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0:00
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Speaker 4
5:30
Chair sees a quorum, we'll call the meeting to order, and we will move directly to item B, cash fund appropriation increase request. Mr. Parrish. Thank you, Mr. Chair. These are
William Parrish
Unverified
6:00
requests by agencies to increase the spending authority for lot items that are supported by a cash fund account. The requests are for appropriation only. The agencies have existing funding to carry out the requests. The following request has received an approval recommendation from DF&A and was sent to this committee for review. There is only one letter in today's packet. It's from Henderson State University. It's a request to increase appropriation by $20 million. The increase will allow the university to complete critical maintenance items across campus through an energy performance contract. Henderson State will use future energy savings
to pay off any debt service. This afternoon, an ALC review, Henderson will also have a method of finance that will be reviewed that's related to this appropriation increase. Mr. Chair, those are all the cash requests. Any questions
Speaker 8
6:48
on this item? If not, it will stand reviewed. We'll move to Item
William Parrish
Unverified
6:59
C. Mr. Chair, Item C are the budget classification transfer requests. These are requests by agencies to make a transfer among the five sub-items of maintenance and general operation.
This is in the event that a certain line item does not have enough spending authority for an expected expense, but another line item in their M&O has excess or spare appropriation. The first request is from the Administrative Office of the Courts, and this request is to transfer $20,000 in appropriation from their professional fees line item to their conference and travel line item. The transfer is to accommodate travel expectations from a federal grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, that's the Children's Bureau, and it's for court improvements. The next item is the military department, and this is a request to transfer
$200,000 in appropriation from operating expenses to capital outlay. The transfer is to repair and update the Youth Challenge Program's computer lab and to make capital improvements to sidewalks, surveillance cameras, and a running track. The last item is from the Division of Higher Education, and this is a request to transfer $3,000 in appropriation from operating expenses to conference and travel. The transfer will allow payment of unexpected expenses incurred during an agency-sponsored conference for Career Pathways, and our analyst spoke with the agency and learned that past
conferences were only for Career Pathways directors. This year, staff attended an increased cross. The agency has funding in place but needs additional spending authority from this transfer. Mr. Chair, those are all the BCTs on today's agenda. Any questions on item C? If
Speaker 5
8:30
not, those items will stand reviewed. We'll move to item
William Parrish
Unverified
8:35
D. Mr. Chair, item D are the miscellaneous federal grant appropriation requests. and these are requests by agencies to increase spending authority of federal funds resulting
from an unanticipated federal grant award. It's for new or expanded grant programs where appropriation was not previously incorporated into the budgets during the buying and budgeting process, and so additional spending authority is needed to spend the new federal dollars. If a grant expires, state funds will not be used to replace federal funds unless it is later appropriated and authorized by the legislature. The first request is from the Division of Higher Education, and it is a request for $98,594 in federal appropriation. They have a grant increase from the U.S. Department of Education for the Perkins Grant Program and for a more
equitable split between secondary and post-secondary education. This item is 100% federally funded. The next request is from Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, and it's a request for $501,000 in federal appropriation. They have a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the increasing capabilities access network program. And this item is also 100% fairly funded. The next item is from the Secretary of State. It's a request for 12,000 in federal appropriation. They have a grant from the Federal Election Assistance Commission to improve the administration of elections by enhancing technology and making security improvements. This item requires a 5% match and spoke with the agency or I'm sorry, the Secretary of State's office. And
said it will come from state social services. The last request is also from the Secretary of State, and it's for a similar purpose. It's a request for $125,000 in federal appropriation and has no matching requirements. Mr. Chair, those are the MFGs on today's agenda. Thank you, Mr. Parrish. I've got a quick
Speaker 9
10:17
question for higher ed and then Secretary of State. Ms. Klemmer, would
Speaker 4
10:27
you identify yourself for the record, please? Ann Clemmer, Department of Higher Education
Speaker 8
10:38
Ann, I'm familiar with Perkins funds and all that but just tell me a more equitable split
Speaker 4
10:48
between secondary and post-secondary education what are you changing?
