Explosive Spending Growth by the State of Arkansas

Posted on August 27th, 2009

Arkansans have one of the lowest per capita incomes in the nation and as previously demonstrated also has one of the largest tax burdens as a percentage of their income in the nation. How could it be clearer that we need to put the brakes on our state spending and have a real debate about how we need increase the prosperity of the people rather than the government?

The state government has been prosperous indeed if you consider how much the state has to spend as the measure of a state’s prosperity. [See graph below] However, if you measure prosperity as I do, by how much the citizens of a the state have to spend – then Arkansas is hurting, and the people of Arkansas are hurting. Why haven’t our leaders noticed? Could it be that they measure success by the 18 to 19 BILLION dollars the state has in its pockets to spend rather than how much YOU have in your pockets to spend?

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau - Federal, State, & Local Governments Data The value for 2008 is estimated based upon the past average ratio of federal contributions compared to the total state tax revenues and is not taken directly from U.S. Census Bureau records since that value is not currently available. This method provides a slower growth value than the most likely to be correct linear extrapolation of the last five years.]

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Joint Insurance and Commerce Committee – August 27, 2009

Posted on August 27th, 2009

Date & Time: Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Location: Room 149, State Capitol
Agenda: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/Lists/Meetings/Attachments/12051/I7724.pdf
Attachments: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/R/Pages/MeetingAttachments.aspx?ItemId=12051&CalType=ME&List=Meetings&btnok=nook

This committee reviews matters pertaining to banks and banking, savings and loan association, stock, bonds, and other securities, securities dealers, insurance, public utilities, partnerships and corporations, home mortgage financing and housing, similar legislation and resolutions germane to the subject matter of the committee. (House Rules 62.9)

1:38 pm – Meeting called to order by Rep. Eddie Hawkins and Senator Barbara Horn.

1:39 pm – Meetings of minutes approved.

1:41 pm – Interim Study Proposal ISP 2009-130 is up for adoption. It is titled An Act to Regulate the Sale of Home Extended Warranty Coverage and Home Service Contracts to Provide Greater Consumer Protection; and for Other Purposes.

1:45 pm – Questions from Sen. Altes, Rep. Martin (me) and Rep. Wells concerning placing additional regulations on the sale of homes in an already depressed housing market.

1:48 pm – There seems to be alot of opposition. I cannot remember an interim study being roll called but it appears this one will. I reluctantly voted no. It is something that may need to be considered during better times, but right now it appears to be a bad thing for our state economy.

1:51 pm – Wow. The motion failed. There is alot of discussion about the rule of the joint committee.

1:55 pm – ISP 2009-171 for An Act to Allow for the Creation of a Low-Profit Limited Liability Company; and for Other Purposes. This ISP is also under debate. This bill was however pulled before debate during the session rather than voted down. So the legislators vote to allow the study of this topic since the sponsor elected not complete evaluation during the session.

1:58 pm – Ms. Melissa Simpson, Senior Health Insurance Information Program Manager for the Arkansas Insurance Department is discussing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) grant and providing application assitance for low income Medicare beneficiaries seeking help with prescription drug benefits.

2:03 pm – Senator Malone is asking who are the people eligible. It is for people who have medicare part D with emphasis on low income. Often people qualify in all respect except for assets. For example, Farm Property.

2:05 pm – Senator Malone is asking how we, as legislators, are going to communicate to our constituents the information to those eligible.

2:06 pm – Ms. Simpson is asking the committee to seek constituents, ie. church groups, ect. to go to training and help get this information out.

2:07 pm – Sen. Malone is communicating that this seems to be a duplication of information services being provided by the Social Security or DHS.

2:08 pm – Ms. Simpson is explaining that some people fall through the cracks and others don’t want go to the Medicaid office.

2:10 pm – Crawford County has 10,606 total medicare beneficiaries eligible for Part D, there is an estimated 1.038 people in the target audience.

2:12 pm – Washington County has 23,258 total medicate beneficiaries eligible for Part D, there is an estimated 1,448 people in the target audience.

2:15 pm – I am looking at the (Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) chart for Part B premiums. This is insane. Did you know that a couple with a joint yearly income above $486,001 per year are still receive healthcare benefits subsidized by taxpayers? I had to ask for confirmation from Ms. Simpson. She confirmed.

2:20 pm – I am sorry, but I can’t help but shake with rage. This is absolute and total insanity. Why in the hell should tax payers be forced to subsidize people that wealthy? To make matters worse, by looking at the chart it doesn’t matter if you jointly make $426,001 or $4,260,100, you still only have to pay a $308.30 premium for Medicare Part B.

2:26 pm – Now discussing details of the various Medicare parts, but I can’t even concentrate. Essentally Sen. Malone got clarification that Medicare part A does not pay anything toward nursing home costs for the first 20 days, and only $135 per day for days 26 to 100. Perhaps we should unsubsidize a few millionaires and take that money to take better care of the most needy.

2:32 pm – Mr. Bill Lacy, Property and Casualty Manager at the Arkansas Insurance Department is presenting reports concerning the Medical Malpractice Insurance Market in Arkansas, also the uses and impact of Credit in Personal Lines Insurance Premiums, and lastly the Annual Fire Loss Report.

2:37 pm – Apparently the use of credit records has resulted in the decrease in premiums for most people for their auto insurance.

2:43 pm – It was privately pointed out to me that the Medicare Program is like Social Security, that it is “supposed” to be a “Trust Fund” that people have paid into over their life.

