Legislative committee approves Arkansas budget proposal

The Joint Budget Committee advanced legislation Tuesday that proposes a significantly smaller increase to Arkansas’ state budget than what’s been proposed in recent years.

The Revenue Stabilization Act is nearly identical to the $6.3 billion general revenue budget proposed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in March. If the Arkansas General Assembly gives final approval later this week, the state’s budget would see a $1.76% increase of $109 million. 

The majority of that increase supports initiatives created through the LEARNS Act, a wide-ranging education bill championed by Sanders that raised the state’s minimum teacher salary to $50,000 and created a school voucher program. 

The Educational Freedom Account Program, which provides state funding for allowable education expenses like private school tuition, will see a $65.8 million increase next year, the largest in the proposed budget. 

The increased funding will support additional students who are expected to participate in the program’s second year as eligibility expands. The EFA program is being phased in over three years, at which point all Arkansas students will be eligible to participate. 

Increasing the EFA program’s allocation from $31.7 million for fiscal 2024 to $97.5 million for fiscal 2025 represents a nearly 208% percent change, the largest of any item in the budget. The second highest is a nearly 18% increase for Career and Technical Education, which would grow by $4.1 million.

It’s typical for education to account for a large portion of the state’s budget, and for fiscal 2025, more than half the budget would be allocated for education services. More than $1.8 billion, 29% of the total budget, would be directed toward human services.

Pending approval of the RSA by the Arkansas Senate and House, lawmakers are expected to wrap up fiscal session work Thursday. They anticipate officially adjourning sine die on May 9.