Lawmakers in the House once again declined to approve funding for the state's public broadcasting network Tuesday afternoon.
House Bill 1031, the $5.9 million appropriation to fund Arkansas PBS brought forward by the Joint Budget Committee, failed 65-20 with seven present votes. Appropriations bills need a three-quarter vote in the 100-member House to pass.
This is notable movement as the last week the appropriation failed 49-45.
Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, made note of the increase in yes votes.
Jean, a co-chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said last Wednesday he didn't think it was the first time the Arkansas PBS appropriation has failed to pass on the first try and that legislators evidently have issues with some of the programming. He said the Arkansas Department of Education's staff would likely get to work on persuading lawmakers to support the appropriation.
Late last year, a contract to fund Arkansas PBS programming to address learning loss among schoolchildren was delayed but ultimately approved after a state senator objected to a contractor's expression of left-leaning political views on Twitter.