2:47 pm – Currently we are discussing what is driving changes in fire loss rates. Rep. Maxwell has suggested that a long term evaluation of this data could drive how fire premiums are calculated.

2:52 pm – Meeting adjourned.

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Cardinal Rules for Conservatives to Work Effectively with State Legislators

Posted on August 27th, 2009

[ Adapted from notes taken at a seminar presented by William Wells at a NSPE meeting circa 2000 ]

I understand that conservatives often loath being constantly involved in the minutia of the legislative process. We see things in black and white and expect the legislature to behave accordingly. However, even if all 135 members of legislature viewed each and every issue as perfectly black or perfectly white (no human actually does this), when you mix them you will always get a shade of gray. Liberal activist know this and they do the things necessary to bring that shade of gray closer to their desired end of the spectrum. Conservative grassroot activists are getting their butts kicked not because they do not have the majority opinion, but because they are dismally unprepared for and lack the knowledge of the process by which legislation is created and passed. Hopefully this will help.

When working with legislators or on desired legislation:

• Convey that you understand something about the Arkansas Legislature.
  
• Demonstrate your grasp of the fundamentals of the Legislative decision-making system, especially the need for compromises and trade-offs.
  
• Don’t seek support of your issue as an entitlement.
  
• Don’t convey negative attitudes about politics and politicians.
  
• Perform good intelligence-gathering in advance.
  
• Always use a systematic checklist technique.
  
• Keep the Legislative calendar in mind.
  
• Understand the limitations of the STATE legislature.
  
• Make it easier for those in the Legislature to help you by focusing your problem or issue clearly and making apparent what decision is needed or what action the Legislature should take. Having a model law prepared in advance is usually the best way to convey your wishes for a particular issue.
  
• Ask your legislator if he/she will have your model law drafted into a bill specific to Arkansas law far in advance of the General Session.
  
• Review the bill with your legislator to make sure it accomplishes what you seek, ask for and accept the friendly advice he/she may give concerning the chances of success, discuss sections that may be too ambitious, and share with the legislator the pieces (and to what extent) you are willing compromise to get the bill passed.
  
• Build a coalition that will work to support the bill or package of bills when introduced. Make sure the grassroots coalition leaders understand these cardinal rules and are aware of the fact that compromise may be necessary.
  
• Have a grassroots strategy of calling, emailing, and meeting with the appropriate legislators at the appropriate times in the process.
  
• Concentrate efforts at the appropriate stage in the legislative process by contacting only the members who will be considering the bill next. For example, there is no need to expend the effort to contact 100 members of the House when you only need to contact the twenty in committee.
  
• The committees are the most overlooked, but the are the point where the greatest effort should be expended. Very few bills in the Arkansas Legislature that make it out committee fail on the floors of the chambers.
  
• Get commitments from legislators and publicly announce those commitments via blogs, newsletters, and your email list. Once you have those commitments and are confident a particular legislator will “stick” to that commitment, “call off the dogs” and concentrate your efforts on those members who have not yet made a commitment.
  
• Publish a policy manual in ADVANCE of the session and let it be known that a “scorecard” will be kept to determine support for future elections. Picking and scoring a legislator on issues AFTER the fact is unfair and damages your organization’s credibility with them.
  
• Follow up with promised support based upon issue scoring either by making PAC contributions or mobilizing volunteers during the campaign season.
  
• Remember that timing is vital.
  
• Remember that legislators and staff are mostly generalists.
  
• Keep the “bottom line” in mind.
  
• Use time, yours and theirs, effectively.
  
• Don’t patronize either legislators or staff.
  
• Don’t underestimate the role of legislative staff or agency staff in the Legislature.
  
• Remember your friends and publicly thank them often. Prepare an award to be presented to the legislator that most supports your organizations positions. Issue a press release praising the top legislators on your scorecard.
  
• Finally, remember that the great majority of members and staff are intelligent, hard working, and dedicated to public service. Most believe that they are doing what is best for their constituents and Arkansas.

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Arkansas: Taxed Enough Already…

Posted on August 26th, 2009

Arkansans pay almost double the percentage of their income in taxes to the state than Texans. In fact, they pay a full percentage point more than any other state touching Arkansas, and more than two percent more than most of the states that touch an Arkansas border. There are only four states in the entire U.S. that pay more of their income in state taxes. Arkansans pay a larger part of their income in state taxes than California, Massachusetts, or New York.

To talk about economic development in the State of Arkansas without addressing this issue is just so much hot air. There can be no economic development if our tax rates are not addressed and brought into line with the surrounding states so that we can be competitive in small business start-ups. When I rented office space in the Genesis Technology Incubator, I saw innovation after innovation created by brilliant Arkansans that were commercialized and the resulting business moved its operations and expanded to Texas or another low tax state. I asked them several times, “Why are you moving to Texas?” The unanimous answer was either that the tax rates made the move necessary, or that angel investors and venture capitalists had recommended it because the tax structure was terrible in Arkansas – especially the top marginal capital gains rate. In almost every case where capital gains was the issue for the VCs or AIs, the recommended move was to Texas or Tennessee.

Since Arkansas is by necessity playing catch up economically, the only way we can do that is by encouraging the type of small business start-ups that yield large gains and rapid growth. It is time for Arkansas to make a change in how it attracts business. It is time get out of the way of brilliant and industrious Arkansans and let them create the next Walmart or perhaps even better.