Speaker 15
10:52
Perkins 5 has changed really a lot of the function of what's going on with Perkins and they've identified for instance special populations so there's going to be a needs assessment to see how we can better serve these new special populations one special population has been removed it's displaced workers and
of course these are federal changes but the new categories are children with parents on active duty let's see I wrote them down just one second parents on a foster care and homeless and so we're looking at new ways of serving those populations that really have not been targeted by the federal dollars and some of that
Speaker 10
11:36
is again the federal designations of Perkins five that have made those splits okay any other
Speaker 22
11:46
is here all right thank you mr clamor secretary of state identify yourself for the record please thank you mr chair kurt naumann director of administration
Speaker 23
12:15
for the secretary of state's office jordan muir budget analyst secretary
Speaker 4
12:18
of state's office thank you just simply a little more
information all of us are concerned about election security and this says improving
Speaker 8
12:26
administration of elections for federal office just tell us a little bit more about what you will
Speaker 22
12:34
be doing with these funds basically these are funds that the election assistance commission makes available to states for a variety of purposes, including purchasing new equipment, cybersecurity measures, ADA compliance training, just things that will basically meet the purposes of what is called the Help America Vote Act. And we've received funding over the years since about
2003. The first pot of money, the $11,751, can be used for any of those purposes, helping counties with cybersecurity measures, providing training and workshops so that they understand some of the security threats that could happen with elections, making polling sites ADA compliant so that handicapped folks can be able to get to the polls and cast their votes easier. Small amount of money, we have a five percent match with that. Probably what we're going to do, we've talked about making
that specific to the ADA compliance because we have had some requests from counties for that particular pool of money. The other pot of money, the $123,000 plus, is funds that are residual funds from the 2018 HAVA grant that we received that we've been utilizing to specifically purchase new voting equipment for counties. The funds that are involved here are federal interest that we've gained on that program and also some refunds of sales and use taxes from localities. That money
can be used for the same purposes, purchasing new machinery, ADA compliance, cybersecurity measures, training, and such. It's just, it's basically to use funding that we have already received the appropriations for in the past.
Speaker 26
14:15
Are you satisfied or do you have any concerns with cybersecurity attacks and are tampering with our elections? At this point in
Speaker 22
14:23
time, I think we're well apprised of the situation. We met with the EAC folks last week, as a matter of fact,
and told them what we're doing to monitor the situation, how we've been involved with various entities statewide and with the federal government. And I think we're all, we're concerned that there are threats out there, particularly when you hear about states like Louisiana and Texas being attacked with ransomware. But as far as the actual security of our system, we're pretty sure that it is locked down. We're very confident it's not hooked up to the internet. So those types
of attacks, we don't have to worry so much about. It's just making sure that localities understand to keep their system secure, locked down, don't share passwords, don't open emails that don't come from a trustworthy source and such, but we're pretty confident. Any questions from any other members? All right, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of
Speaker 8
15:27
the committee. Are there any other questions on item D? If not, those items will stand reviewed. We'll move to item E.
William Parrish
Unverified
15:38
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Item E are the carry forward reports. Special language is included select agencies appropriation bills to allow the agencies to carry forward unexpended fund balances from general revenue into the next fiscal year. The language requires a report to ALC of the amount to be carried forward from fiscal year 19 into fiscal year 20. Item E has a report from all the agencies that have this authority. Not every agency has a balance to carry forward. I will highlight the agencies that have a balance, and the first agency is on the next page. That's the Treasurer's Office. For the Treasurer's Office, the actual funding amount carried forward is
$293,458, and this line can be found towards the bottom of the report in the middle of the page. The report says the funds were distributed in August from the County Four-Lane Highway Earnings Fund, and the next agency is on the following page. It's page three. It's also the Treasurer's Office. The Municipal Aid Section for the Treasurer's Office carried forward $295,000, Just over $2,000 is for previously outlawed warrants for the Claims Commission, and $293,000, that's the same amount that was on the previous report, is revenues for cities for the municipal four-lane highway earnings fund.
The next agency is on page 12. That is the Natural Resources Commission. The Natural Resources Commission carried forward $42,641. dollars. Funds will be used for matching grants and the water quality implementation appropriation. The next agency is on the following page, page 13, it's the corrections department. Corrections carried forward $212. Funds will be used for county jail reimbursements.
