Bill altered to fund Arkansas efficiency office

Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, presents budget bills Tuesday in the House chamber.
Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, presents budget bills Tuesday in the House chamber.

The Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday approved amending the appropriation bill for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to allow the state's chief fiscal officer to transfer up to $1 million to the newly created Office of Transformation.

The money would come from the Information Network of Arkansas Fund. Its board would have to authorize the transfer.

Senate Bill 106 is the appropriation measure for the commission in fiscal 2018, which starts July 1. Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, proposed the amendment on the fund transfer.

The Information Network is a public-private partnership and has about $1 million set aside for e-government efficiency projects, board Chairman Mark Martin said after the committee meeting.

A budget committee co-chairman, Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, said he wants to know what the office wants the money for.

Amy Fecher, the state's chief transformation officer, said Gov. Asa Hutchinson established the office to evaluate state government and make it more efficient.

"This is just taking it the next step and trying to find savings for state government," said Fecher, who also is executive vice president of operations for the Economic Development Commission. "As for the $1 million, we are not asking for any specific project today. It's just creating a mechanism where we could spend that money if funds became available through the [Information Network] board."

-- Michael R. Wickline

Upcoming Events