6:15 P.M. UPDATE
A spokesman says Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is prepared to use his line-item veto authority if lawmakers send him a budget bill that defunds the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion.
Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said Thursday the governor has told Democrats and Republicans he would use the authority if lawmakers approve a Medicaid budget bill without the program's funding.
A legislative panel deadlocked over a plan to strip out the expansion's funding with the expectation that Hutchinson would use the line-item authority to reinstate the program. The move came after a Medicaid budget bill including the hybrid expansion fell two votes shy of the 27 needed to win approval in the Senate.
Hutchinson, a Republican, has warned lawmakers that ending the program would lead to significant budget cuts for state agencies.
The governor said in a statement that he would work with Democrats and Republicans to resolve the budget standoff over the expansion.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.
— The Associated Press
4:36 P.M. UPDATE
The Arkansas House has failed to pass an appropriation to fund the auditor's office, expenses for lawmakers and judges and a handful of other items after many Democratic members either voted "present" or did not vote.
The General Appropriation Act failed 68-0 Thursday, with Democrats stalling the bill shortly after members of the Joint Budget Committee failed to approve an amended version of a Medicaid budget bill that would have let the governor provide funding for Arkansas' hybrid Medicaid expansion.
Several Democratic representatives asked before the House floor vote if the General Appropriation Act included health benefits for lawmakers.
Rep. Lane Jean, a co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, said the Legislature no longer votes on its salaries or benefit package. He said the Independent Citizens Commission, which was set up to set elected officials' salaries, addresses lawmaker benefits.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.
— The Associated Press
3:45 P.M. UPDATE:
The Joint Budget Committee on Thursday afternoon failed to pass an amendment that would strike Arkansas Works from a bill to fund the state’s expanded Medicaid program.
Committee members voted 22-22 after Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, presented the plan that would, if passed by lawmakers, open the door to a possible a line-item veto, meaning Gov. Asa Hutchinson could then strike the removal of Arkansas Works and reinstate funding.
Of the possibility of a line-item veto, Hendren said that he is confident Arkansas’ Republican governor would use that authority.
“This language should meet the concerns of those who are opposing the appropriation as it stands today,” Hendren said before the vote, adding that “we cannot fail in our responsibility to appropriate funds for the Department of Human Services.”
Hendren, speaking to reporters after the failed vote, said: “We’ll get there.”
“I would not call this approach dead yet,” he said.
Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, one of 10 senators who voted against the bill earlier Thursday, was among those in committee expressing concerns about the amendment, telling members that a vote in support “would come back to haunt us time after time.”
“I think this is an extremely dangerous move for the Legislature. … I don’t care who the governor is, what we’re doing is turning over the power of the Legislature over to the executive branch,” he said.
Earlier Thursday, a vote of 25-10 in the Senate fell just shy of the three-fourths needed for passage of the appropriation bill.
Check back for updates and read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.
— Brandon Riddle
1:45 P.M. UPDATE:
Republican opponents of Arkansas' hybrid Medicaid expansion have blocked funding for the expanded coverage and a host of other programs for the poor and disabled.
The Senate on Thursday voted 25-10 in favor of the Medicaid budget bill funding the hybrid expansion, two votes shy of the 27 needed for passage. It was unclear when supporters would try another vote on the bill, and the Senate sent the measure back to the Joint Budget Committee.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang confirmed after the vote a workaround plan to approve Arkansas Works funding by adding language to remove it from the appropriations bill in committee, and then have Gov. Asa Hutchinson use his line-item veto to strike the removal after the bill passes the Legislature.
A majority is needed to override a veto, meaning the 10 Senate opponents of Arkansas Works would not have enough to votes.
Dismang declined to say who came up with the plan.
Sen. Alan Clark, one of the 10 opposed to Arkansas Works, said he'll likely vote present on the appropriations bill if it returns to the Senate with language striking funding for Arkansas Works, citing his knowledge of the plan.
He said he wasn't sure if the other nine would vote in favor of the amended funding bill and said their opposition was "not a coordinated effort."
"It's trying to put us in a box," Clark said of the plan.
The Senate vote comes less than a week after lawmakers approved the plan, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor. More than 250,000 people are on the program, which was created three years ago as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal health law.
ArkansasOnline's John Moritz contributed to this report.
Check back for updates and read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.
EARLIER:
Arkansas lawmakers are taking up the funding bill for the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion, despite predictions that opponents have enough votes to block the expanded coverage for thousands of poor people.
The Senate was expected Thursday to take up the Medicaid budget bill, which includes funding for the hybrid expansion. The program uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents.
The Legislature last week approved Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to keep and rework the hybrid expansion, but the vote was shy of the three-fourths support that the funding bill will need.
The Senate convenes at 1 p.m.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Capitol reporter Mike Wickline said on Twitter that legislators could vote to "bar the use of federal funds for Medicaid expansion and then have the governor issue a line item veto" for just that section. Wickline said that strategy is "one option of many."
Hutchinson and legislative leaders have warned that state agencies would face significant budget cuts if the expanded coverage ends.
Will ledge bar the use of federal funds for Medicaid expansion and then have governor issue a line item veto? It's one option of many #arpx
— Mike Wickline (@MikeWickline) April 14, 2016
Arkansas Online contributed to this story