The next agency is the education department, page 14, and education carried forward $3.8 million. The report says funds will be budgeted in fiscal year 20 to maintain the current budget level. The next agency is also Education Department on page 15. Education carried forward $1.9 million in this fund account. Funds will be used for the Arkansas Better Chance for School Success Program. The next agency, also Education Department, is on page 16, the next page.
And education carried forward $355,000 in this fund account. Funds will be used for the RISE Arkansas Program. The next agency is State Library on page 17. State Library carried forward $46. Funds were available because of a canceled order at the end of June. The next agency is on page 18. It's the Department of Health. The Health Department carried forward $12.5 million. The report says funds will be used to support expenses authorized in the act.
The next agency is on page 19, the Health Services Permit Agency. and this agency carried forward $3,385. The report says funds are necessary for the operations of the agency. The next agency is on page 20. That's DHS Adult and Behavioral Health. Behavioral Health carried forward $2.1 million. Funds will be used for the start of the costs and continue operation of four crisis intervention centers. The next agency is on page 21, Economic Development
Commission, and the Commission carried forward $249,000. Funds will be used for training projects. The next agency, also the Economic Development Commission, is on page 22, and the Commission carried forward $1.3 million in this fund account. The report says that these funds will also be used for training projects. The last report is on page 24. That's two pages forward and that's for Workforce Services and Workforce Services carried forward $107,986.
Funds will be used for any unanticipated increase in services for the new higher registry program. Mr. Chair, those are the reports for carry forward. Thank you,
Speaker 4
19:30
Mr. Parrish. I have questions on three and then we'll go to the committee if they have questions. Is there someone
Speaker 8
19:35
with the Better Chance Program here that can speak to that? identify yourself for the record please i'm aaron franks with the department of education
Speaker 36
20:08
greg rogers is on his way over right now he had a prior meeting and
Speaker 8
20:13
he's on his way over Okay. My question, you had an estimated carry forward of 833,000. It actually carried over a million nine. I know a lot of us, you know, want to make certain that we're reaching as many people as we can, and so is there more need out there that we're not providing? Why did you end up with that much additional carryover? Okay, this is going to have to be a question for Greg. Can we
Speaker 36
20:40
hold these questions until he gets over here he's walking over right this moment yeah if you
Speaker 4
20:43
I've got a couple others so if you want to excuse yourself and and we'll we'll come back to this one thank you trauma system
Speaker 40
21:10
Identify yourself, please. Stephanie Williams, Chief of Staff, Arkansas Department
Speaker 43
21:17
of Health. Greg Brown, Branch Chief for the Trauma Section, Stroke, STEMI, and
Speaker 8
21:21
Emergency Services. Thank you. Trauma system is near and dear to my heart. I was in the House when we passed the cigarette tax to fund it. I think we were the last state to have one, and I'm from a very rural part of the state, and so anyway, I appreciate the work that has been done. My question is simply, you know, there was no estimated carry forward and we're carrying forward 12 million of just kind of why we ended up with that.
Are there some things that are in the works to be done or just
Speaker 44
21:52
give us an update, please? Sure. Yes, sir. The things that are funded over with the carry forward funding are to enhance the system capacity and expand to other areas where time critical diagnosis is key. One example is stroke, and the other is STEMI, which stands for ST Elevation MI. These are the deadliest forms of heart attack. And so we're building capacity in those areas, and Mr. Brown can elaborate on that.
But let me just mention the other areas that are funded out of the carry forward would be also the additional capacity for our injury and violence prevention work, specifically the work that's being done for suicide intervention and prevention. The Lifeline Call Center is partially supported out of this carry-forward funding. And then also the prescription drug monitoring program that we're using to help inform decisions about how we address opioids in our state. Did you have any? No, I just, I mean,
Speaker 43
22:47
I'm happy to answer any questions on the value additional stroke and STEMI system of care model, which you're mirroring up to the trauma system.