[Source: Arkansas Summary Budget Manuals - 2009 - 2011 Biennium - 2008 "B" Book]

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Joint Interim Committee on Education – August 26, 2009

Posted on August 26th, 2009

Date & Time: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Location: Room 171, State Capitol
Agenda: http://staging.arkleg.state.ar.us/calendar/ARSessionAgendas.asp?ATP=2&Committee_Code=410&Htm_Path=I7720.pdf
Attachments: none

1:39 pm – Meeting called to order by Rep. Bill Abernathy

1:40 pm – Minutes of meeting on May 26, 2009 approved.

1:41 pm – Today is Rep. Buddy Lovell’s Birthday, I think that makes 85 or 86. If you run into him today, offer your well wishes to a fine Representative.

1:42 pm – Richard Wilson, Assistant Director of Research Services at the Bureau of Legislative Research, is reviewing information prior to a discussion of adequacy recommendations pursuant to Act 199 of 2009.

1:47 pm – We are currently reviewing the recommendations found in the Report on Legislative Hearings for the 2008 Interim Study on Educational Adequacy. The previous link takes you to the report containing eleven recommendations.

1:53 pm – I am having problems connecting to the standard ARKLEG website, the links above are to the STAGING. They may not work in the future.

1:55 pm – Senator Elliot is asking questions about recommendation #7, concerning changes in the amount of funding in the matrix for public school transportation. The opinion of the chair (and Sen. Elliot) is that the current funding system for transportation is broken.

1:59 pm – Rep. Eddie Cheatham is asking what we are going to do about the difference in funding teachers in Northwest Arkansas. Richard Wilson said that no matter what, if a school district votes for millages above the 25 URT or have a better tax base, then they will always be able to pay their teachers more. Rep. Eddie Cheatham complained that it is another case of the have and the have-nots.

2:06 pm – Perhaps my biggest regret about my time in the legislature is spending three terms on the Education Committee.

2:12 pm – The discussions today are fundamentally counter to proven educational reform techniques proposed by countless groups ranging from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Southern Regional Education Board, and Arkansans for Education Reform.

2:18 pm – It is time to stop picking our legislators because they say they are “for education” (who isn’t?) and start asking if they are “for education reform” and then ask them what that means. If it does not mean, “accountablity, choice, and tranparency” then they will be adding to the problem rather than solving it.

2:23 pm – Legislators who want to keep the status quo and keep the state moving down the same underperforming path use the claim of “avoiding the courts” as a reason for not bringing about fundamental reforms. In reality, I believe most of them who are clinging to the same old status quo would be thrilled for the courts to get involved again.

2:27 pm – Every single discussion today of adequacy and every single recommendation ( look at the linked report ) for adequacy has centered on money, more money, more and more money.

2:30 pm – Senator Broadway is talking about the amount of work that went into the funding matrix and why it was done. New legislators need to make sure they talk to Sen. Broadway or former Senator Bisbee to learn WHY the matrix was done the way it was. They need to learn why is it so important to prevent pulling items out of the matrix.

2:35 pm – We are currently honoring Patricia Laughter, a House Education Committee Staffer. She is retiring after 35 years. She has been a very diligent staffer and an extremely pleasant person to serve around.

2:41 pm – Sen Elliot is announcing that Mark Hudson was recongnized by NCSL for Excellence in Educational Legislative Staff. He deserves it. He is a rock solid professional who has never failed to keep an objective and confidential demeanor serving in a non-partisan position.

2:45 pm – Dr. Dee Cox, Infections Disease Physician for the Arkansas Department of Education is updating the legislature on the preparations of the ADE and ADH to deal with potential H1N1 (Swine) flu outbreak in public schools.

2:48 pm – Sen. Jimmy Jeffress is asking if there are guidelines established for plans for closing schools in the event of a pandemic. One of the other presenters will discuss that further.

2:50 pm – The flu clinics for immunizations at the schools will be optional and require parental consent.

2:55 pm – Dr. James Phillips, Infectious Disease Physician for the Arkansas Department of Health, has said that diligence of parents to monitor their children and keep them home.

2:57 pm – Dr. Phillips said that the danger from H1N1 is compatable with the standard seasonal flu, but said that while 8% to 12% of the population will get the flu this season, the H1N1 could result in as high as 30% infection rate.

3:01 pm – Dr. Phillips said schools and companies may need to “lighten-up” on some rules to promote people to stay at home get out and about for doctors notes and thereby, infecting others in the population. He said that they are NOT encouraging people to automatically go to the doctor, if you are stable and normally healthy.

3:11 pm – Mr. Donnie Smith, Assistant Director of Reseach Services at the Bureau of Legislative Research says it is not a matter of IF we have cases H1N1, but that it is already here. There were reports of positive diagnosis H1N1 through out the summer, which is unual. They are getting about 20 tests per day and 15 to 18 per day are checking positive.

3:14 pm- As a public official in constant contact with the public all over the state, I get almost everything being passed around. Oh goody

3:17 pm – Highest priorties for vaccinations according for CDC seem to focus on children, pregnant mothers, and those who are otherwise unhealthy.

3:18 pm – Meeting adjourned.

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Growth in Government Employees in Arkansas

Posted on August 25th, 2009

I have been doing a little research into the growth of government in Arkansas. The above graph is from data collected from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). I accessed the BLS information from the Arkansas Labor Market Information website.

The latest numbers from the BLS are for 2008. However, if you recall, I was keeping a running count during the legislative session and blogged about it here.

