Technology Division for the Arkansas Research Alliance.

It also approved the governor's requests to transfer $700,000 for the Arkansas Waterways Commission for the Three Rivers Study, and $200,000 to the Governor's Mansion Commission to replace the air-conditioning system at the mansion.

After 50 years of concerns and temporary fixes around three rivers in the Arkansas Delta, state and federal officials last month signed a $3 million cost-sharing agreement to begin a study on finding a permanent solution to ensure that the waterways stay navigable. The state will contribute $1.5 million to the three-year study. The other $1.5 million will be provided by the federal government.

NW News on 08/23/2015

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