LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers kicked off their annual legislative session Monday with Republicans enjoying an expanded supermajority and accepting an agenda with Incoming Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders This calls for an overhaul of the state’s education system.
House and Senate leaders cited education legislation, along with Sanders’ push for income tax cuts and public safety measures, as their top priorities as they meet. Sanders, who served as press secretary in former President Donald Trump’s White House, will be sworn in as the state’s 47th governor on Tuesday.
“When you look to most of the members in terms of what they’re talking about, it really aligns with what the governor-elect talks about,” House Speaker Matthew Shepherd told reporters.
Sanders has said she wants to approve education legislation first. Sanders also said she wants to begin phasing out the state’s income tax and a public safety plan that includes new prisons.
Legislative leaders said they expected to discuss any tax cuts by the end of the session.
Revenues in Arkansas have been above expectations, and the state has more than $2 billion in reserves. The head of the Senate panel that will be in charge of any cuts said the proposals should be considered after lawmakers receive education and public safety plans.
“We’ve got to handle it well,” said Republican Sen. Jimmy Hickey, chairman of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.
Democrats saw their ranks in the legislature shrink in November after the Republican-dominated state shifted further to the right. Republicans hold 82 seats in the 100-member House of Representatives and 29 seats in the 35-member Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Greg Ridding, a Democrat, said some areas where his party could agree with Sanders include teacher salary increase She said she wanted education reform. Democrats worry about other moves, including a proposal to allow public money to pay for private schools and homeschooling.
But Riding acknowledged that Democrats “see clearly the political realities of the day.”
Lawmakers in Arkansas are also expected to work on abortion legislation, even though the procedure is banned in the state.U.S. Supreme Court when the state’s ban took effect Roe v. Wade was dismissed last year.
A proposal would require companies that pay for abortions or abortion-related travel for employees to also provide 16 weeks of maternity leave to employees who are residents of the state. Democrats said they also wanted to add rape and incest exemptions to Arkansas’ ban that allows abortions solely to save the mother’s life.
The legislature may also join efforts with other Republican states to limit drag shows, which have being targeted A bill introduced Monday by right-wing activists and politicians across the United States would ban drag shows in public spaces and classify businesses that showcase them as adult-oriented.
sanders made it Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson, resigned due to term limits after eight years in office. Hutchinson is considering a run for president.