At that time (I eventually lost count), we had added 10,043 new employees to agencies comprising 52,081 employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that we had 72,900 employees in 2008. If you can linearly extrapolate for estimating how many new employees were added in the last session that would be 10,043x(72,900/52,081) = 14,057. If it were not for ARRA (Federal Stimulus) hiring, I would suspect that the total number of new positions added to the State payrolls this session would in reality be somewhere between about 10,000 and 14,000, probably closer to 11,000. However, I am not even sure anybody has a handle on how many new employees are being added due to Stimulus positions.

To put this into perspective, the State of Arkansas added 23,400 total new positions since 1990. That is an average rate of about 1,300 new positions per year with growth being pretty much stable at that rate without any large jumps. This year we added about 10 times as many employees as any year previous. That is absolutely staggering.

However, until this years explosive growth of state employees, the fastest growing segment of government as determined by number of employees is our local government. That is to say, our city and county governments have grown fastest. Notice the rapid rate of growth in the chart at the top of this post. So many people only concern themselves with federal elected offices and federal government, but perhaps we should keep a closer eye on things right at home in our city and county governments. Oh yeah, and start asking why we increased the size of the state government payroll in one year the amount it usually takes 9 or 10 years to achieve at a time when we are facing an economic downturn and potential budget shortfalls. This is simply irresponsible management of the people’s tax dollars at a time when they can ill afford to pay more in taxes.

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Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Advisory Council – August 25, 2009

Posted on August 25th, 2009

Date & Time: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Location: Room 171, State Capitol
Agenda: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/Lists/Meetings/Attachments/12110/I7757.pdf
Attachments: none

1:50 pm – I was on the phone with a constituent, therefore I was not here on time to blog the start of the committee. I don’t think I have missed much. We join the committee already in progress.

1:51 pm – Currently the FAFSA presentation is being explained by Mr. Terry Finney.

1:52 pm – Rep. Roebuck is expressing concern that the since the foriegn language requirement had been removed for the Academic Challenge Scholarship it has led to a decline in enrollment in those courses. Since foreign language may affect federal aid grants, this may not be wise. However, even those requirements are going away at the federal level.

1:57 pm – Ms. Carlia Smith, Associate Vice President for Student Financial Services at the University of Arkansas is currently presenting about FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

1:59 pm – The FAFSA is complex with more than 100 questions. It is an intimidating form with information that is sometimes difficult to find, requires completed tax returns. Separate PIN numbers are required for the student and parent. There is a 5 to 7 days processing by Federal Processor. The deadline is June 30, 2011 for 2010 to 2001 school years.

2:02 pm – Some of the delays is caused by Homeland Security verifying student citizenship status.

2:03 pm – There are 35 different reasons a FAFSA may be rejected by the Federal Processor; the most common reason is parent/student signature but reson may be much more complex. Some of the reasons are difficult resolve, i.e. parents refuse to complete their part or non tax filer reports income above IRS filing requirements.

2:05 pm – Resolution is the responsiblity fo the student, not the institution according to the Dept. of Education.

2:06 pm – AR State Stacking Policy: No postsecondary institution may use public funds (including AR Academic Challenge Scholarships) in a student aid package which exceeds the recognized federal cost of attendence at the institution where the student enrolls. For the purposes of this policy, Federal Pell Grants are not included in the computation of the students total financial aid package.

2:08 pm – ADHE Stacking Policy states that if total funds exceed the COA, the school MUST reduce funds or the institution would be responsible for repaying the difference to the AR Higher Education Grant Fund account.

2:11 pm – Funds from Federal Supplemental Grant (SEOG), Federal Academic Competitive Grant, Federal Work Study, and Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans will result in the AR Academic Challenge Scholarship to be reduced if greater than cost of attendence.

2:15 pm – The institution can reduce things like the student loans or work study first, whichever is in the best interest of the student.

2:17 pm – Sen. Luker is asking why all the requirements have to be met for the FAFSA be met by a student that is not seeking federal funds. He suggests that we look at some way reduce the bureaucratic burden on students in getting the AR Academic Challenge Scholarship. We must use FAFSA because the students must be registered for selective service and must be verified to be U.S. Citizens.

2:21 pm – One of the task force members mentions that if a student submits the FAFSA by June of the academic year then the student should have no problem getting it completed. He did mention that if it was a requirement for the ARACS, they would probably get much more FAFSA applications.

2:22 pm – Another board member spoke up, apparently from one of the state colleges of universities, to contradict the last speaker. He didn’t miss the opportunity to say that they would need more staff and the lottery funds were not going to fund that. [These guys make me want to puke. They never miss an opportunity to increase staff nor do they fail to nickel and dime the taxpayers.]

2:26 pm – Dr. Purcell is holding a non-traditional prioritization discussion. Rep. Clemmer asked if there had been in changes made based upon legislative recommendations. Mr. Purcell said that is still under review and development.

2:28 pm – Rep. Roebuck asked about training for K-12 career councilors for the new One Stop Form and FAFSA form. Mr. Purcell said there is several forms of new training that has been established. Apparently K-12 will take a larger load for scholarship application which will alleviate the need for colleges to add staff as mentioned above.

2:31 pm – The review of draft proposed rules for the Academic Challenge Part 2 – Traditional Students is begin covered now. The Part 1 rules for non-traditionals are still being developed and were skipped for review today.

