LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas lawmakers who were hoping for a break after a contentious campaign season are in for a rude awakening the morning after Tuesday’s general election. A little more than 12 hours after polls close, preparations will begin in earnest for next year’s legislative session.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson is set to unveil his balanced budget proposal for the next fiscal year Wednesday, along with his plan for another cut in the state’s income tax. It’s a key step before lawmakers return to the Capitol in January for a session that could be upended by results in Tuesday’s election.
The proposal moves to the top of the agenda for lawmakers, who already face a full plate on issues ranging from school funding to another fight over LGBT rights. Here’s a look at where some of those top issues stand as the governor prepares to release his budget plan:
TAX CUTS
Hutchinson hasn’t said how much of a tax cut he’ll propose a year after lawmakers backed his $102 million income tax reduction, though the governor has suggested the state can afford another $50 million cut. He’ll face resistance from Democrats who say the cut is coming at the expense of programs that haven’t seen additional funding, including pre-kindergarten and higher education. He’s just as likely to face a fight within his own party, as other Republicans start shopping competing tax cut plans. Republican Sen. Bart Hester has already said he’ll propose a $105 million income tax reduction.
SCHOOL FUNDING
Hutchinson’s budget proposal could also indicate whether the state is headed into its first school funding fight nearly a decade after the long-running Lake View case ended. Lawmakers haven’t approved a joint recommendation on how to adequately fund the state’s schools after a divide between Democrats and Republicans. A Senate panel has called for increasing funding by $45.6 million, but a House panel hasn’t weighed in on those recommendations. Some lawmakers have said the funding recommendation should ultimately be up to Hutchinson.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Tuesday’s election could dramatically change the session’s agenda if voters approve a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana. Hutchinson has warned agencies that enforcing and regulating the measure would require as much as $5.7 million in additional funding, a figure that doesn’t include money State Police and the Crime Lab said they would also need. The measure’s passage could also prompt legislation on other fronts, including questions about whether the majority-Republican Legislature would look at additional taxes or fees to help pay for its enforcement. If Issue 6 fails Tuesday, medical pot still could be a top agenda item. A Republican lawmaker opposed to the ballot issue has said he’ll propose legalizing a more limited strain of marijuana if voters reject the proposed amendment.
MEDICAID
Another issue that could dramatically change after Tuesday night is the future of the state’s hybrid Medicaid expansion. Arkansas lawmakers this year approved adding new restrictions to the program, which covers 300,000 low-income residents, but Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the federal health care law that enabled the expansion. If Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton defeats Trump, there’s still another fight looming over the program’s future since it’ll need a three-fourths vote to continue another year.
LGBT RIGHTS
Lawmakers are likely to face another debate over rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, two years after they hurriedly rewrote a religious objections bill in the final days of the 2015 session at Hutchinson’s request over concerns it was discriminatory. Hutchinson has said he doesn’t think legislation is needed at this time in response to the Obama administration’s directive that public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity, but the issue is still likely to come up during the session. The state Supreme Court also indicated last week it may direct the Legislature to rewrite Arkansas’ birth certificate law after gay marriage was legalized nationwide.
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Andrew DeMillo has covered Arkansas government and politics for The Associated Press since 2005. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo
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