By Rob Moritz and John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — The House approved legislation today that would appropriate $35.5 million to fund the expenses of the executive, judicial and legislative branches next year with no raises for constitutional officers, judges or legislators.
The House also approved a $1.1 million appropriation to cover House expenses through the current fiscal year in an abbreviated session held a day after a winter storm blanketed the capital city with several inches of snow, making travel difficult. The Senate did not meet.
Also today, Gov. Mike Beebe backed off of his proposal to create a $34.5 million reserve fund to capture any revenue that exceeds budget projections for the governor’s use. Some legislators had questioned the proposal, saying any additional funds should flow to the state’s general treasury.
Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said after meeting with agency heads and lawmakers, the governor agreed.
“If we get additional revenue over budget, which is what that $34.5 million was slated to be, routing that through (the Revenue Stabilization Act) appears to be the best way to finish restoring the budget cuts of the past fiscal year,” DeCample said.
The Beebe administration has cut $206 million from the current state budget since October because of declining tax collections.
Prior to today’s House session, the House Rules Committee endorsed resolutions that would authorize a pair of non-appropriation bills during the budget-only fiscal session.
One would allow consideration of legislation to set amounts for scholarships funded by the state lottery. A legislative panel has recommended scholarship amounts of $5,000 for four-year schools and $2,500 for two-year institutions for current students and incoming freshmen, beginning this fall.
The other would allow introduction of the session-ending Revenue Stabilization Act to set state spending priorities for next fiscal year.
The rules panel also endorsed a resolution calling for the fiscal session to recess March 2 and formally end March 9, unless two-thirds of the House and Senate vote to extend the session for one 15-day period.
In a proposed cost-saving move, the panel endorsed a resolution to move the election of House speaker for the 2011 regular session from March 24 to 15 minutes after the fiscal session ends. Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City, chairman of the rules committee, noted it would cost about $20,000 to bring House members back to the Capitol in mid-March.
“It seemed like since both of the candidates agreed that they’d like to move (the election) up, there was no reason to put that extra burden on the taxpayers,” Moore said.
Moore is a candidate for House speaker, along with Rep. Johnnie Roebuck, D-Arkadelphia.
The resolutions are expected to go before the full House on Wednesday, along with a proposed rule the rules panel approved Monday that would prohibit all House members from accepting campaign contributions during the fiscal session. The House previously adopted a similar rule recommended by the rules committee that exempted members running for Congress.
The Senate has no such ban.
House speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway, who hand picked the rules committee members, recently announced for the 2nd District congressional race. Wills initially said he would accept contributions during the fiscal session but last week announced that he would not take campaign money during the session.