2:42 pm – I just went looking for pending rules changes published on the web so that I could link you to what we are currently covering. It is extremely frustrating that the State of Arkansas does not have central clearinghouse for proposed rule changes. This is another area of government transparency that we desparately need to improve upon. It is pathetic that everytime I want to go look at rule changes or proposed rule changes for most agencies I have to go ask Matthew Miller at the Bureau of Legislative Research to spend half of a day looking this stuff up.

3:00 pm – There is still questions going on about the proposed rule changes. They mostly center on the interpretation of the rules for a probationary period for a GPA that falls below requirements and the one time ability to make up a dropped course.

3:05 pm – Several members are voicing concerns that they have not had enough time to get comfortable with the rules as proposed. Dr. Purcell points out there is a timeline that needs to be met to get this in place.

3:15 pm – The rules were voted to recommend to the legislative oversight committee and the dept. of higher education.

3:23 pm – Committee adjourned.

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Arkansas Public School Desegregation Lawsuit Resolution Task Force – August 25, 2009

Posted on August 25th, 2009

Date & Time: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Location: Room 151, State Capitol
Agenda: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/Lists/Meetings/Attachments/12034/I7751.pdf
Attachments: none

Related news articles:

• Ending aid to county schools is proposed
  
• Ark. AG suggests phasing out desegregation funds
  
• PCSSD Considers State Settlement Offer
  
• Ark. AG proposes phasing out deseg settlement
  
• AG proposes end to state funding in school deseg case
  
• McDaniel issues deseg demand

9:30 am – Meeting called to order.

9:33 am – Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is providing an update on the status of the desegregation litigation.

9:34 am – A.G. McDaniel wants to put away accusations made by the school attorneys during the last meeting that the A.G. had not been diligent in pursuing the resolution.

9:36 am – Act 395 of 2007 was to provide a route and incentive toward settlement until the lawsuit was resolved.

9:37 am – It was assumed that there would be a great deal of pressure to take steps toward resolution. The school district did nothing until the first movements occured, and at that time, the school districted demanded that they be paid everything.

9:39 am – In the mean time the lawsuit was upheld that the school was unitary. The state has pushed forward, and considered filing for immediate discontinuation of funding.

9:41 am – Recusals and car wrecks have delayed getting back in court, A.G. McDaniel says he does not blame anyone for the delays.

9:43 am – A.G. McDaniel has sought legislative guidance on proper course of action. Has prepared an offer of settlement. This is what the press reports linked above are about.

9:45 am – One of the main concerns of the legislators and the people in the state is that there is no ending date.

9:47 am – A.G. McDaniel is concerned that the school district do the proper things to prepare financially for the loss of revenue.

9:48 am – A.G. McDaniel says that his goal is to see an ending strategy in his time (assuming he gets reelected..)

9:49 am – McDaniel says that it is the opinion of the A.G.’s office that this case will not settle, and it will require litigation. He said that he will be pushing this forward aggressively.

9:51 am – A.G. McDaniel does not believe there is a valid nexus between the charter schools in the area as it relates to the desegregation lawsuit. He is not placing much credence on the argument made by the schools attorney during the last meeting.

9:54 am – You can see my live-blog of the last meeting here: http://www.offthemarble.com/2009/07/14/desegregation-litigation-oversight-subcommittee-july-14-2009/

9:55 am – Sen. Thompson is pointing out that if the school district loses the lawsuit, then there has been a wind down period. A.G. McDaniel confirmed that there is a wind down but says it is has been short and is making the point that the current settlement offer will be quite a bit better than if it goes to litigations.

9:58 am – Sen. Thompson hoped that if it does goes to litigation instead of settlement that the payments would end as quickly as possible. He voiced the opinion that the offer by the A.G. is very generous.

10:01 am – Sen. Salmon is voicing disagreement with the chair. She said that this money have gone to make things better for the children of Little Rock. [What is not said is how much children in Hughes, Earle, and Helena may have been impacted by this money being continually spent in Little Rock instead of the Delta.]

10:04 am – A.G. McDaniel is saying that we did indeed have a problem, and is voicing his disagreement with the Supreme Court decision in the Seattle Washington desegregation case.

10:08 am – Sen. Steele is reminding everyone of how we got here in the first place. He advised the A.G. to start his presenations as he finished in the future.

10:09 am – Sen. Steele is reminding the legislators of the “Soveriegnty Commission.” All three of the school districts in this lawsuit are in his senate district. He is voicing his opposition to charter schools. He says that the charter schools draw the brightest students away from the regular school district and that effects the way they are graded by the state. [Charter Schools are funded at a much lower rate than the regular schools. Charter schools do not recieve millage funding from property taxes. If the regular school district cannot compete with a school that does a better job with less money, why shouldn't students be allow to "escape" to that charter school.]

10:16 am – A.G. McDaniel is pointing out that charter schools are not really relevent to the case at hand. He then went into something that sounded more like a campaign speech, in essence he is admitting the moral failures of the intentional segregation.

10:19 am – Sen. Steele is asking the A.G. to not take a position on charter schools. [The A.G. has to take whatever position the laws of Arkansas actually are, as established by the legislature. For the A.G. to go out on his own opinions or those of Sen. Steele would be a failure to do his job.]

10:21 am – McDaniel is making the point that the laws have changed from how we have always interpreted. He said there WILL eventually be a decision on our school choice laws in light of the Seattle ruling.

10:24 am – He makes the point that we do need to take measures to insure that we do not end up with “defacto” segregation.

