Representative Justin Boyd

Public Health Welfare & Labor Committee (Senate & House) — Nov. 4, 2019 (33:50)

This is a two-part question. I'm going to ask them both together. So, number one, can you confirm for me that you really are reviewing the immunization rates? And two, if you are, give me a quick update on where that is in

Public Health Welfare & Labor Committee (Senate & House) — Jan. 6, 2020 (1:03:26)

either give back to me or the committee and let me know? I mean, do some, generate some kind of report to see if there's actually value in it before we start investing money? Thank

Public Health Welfare & Labor Committee (Senate & House) — Jan. 6, 2020 (1:03:04)

So is that really happening? I mean, does that show that in the state of Arkansas we are really having doctor shopping on the same day?

Public Health Welfare & Labor Committee (Senate & House) — Jan. 6, 2020 (1:02:37)

Marsh Davis has had multiple prescriptions filled from different providers on a different day? I mean, is there really any, does the database as it currently stands reflect that investing in real time is really going to make a difference? Or is it such a rare occurrence that someone would have the same type prescription filled over and over on the same day where it wouldn't have been caught? You understand what I'm asking? You're wanting to know who's

Public Health Welfare & Labor Committee (Senate & House) — Jan. 6, 2020 (1:02:26)

you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to ask a clarifying question on the real time. When you go back and you study this over time, how often do you find that, say, you know,

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (5:24:50)

and that was what I was getting to. I appreciate the directness of your response. I'll often wonder why tuition is going up and costs are going up, and it has to do with the state level of funding in part also, and I think we've sort of turned a blind eye to

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (5:22:59)

I do. Well, just before we go into discussing all the institutions, I wanted to ask you and Senator Elliott to kind of put this bug in our ear, just so we all understand the difference between the productivity funding formula and more of a cost allocation funding formula. It's my understanding productivity funding formula is providing some good results. But under our cost allocation formula, wouldn't it show that we're behind on higher ed funding?

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (2:17:51)

At some point, we should know how many people we need to do human resources, and the legislature should be brought that information, and we should vote on how many positions, and it seems to me we're delaying. It's like you want authority to delay that, to put off those tough decisions, and that may be on eight and not seven, but why don't we know now? I mean, how much longer do we need?

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (1:57:09)

Senator Hickey mentioned not so much on session

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (1:57:01)

attention of the entire legislature maybe as opposed to just those listed I don't know I'm concerned about the the oversight particularly on eight of course as

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (1:55:57)

I guess that's our people's language. I've never seen. on

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (1:55:26)

And there's just probably a handful of people in this room, and I don't consider myself one of them, that really knows what's going on in the budget. And so the more transfer authority we give, sometimes the less oversight. You're consolidating power in the executive branch. So what does this mean at the bottom on page 20? The Bureau of Legislative Research, I'll bring the recommendation in subdivision C1 of this section to the attention of the chairs.

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (1:55:19)

I've long held the position that super majorities for either party are bad for budget oversight.

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (1:55:04)

All right, and I guess we're talking about seven and eight. I have a couple particular questions, then I'm kind of overriding. There's just seven. We're

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (42:54)

where we're headed on getting the education level of our people up. Thank you. I appreciate everybody.

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (41:56)

is a little questionable. It's been described as abysmal. Are we setting a goal and funding it to get our education level, particularly our two-year, four-year college degree level and job certificate level, is there a goal and a funding goal to increase that? For instance, Tennessee has the drive to 55. I think we ought to have a statewide goal as to where we're headed. Are we doing that in this budget? Well, the governor

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (41:35)

will be good progress. All right, a final follow-up. As you may be following, in our higher ed situation. The biggest driver in economic development, in my opinion, is the education level of our people. We continually fall around 47th to 49th in the level of education of our people. Our college going rate has decreased for four years in a row, although the data

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (40:52)

the $60 million. Has the governor set a goal, or is he going to set a goal, that we lead the region, the south region, in teacher salaries? Do we know where we're headed? I know we increased the bottom. The goal is to get the bottom to $36,000, but it seems like to me that as a state, we ought to set a goal of where we want to be in teacher salaries. Is there

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (40:27)

fiscal year. Seems like with a hundred and seventy two million dollar unallocated surplus that would be a good place to make up something for our seniors and help keep them in their homes as long as possible to live out their lives with dignity and freedom blah blah blah. All right very important stuff that I know a lot of let's agree on. Two things. One, with regards to teacher salaries, big fan of setting aside

Joint Budget Committee - Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings — March 4, 2020 (39:50)

fight who's here I know has worked incredibly hard on senior centers and funding and I think in the last budget cycle there was about 2.5 million some of the members know this area better me that hasn't been funded the governor made a 1 million dollar transfer but I think there was 2.5 million more dollars in appropriation that haven't been funded is there any plan to make that up in this fiscal session it is not there's no additional