Michael R. Wickline

State Capitol Reporter501-244-4404501-244-4404mwickline@arkansasonline.com

State Capitol Reporter

Recent stories by Michael R. Wickline

Arkansas Senate Ethics Committee calls for sanctioning two senators The Arkansas Senate Ethics Committee on Monday recommended the full Senate strip Sens. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, and Mark Johnson, R-Ferndale, of committee chairman and vice chairman posts and make them... June 27, 2022

State tax collections drop by $177.4M in May compared to last year, but still exceed the state's forecast Arkansas' state general revenue collections in May dropped by $177.4 million compared to the same month a year ago to $645.4 million, but exceeded the state's latest forecast by $6.6 million.T... June 2, 2022

Arkansas Cabinet official will lead state employees' retirement system Amy Fecher, the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services, will become executive director of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System starting July 1.Fecher&rsq... June 1, 2022

Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders tops $740,000 in contributions in April, early May Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders collected more than $740,000 in contributions in April and the first half of May, while Democratic candidate Chris Jones received more than $2... May 18, 2022

Early voting begins for Arkansas primary and judicial races As early voting started Monday, officials in Arkansas' secretary of state's office projected that about 20% of the state's 1.76 million registered voters will cast ballots in this year'... May 9, 2022

State revenue forecaster shocked by April's surge in state tax collections Fueled by larger than expected gains in individual and corporate income tax collections, Arkansas' state general revenues in April increased by $378.7 million or 40% over a year ago to $1.3 billio... May 3, 2022

UAMS hires former Rep. Andy Davis as vice chancellor of institutional relations The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has hired former state Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, as its vice chancellor of institutional relations, UAMS announced Wednesday.Davis served in the A... April 6, 2022

Arkansas retirement system chief will leave post for Walmart Inc. job The executive director of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System, Duncan Baird, said Thursday that he is departing, effective April 8, to be a senior manager of benefit services at Walmart.Ba... March 24, 2022

State increases mileage reimbursement rate LITTLE ROCK — The state’s chief fiscal officer on Thursday temporarily increased the maximum-authorized state mileage reimbursement rate for the use of privately-owned vehicles on official... March 20, 2022

Rising gas prices threaten sales of state lottery tickets Vicki Skaggs of Benton said she's planning on reducing her purchases of lottery tickets due to rising gasoline prices.Skaggs, an office manager, said she normally buys about $20 of lottery tickets... March 10, 2022