10:25 am – What is the deal with calling the Attorney General by the title “General”. Is that an Arkansas thing? I don’t recall that title being applied to the A.G. until Beebe.

10:27 am – Sen Kim Hendren is asking what the word recusal means than how many judges had recused themselves. It because the judge believes that he as a conflict of interest and cannot make an objective/impartial decision. Sen. Henderen believes that we the voters deserve to know why. I get the feeling there are unspoken suspicions as to why they are recusing, but I can’t pick up what they are.

10:32 am – Apparently one of the judges has recused from all cases involving the Arkansas A.G. Senator Hendren wanted to know what we are paying the guy to do then. A.G. McDaniel makes the point that those were federal issues and declined answering that.

10:34 am – Sen. Hendren makes the point that he agrees that the lower achieving students deserve the opportunty participate in a charter school and we should pursue establishing those types of charter schools. He asked for confirmation from the A.G. that the Charter School issue is not relevent to the desegregation litigation.

10:36 am – Sen. Hendren must have a book of stuff he wants to talk about. He has been going for 10 minutes….. not sure he has even taken a breath.

10:38 am – Rep. Hyde says this committee is schedule to meet about every 30 days for the remainder of the year.

10:40 am – Sen. Luker is making the point that the divisiveness of this issue has impacted our ability to resolve problems of the 7 school districts that recieved an F grade on a recent report. Five of those school districts are in his Senate district. [In my opinion, Sen. Luker is exactly correct, I mentioned that point above.] Here is a link to that report: http://www.arkansaspolicyfoundation.org/policy/090817SchoolDistrictRankings0708.pdf

10:45 am – Rep. Williams seems to be asking questions about the A.G. litigation strategy. Rep. Williams was Chief Deputy A.G. under Mark Pryor. A.G. McDaniel is talking about a comprehensively reviewing the finances of the school districts and creating a phase out plan. He is making the point that the State Supreme Court in the Lakeview decision demanding that we (the legislature) “show the math.” He will be seeking accountability and request that the districts “show the math” so that when year eight arrives, they will be ready for it.

10:51 am – Sen. Whitaker is asking if performance based metrics could be placed in conditions of settlements. It is a brilliant idea! A.G. says there are two questions to be answered. Can we? and Should we? Essentially he said we can. He didn’t seem to think we should. He seemed to present a false dilemma of raising test scores with declining revenues. But I think that misses the point that Sen Whitaker made, that the school district could have the opportunity to extend the length of time of additional funding they receive IF they make advances in performance metrics. He does make a good point that it would not be a good idea to muddle the issue of seeking a definite resolution of the issue.

11:04 am – Currently reviewing the Dept. of Education Desegregation Settlement Summary of Stat Costs for Fiscal Years 1989 to 2009.

Here is the payments each year:

• 1988-89 – $11,953,822.87
  
• 1989-90 – $31,681,535.06
  
• 1990-91 – $33,895,475.87
  
• 1991-92 – $35,235,767.15
  
• 1992-93 – $33,375,297.81
  
• 1993-94 – $35,318,871.10
  
• 1994-95 – $35,905,919.83
  
• 1995-96 – $28,753,945.81
  
• 1996-97 – $32,363,355.08
  
• 1997-98 – $29,329,871.04
  
• 1998-99 – $50,817,129.84
  
• 1999-00 – $51,815,005.26
  
• 2000-01 – $41,833,627.96
  
• 2001-02 – $43,032,961.42
  
• 2002-03 – $49,488,547.26
  
• 2003-04 – $51,966,321.79
  
• 2004-05 – $53,327,547.30
  
• 2005-06 – $57,730,758.51
  
• 2006-07 – $63,832,552.43
  
• 2007-08 – $57,373,420.36
  
• 2008-09 – $67,451,985.75
  
• Grand Total – $896,483,719.50

11:19 am – The Little Rock School District recieved $550,387,612.65, North Little Rock School District recieved $81,856,570.02, and the Pulaski County School District recieved $264,239,536.83 of the above grand total, that is on top of the same funding that every other school district in the state gets, and still yet they get “C” grades for performance.

11:22 am – Meeting adjourned.

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Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) – August 21, 2009

Posted on August 21st, 2009

Date & Time: Friday, August 21, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Location: Room 171, State Capitol
Agenda: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/Lists/Meetings/Attachments/11853/I7748.pdf
Attachments: http://ow.ly/kQ2G

The Council was established by Act 264 of 1949 to collect data and information upon which legislative decisions will be made during regular session of the General Assembly. The Bureau of Legislative Research of the Legislative Council is a service agency within the legislative department of government. All members of the General Assembly have access to the Bureau of Legislative Research. The Legislative Council is the supervisory committee for the Bureau of Legislative Research, the Council coordinates the activities of the various interim committees and through the various committees provides legislative oversight of the executive branch of government. The Council consists of 36 regular members which is comprised of 20 House members and 16 Senators. In addition there are 24 ex-officio voting members and 5 ex-officio non-voting members.(A.C.A. 10-3-301)

9:03 am – Meeting called to order.

9:04 am – Meetings of previous meeting adopted. Attachment C.

9:04 am – July 2009 Arkansas Revenue Report (Attachment D.1) is currently being reviewed. Attachment D. Net available for distribution is down 2.1%.

9:08 am – June 2009 Arkansas Revenue Report (Attachment D.2) is currently being reviewed. Attachment D. Net available for distribution is down 11.0%. The adjusted net availiable for distribution is up 11% due to transfers from General Improvement Funds, etc. The cigarette tax revenue is currently above projections.