I think it's, you know, certainly we're in the top in the country in mortality for both of those time-sensitive diseases. And so laying over some of the system improvements that we've seen in trauma onto those two time-sensitive disease processes, we think we can have a similar impact. Did you
Speaker 44
23:13
have anything else, Ms. Williams? Well, I did have one thing. We also are enhancing the support that we're providing to the level three and four hospitals for their trauma work. And these are the smaller hospitals. and so we will be doing some analytic work for them
Speaker 8
23:28
to help them improve their system. This is a bit of an aside, but I want to share one of the things back in 2009 when we established the trauma system, an example that I used and what really touched me and bothered me was an emergency room doctor in Magnolia that talked about a traumatic car injury where they got the person in stabilized,
you know, called Little Rock, couldn't take them, called Shreveport, couldn't take them, called Memphis, couldn't take them, and the patient died. And he said, I'm convinced that that patient would have lived. And I appreciate, I've heard Dr. Patterson make statements that it shouldn't matter where you live, you know, and I appreciate that so much. Now, another quick example, more recent, within the last month or six weeks, a constituent of mine, I'll protect all the HIPAA stuff even though I'm not a doctor, a constituent
of mine had a stroke in Magnolia, got him immediately to the doctor. Digitally, I think there was a neurosurgeon or neurologist that was looking at it, and maybe that person was located in northwest Arkansas or Little Rock or somewhere, determined that it's a clot, not a bleed. they give the clot buster they have the helicopter from uams on the way he gets to uams they do surgery to remove the clot all in less than four hours from the
Chair
Unverified
24:58
episode anyway that's what we like and he's recovering senator rice
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
25:06
thank you and i was just going to touch on kind of what senator malik was on the stroke funding and application are we to the stage that we set out to be excuse me I was at the governor's rollout when that was announced and similar to what Senator Malik said my mother had a stroke paralyzed the last four years of her life and while we were in the emergency room
stood there and heard nurse beg for a solid hour multiple calls to be able to send her 45 miles to a major hospital and that's that that's my interest at center mallet to see that this kind of stuff doesn't happen are we to the goal that we've said to be at how much farther do we like to be at. It's
Speaker 43
26:05
an excellent question, and I think that one thing that we can probably say that everybody
in this room has probably been impacted by somebody in their family with stroke or heart attack at some point in time, and that's very important to us. And so we are certainly making incredible progress on our stroke care in Arkansas. Going back to your example, working with our Arkansas Saves program with the UAMS and our Mercy System partners up in the northwest and northwest part of the state. We are truly working on improving the pathway so that doesn't, your example, doesn't happen. And so just like in
trauma, going back to your example, you know, you can make a call to the Central Arkansas Trauma Communication Center and get acceptance of a patient within just four or five minutes where it used to take hours. We're trying to work on a similar process for stroke so the patients don't set, that we have telemedicine capability in all of our hospitals, and that we're designating hospitals across the state as Arkansas stroke-ready hospitals, which means they have a process in place to move patients quickly to definitive care, whether that means through interventions
through thrombolysis or whether it be through interventions such as going in and just removing the clot. And so, yes, do we still have improvements to make? Absolutely. and will for many years to come because that that that system is growing very quickly but we were at number five in the country in mortality for stroke we're now at number seven just on a very short period of time making some improvements across the state and i think that we can make greater improvements down the road thank you thank you mr chair representative dodson
Representative Jim Dotson
Unverified
27:43
thank you mr chair um i'm not entirely sure i heard the uh on the 12 and a half million dollars
that you're carrying forward was that just not finished out since you were estimating it to be at zero or do you have a plan for all of that that just
Speaker 44
28:02
carried over into this year we have received authority to continue to carry the funding forward so our base budget for the trauma program is just over 18 million we are expending all of those funds and then some of the additional carry forward each year if we carry forward continually this funding should carry us with the existing scope of work that we have till um fy 23 2023 okay so
Representative Jim Dotson
Unverified
28:24
this there was a balance last year that carried
forward and this is just part of that
Speaker 7
28:32
thank you any other questions trauma related all
Speaker 8
28:39
right thank you representative rye did you have a question
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
28:42
on one of these items yes sir mr chairman uh thank you very much on this workforce uh service
y'all are excused yeah thank you the workforce services department how is that actually going to be spent mr chairman i i didn't quite understand that
Speaker 4
29:01
that's page 24 members uh someone here from workforce services Identify yourself, Dr. Childers.
Speaker 67
29:23
Good morning. Sharice Childers, Director of the Division of Workforce Services. Got to get
Chair
Unverified
29:29
all that straight, huh? Representative Ryder, you're recognized for your question.
