Sanders touts accomplishments in her first 100 days as Arkansas’ governor

Acts, colleagues and citizens lauded

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders addresses the crowd on her 100th day in office Wednesday at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders addresses the crowd on her 100th day in office Wednesday at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday described herself as "a change-maker, not a caretaker of the status quo" as she touted her administration's accomplishments on her 100th day as governor.

"And despite some of the great things that were done by those people that came before me, we came here to shake things up and I think that's exactly what we've done over these first 100 days," the Republican governor said in front of the Governor's Mansion before several dozen people, including her parents, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Janet Huckabee.

Sanders said her education overhaul law gives teachers "the historic pay raise that they deserve and we are giving Arkansans the right to choose whatever school works best for their family.

"We are making historic investments in early literacy, in pre-K and career and technical education," she said, adding that the change that her administration is bringing to the state's education system will be transformational.

The educational overhaul law is called the LEARNS Act under Act 237 of 2023. LEARNS stands for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, networking and safety.

The LEARNS Act aims to increase the starting annual teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000 and give teachers making above the minimum a $2,000 raise. The law also creates a voucher program, known as Education Freedom Accounts, for students to attend a private or parochial school or home school. The vouchers will be worth 90% of the per-pupil funding schools receive from the state.

Among other things, the LEARNS Act requires the Arkansas Department of Education to review policies and materials that "promote teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory," and requires high schools to offer a "career ready" pathway as an alternative way for students to earn a diploma in technical education programs.

The state Department of Education projects that the LEARNS Act will cost $297 million in its first year, including $150 million in general revenue, about $103 million in increased revenues from the educational adequacy fund, and about $44 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds.

A committee called Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students is seeking to get a referendum to repeal the LEARNS Act on the November 2024 general election ballot. Steven Grappe, chairman of the ballot question committee, has said the group formed in the wake of opposition to Sanders' education overhaul measure.

As the first mother to serve as governor, Sanders said Wednesday one of her top priorities is protecting children from predatory social media companies and making sure they are safe whenever they are.

"We all know that Big Tech is abusing our kids' privacy and wrecking their mental health," she said. "That's why we passed a law [Act 689] that finally gives parents more control over their kids online, and soon all Arkansans under 18 will need parental permission to get on social media."

Sanders said "we've made landmark changes to Arkansas' justice system, cracking down on the criminals terrorizing our [cities]," under Act 659, which is called the Protect Arkansas Act.

"We raised the minimum amount of time felons spend behind bars before they are let out on supervision, and we will build a new 3,000-bed prison to stem the prison shortage in our state," she said. "We will not allow inmates to walk free anymore simply because we are out of space.

"Arkansas justice will be tough, but it will be fair," Sanders said.

Opponents of Act 659 have said extending prison sentences does little to deter future crime and pointed to Arkansas' already high rate of incarceration.

On Wednesday, Sanders also touted Act 532 that cuts the state's top individual income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7% and the state's top corporate income tax from 5.3% to 5.1% retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023.

Under Act 532, the top individual income tax rate of 4.7% will apply to Arkansans having net taxable income up to $87,000 and their income of $24,300 to $87,000, and to Arkansans having more than $87,000 in net taxable income and to their income of more than $8,800. The top corporate income tax rate of 5.1% will apply to net income of corporations exceeding $25,000 for tax years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023.

Act 532 is projected by the state Department of Finance and Administration to reduce state general revenue by $186 million in fiscal 2024 and $124 million in fiscal 2025.

Sanders said Wednesday she considers herself to be the state's chief salesperson, and "we have some of the most beautiful natural resources of any state in the country and people need to know it.

"Tourism is our No. 2 industry and we have now cut some of the red tape and the government regulation so that it can continue to improve growing our state's outdoor economy," she said.

She said she is proud of her husband Bryan Sanders' work leading the Natural State Initiative to help outdoor recreation to grow.

Sanders said a devastating storm hit Central Arkansas and Wynne about three weeks ago, and the road to recovery is going to be a long one. But she said "I watched Arkansans step up and put their arms around each other, offer the jackets right off their own backs, open their homes, open their doors and take care of people in need.

"It's the proudest that I have ever been to be the governor of the state of Arkansas," Sanders said.

At the outset of the event commemorating the first 100 days of Sanders' administration, Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said Sanders "is exactly who she was every day on the campaign trail" when he works with her.

"She is doing, and focused, on exactly what she said she was going to be focused on as governor and she is doing exactly, when the doors are closed, everything she committed to the people of Arkansas she was going to do," he said.

After praising House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, and Hester's "unbelievable leadership," Sanders said "we only had a couple of moments where we disagreed, but we ultimately I think all ended up on the same page on every big issue and the big winners out of that entire process were the citizens of our state.

"And I am very thankful for all of the members of our Legislature that are here, because without each of you and your dedication and your willingness to stand up to the critics and to pushback when it was really important, we would not be here and we certainly would not have the level of success that we have had in this first 100 days without each one of you."

As governor, Sanders is the titular head of the Republican Party of Arkansas. The House of Representatives includes 82 Republicans and 18 Democrats and the Senate includes 29 Republicans and six Democrats.

Sanders also praised her administration's staff.

"I like to keep my foot on the gas pretty much all the time all the way to the floor, and this team has been right there every step of the way," she said.

Sanders was not made available afterward to answer reporters' questions.


  photo  Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks with legislators after giving remarks on her 100th day in office Wednesday at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
 
 


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