9:14 am – Skipping ahead in the agenda to item H.16 This is the Notification of Imminent Need Under Act 1211 of 2009 concerning the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. We are currently discussing the “double dipping” from the teachers retirement system. Senator Glover mentioned that in some cases it appears like there may be “triple dipping.” Apparently the abuses of the system are currently being tracked down and repayment is being required.

9:19 am – I really like having the attachments availiable like we do this morning. It allows you to see exactly the information we are looking at this morning. If you are interested in a particular item go look at the attachment.

9:22 am – Most of the questions right now to Mr. George Hopkins do not concern the report in item H.16 but are centering on the “double dipping” problem.

9:24 am – We are currently reviewing the report of the Executive Committee. See item E. This is the report that I thought might keep me from live blogging the committee meetings. See the last sentence.

9:26 am – Skipping forward to item F.2

9:28 am – Senator Glover is giving a synopsis of what is going on with the Arkansas Dept. of Corrections, both the challenges the state faces with a growing prison population, and the problems in the Dept. of Corrections itself.

9:31 am – Sen. Baker is currently presenting the report of the Higher Education Subcommittee. This is the report of the events of yesterdays meeting. See item F.5

9:33 am – Rep. Mike Burris is now here to present the report of the Administrative Rules and Regulations Committee. He has a grandchild currently making an entrance into this world and was on the phone just a moment ago when his report came up on the agenda. Congratulations to Rep. Grandpa Burris!

9:36 am – Reviewed the PEER report, item F.8. No questions or comments.

9:40 am – Mr. Boutiette is currently discussing the opportunity Arkansas has for administering the Federal Grant Program Appropriation for Disabilitiy Determination for Social Security Administration due to Arkansas’ efficiency in doing so. Rep. Andrea Lea followed up on a question in the last meeting that Mr. Boutiette said he would have to get back to her on. The question was whether the Federal government would accept the conditions that Arkansas asked for. He said that they have. See item F.9

9:46 am – Rep. Dunn is currently providing the Review Subcommittee Report. See item F.10. All the reports today are covered very quickly because the information is summary reports from comprehensive subcomittee meetings that were held earlier.

9:49 am – We voted to suspend the rules to review a sole source contract for a search group to provide and interim Vice President for Financial Affairs at the University of Central Arkansas. Report reviewed.

9:53 am – Sen. Faris is currently providing the Uniform Personnel Classification and Compensation Plan subcommittee report. Rep. Lea is pointing out that the Unemployment Trust Fund will be at least $230 million dollars by December of this year.

9:56 am – The Joint Interim Committee on Advanced Communications Committee report (item G.1) reviewed.

9:57 am – Rep. Hyde orally presented the Arkansas Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight Committee of the Status of the Arkansas Lottery. Rep. Andrea Lea is asking if the printing contract was for the lottery tickets was let to public bid. Rep. Andrea Lea also asked if the company that the contract was given to was located in South Carolina. Rep. Hyde said he did not know and he would get back to her. I bet Rep. Andrea Lea knows already.

10:03 am – On item K.1 concerning Senator Madison’s interim study request to eliminate the lottery. There is a very strong reaction among the legisators against this bill right now. Sen. Smith spoke very strong against it, suggesting the interim study not even be approved. Sen. Broadway pointed out that it is common legislative courtesy to send all the ISPs to study and he was unaware of any ISP ever not being referred for study. The ISP was approved without objection.

10:08 am – Sen. Percy Malone is discussing the situation where we call ourselves “reviewing” many of these reports, but the agencies have already implemented what they are going to do anyway. Sen. Malone makes a very good point that the legislature may have abdicated too much of it’s authority over the years, and now that the legislature has been so severely weakened with respect to the agency bureaucrats due to term limits. He makes some very very good points.

10:11 am – Committee adjourned.

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Arkansas Legislative Council Higher Education Subcommittee – August 20, 2009

Posted on August 20th, 2009

Date & Time: Wednesday, August 20, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Location: Room 171, State Capitol
Agenda: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/Lists/Meetings/Attachments/11993/I7729.pdf
Attachments: none

1:32 pm – Meeting called to order by Senator Gilbert Baker.

1:33 pm – Mrs. Tara Smith, Coordinator for Financial Aid at the Department of Higher Education is providing an update on proceedings of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Advisory Council.

1:34 pm – The new rules for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship will be released in October. Demand is expected to be larger than supply. I think that in the past, supply has been more than demand. Rep. Pennartz is asking by how much will supply fall short of demand further details on that and new rules for non-traditional students to be provided later in another presentation.

1:38 pm – Non-traditional students is a broad topic and definitions have broken it down into several categories.

1:40 pm – Senator Broadway is providing clarification on details of the maximum expenditures set based upon highest probabilty of getting results in the shortest amount of time.

1:42 pm – Stanley Williams, Deputy Director of [could not hear and is not on agenda, I think it is Arkansas Dept. of Higher Education
] is discussing the amounts and methods of distribution of the ARRA Funds for Higher Education. He expessed displeasure in working with the Federal Adminstrators of the program.

1:44 pm – The first funds must go to the restoration of reduction in funding to Public Schools and Institutions of Higher Education.