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
29:33
Yes, ma'am. On page 24, the Workforce Services
Department, exactly how is that going to be spent? I didn't know exactly what it was, whether that was going to go over to the two-year school or higher education
Speaker 67
29:49
or how. No, sir. Those funds are carryover funds, and those will be used for the new hire registry. Every employer in the state is required to register their employees in the new hire registry, which assists with child support payments and et cetera, as we are following those individuals
when they are employed so that that information and that money can be collected. That's one example of how that's used and so in addition uh to the um reporting um there's a requirement it's been in place since 1996 it's reported at the state and the federal level that's a good answer thank you very much and thank you mr chairman
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
30:28
thank you representative right thank you dr childers
Speaker 8
30:34
thank you before we move back to education i have a question on uh the crisis
Speaker 74
30:38
intervention centers identify yourself for the record please Misty Bowen Eubanks with the Department of Human Services.
Speaker 8
31:13
My questions are not so much directed at the amount of the carry forward, and you've got an explanation there, but remind me where are the four crisis intervention centers that we're now
Speaker 78
31:29
working on? So they're Craighead County, Sebastian County, Washington County, and Pulaski County were the initial four are there any
Speaker 26
31:39
reasons there are none in South Arkansas
Speaker 78
31:42
there was a Missy can probably speak to this but there was a competitive application process originally the plan was to fund three there were some pretty compelling applications the governor expanded it to four this is a pilot program my understanding is to prove the effectiveness of it And my understanding from the agency was certainly the door was open to open additional if this succeeds. I have
Senator Ronald Caldwell
Unverified
32:09
not looked at the application. I knew there was an application process, and I've not been able to look at that.
Speaker 8
32:17
But just this past week, the question was raised to me about the locations and the South Arkansas issue, They said that the application was worded in such a way that it made it difficult for someone, for a center from South Arkansas to be approved. Now, I don't know particulars, and so we will explore that
Speaker 74
32:40
further. So, Senator Malick, if you get me your specific concerns around that wording, I'd be happy to visit with you about that. I do know that there were some requirements about partnerships and ability to make these centers self-sustaining in the future.
and so I would suspect that those are a couple of the issues that may be raised but again I'd be happy to meet with you one-on-one about your concerns.
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
33:03
Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions Senator Hickey? I'd like to be included on those forms if you don't mind. Sure absolutely.
Speaker 7
33:12
Any other questions on this item? All right thank you thank you. Thank you Jay. I'm sorry
Speaker 4
33:28
did we have are there any other questions on any of the carry forward reports
all right so those will be filed I'm sorry yes yes education Greg made him walk over then I almost let him off
Speaker 88
33:50
the hook identify yourself with the record please
Speaker 4
34:02
Greg Rogers Department of Education I had a question on the
Speaker 8
34:09
the better chance program which a lot of us are interested in you had estimated a carry forward amount of 833,000 you actually carried forward a million point 1.9 million so we're concerned that we still have needs out there and if this amount of money is carried forward are we addressing all of those needs can you just give us a little
Speaker 92
34:32
more detail about this yes sir first of all the budget for the abc program is 114 million dollars and so once we budget that full appropriation it has to be carried forward it can only be used for the better chance program this was a before the old way we had it was a partnership between department of health department of dhs and a ade now the better chance program is part of the ade the reason that the carry forward was that under the rules to how they have to pay out for the
slots is set and so we can't really pay more than that under the rules right now as well as how dh has how the slots given out so what we're doing now is trying to gather all that information back up to see where the slots are needed to kind of reprioritize where the slots are as well as look at how much is paid out for those slots so we are looking at why the carryover was there and how we can better
Speaker 8
35:30
utilize that $114 million dollars. Do you and I know sometimes you may the numbers may not justify a program but there's still people that have a need is is the need in your
opinion greater than what our funding is right now? It would be hard
Speaker 92
35:43
for me to say that right now because this is really going in under transformation this will be the first year that ADE has full oversight of the program so we're we're going through and trying to assess that need right now. Any other questions from Senator
Senator James Sturch
Unverified
36:02
Sturge? Thank you Mr. Chair. Greg I just wanted to ask about the slots and so we've heard this discussion now ever since I've been in the legislature but I want to make sure that this gets heard and at least somewhat dealt with