1:45 pm – Funds remaining after restoration of any funding reduction goes to the public schools based on their relative shares of funding under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

1:47 pm – The presenter has a powerpoint slide with a spreadsheet that we cannot read and have not copy on our desk. I really wish this stuff (powerpoints included) would be provided to the committee before we get here. How can legislators properly review information if we are provided it at the last minute. This is ridiculous.

1:49 pm – Apparently reporting requirements for stablization funding is extensive and the rules (federal strings attached) are legion.

1:51 pm – These funds are distributed at the discretion of the Governor of each state. These funds will likely begin to be released next week. Apparently the funds will not be released in advanced of expenditures. The schools will have to spend the money then be reimbursed.

1:53 pm – Rep. Mike Burris is asking a couple of great questions. He wanted to know if the schools could be guaranteed that they would be reimbursed and wanted to know how a school could spend money that they do not yet have.

1:55 pm – Sen Kim Hendren said that as a car dealer, he could help explain that… [laughter]

1:56 pm – Facilities Modernization, Renovation and Repair Guidelines: Funds may not be used for maintenance. Funds may not be used for new construction. Funds may be used for modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities whose primary purpose is instruction, research, or student housing.

2:00 pm – The federal government is only going to release funding in two parts.
1) 81.8% Education Stabilization Funding for Arkansas – $363,053,000
2) 18.2% Other Governmental Services Arkansas – $80,777,000.

2:03 pm – A lot of questions about the breakdown. The copies of the spreadsheet mentioned earlier is being distributed AFTER the discussion has concluded and we moved to the next agenda item.

2:08 pm – We are currently discussing the Institutions’ Remediation Cut Scores and Scholarships. There are six schools that have required a higher than a 19 on any section of the ACT of its equivalent in order for a student to enroll in college-level coursework.

2:10 pm – Rep. Mike Burris is asking if the increase in cut scores would inhibit participation. It appears that it may impact scholarships.

2:12 pm – Sen. Hendren directly asked Dr. Purcell if this [cut scores increase] was a good deal. Dr. Purcell smiled. As an administrator, it is not recommended for him to render judgements of opinion rather than simple communication fact. A smile was the about the best response he could responsibly provide. We have been informed that ACT recommends the cut score be at 22 instead of the 19 that we use. No school on the list has their cut score above 21.

2:16 pm – Rep. Clemmer pointed out that we would not be doing students any favors if we admit them to college level coursework if they are not prepared to succeed.

2:19 pm – ACT recommends that in order to have a 70% chance of making a “C” in college mathematics, the student needs to have scored at least a 22 in the mathematics section of the test. Rep. Reep asked if that was true, why have we not adjusted accordingly. Good question.

2:21 pm – Sen. Broadway is making the point that although we have shown flat performance on the in ACT scores we have a much higher rate of test takers. He concludes that means we are going pretty good. I am not sure I concur because the increase in test takers originally occured several years ago. Therefore the baseline should have dropped at that time and resulting increases would have been evident afterward. We are indeed doing better than other states in how many are taking the test and the larger number of test takers does indeed mean that we can be proud that we scored as well as we did. But the failure of Arkansas schools to see an increase in performance after the large increase in test takers indicates that we are not improving like we should be.

2:28 pm – There is a chart up about the lowest and highest remediation rates by institution. I wish I could show you that. Sen. Baker asks the rhetorical question about what would be the effect would be if we did not allow four year colleges to provide remediation based upon the information provided. I can barely see the information, so I really don’t know what is going on.

2:31 pm – Rep. Abernathy is making the point that providing remediation at two-year college is much cheaper than providing it at a four year college. Sen. Baker said it would be even cheaper if it was provided in high school. Much laughter.

2:34 pm – From what I can tell, apparently, the evidence suggest that it may be much more effective to require remediation to be performed at the two-year college level.

2:37 pm – 44% of our high schools have a remediation rate above 50%

2:39 pm – Another powerpoint slide that nobody can see. Much grumbling among legislators about that fact. How damn hard is it for this to be printed out and provided to us? This is a slide of the public school districts with the lowest remediation rates.

2:41 pm – Sen. Hendren is asking if we are going to get these reports and will they be released to the press so we can get this information out to the people. Dr. Purcell said that is what “needs” to happen.

2:42 pm – There is many questions about the school remediation rates chart doesn’t show the percentage of test takers at the school. Rep. Stewart made the point about one of the school has some of the highest performance is under pressure to be shut down because of low enrollment numbers.

2:51 pm – Rep Roebuck is talking about the “One Stop Shop” for scholarship applications. That is a great thing that we have done.

2:54 pm – Three Non-Traditional Groups mentioned above is Near Completers, Earn-in, and Delayed/Returning Adults.

2:57 pm – Near completers are those who are within 25% or less of coursework from completion. $4 million set aside for this group to be divided equally between 4-year and 2-year degrees.

3:00 pm – Delayed/Returning Adults are those non-traditional students who meet entrance guidelines without remediation but do not meet near completers criteria. $4 million set aside for this group to be divided equally between 4-year and 2-year degrees.

3:10 pm – Earn-in Students are not funded until 2010 to 2011. These students must attend college and complete remediation, then begin to earn a GPA of 2.5 on 12 hours of courses toward their degree.

3:21 pm – Wow… sorry… network connection was messed up. Rep. Roebuck gave a report on the recommendations of the Task Force on Higher Education, Remediation, Retention and Graduation Rates.

3:26 pm – We are currently discussing the calendar of items related to the upcoming budget session. I will post that calendar later.

3:29 pm – Meeting ajourned.

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