because we were under the impression that of course everybody has to apply and qualify the same way. I think it's two or three hundred percent above federal poverty level but as far as the slots go we have programs that have waiting lists and are not being able to be given any more slots whereas then other slots in other parts of the state may not use all their slots allocated but we don't get to reuse them in the same year so can you tell us any more about the discussion as far as the slots you talked about that it's being studied but are we reallocating slots in
within the given year are we just looking at the number of slots both
Speaker 92
36:49
we're looking at how we can reallocate them and are the number of slots that we have available out there. Okay. We are looking at both of them. Thank you, sir. Keep us
Representative Jim Dotson
Unverified
36:59
up to date. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Dodson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Greg, my question is on the page before that, page 14. With the $3.8 million carry forward, and just if you could, is that a normal amount that we carry forward? I know it's a little bit more than what you were estimating, or a little less,
Speaker 57
37:16
excuse me than what you're estimating at 4.9 million yes that's about where we usually carry forward every year is between three and four and that's the plan to try to carry that forward yes okay thank you any
Speaker 8
37:37
other questions for education thank you greg all right that concludes item e we'll move to item f the economic development incentive quick action closing fund and i know you've got the report there i think there's someone here if if uh we we might call them
forward for a quick overview and then make themselves available for any questions please identify yourself
Speaker 98
38:10
for the record jim hudson with aedc i'm general counsel and evp of operations
Speaker 100
38:16
for the agency. Jennifer Emerson, Director of Business Finance with AEDC.
Speaker 103
38:27
Renee Doty, I'm Senior Policy and Legislative Affairs Analyst with AEDC. Thank you
Speaker 8
38:32
all for being here and of course we do have the report in our packet but I
Speaker 104
38:36
thought I might let you give a brief overview and then we'll open
Speaker 105
38:40
it up for any questions. Thank you, Mr.
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
38:42
Chairman, for having us today. We really do appreciate it. What we have before you is the Quick Action Closing Fund report. It's a report that AADC submits to you every year that really summarizes two data streams for the fund. One is the activity for the fiscal year that just
closed and also gives you a good overview of the historical performance of the fund since its inception running back about 12 years. The Quick Action Closing Fund remains a key part of the toolkit that we use to attract businesses and importantly also retain businesses in Arkansas and so you are our partners in economic development so through the governor's leadership and through Secretary Preston's leadership we're able to take this tool set use it in highly competitive situations to be
able to bring deals to closure a couple points to note about the quick action closing fund how we use it it is highly targeted and so if there's a situation where maybe some of the other statutory incentives won't necessarily help get a situation closed, we can bring this very flexible tool to bear to help us structure an agreement to get a company to say yes, yes to coming to Arkansas or yes to staying in Arkansas. Another thing to note as well is that it is performance-based. We have good performance criteria in these agreements, and so
if a company fails to perform relative to the agreement, there are clawback measures, and you'll see in the report there are some clawbacks that have come back into the fund because companies failed to do what they promised that they would do when we wrote the agreement originally. So
Speaker 105
40:16
with that I'm happy to take any questions that the committee may have. Any questions? Senator
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
40:24
Hickey. Yes sir I see that there's six of these companies that we'd give money to and
four of them look like more of a capital type improvements but there's a couple of them especially one up here that's GND3
says film production and then also this number five and that number that first one looks like we've given them a significant amount of money could you explain to me is that a new company that's that's
Speaker 105
40:48
located here the very first one is actually a movie production that's god's not dead three i think is what the what
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
40:54
the movie was and so you know we have a digital incentive program but that digital incentive program is not presently funded and so the quick action closing fund gives us a tool to be able to use to be able to attract movie productions to come to arkansas
we use the same criteria for structuring the incentives as we're present in the digital digital act we just use the quick action closing fund in this case to be able to bring the deal to closure but it's a movie production to answer your question center okay
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
41:23
and and i've numbered them here the other one would be that my robot is that the same same thing same
Speaker 98
41:28
thing yeah different production but same idea. Okay how
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
41:36
do we how do we capital or how do we calculate what benefit
that is for the state of Arkansas have you all done that I mean if it's just a film production it's not something that's ongoing how do you all calculate
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
41:50
that? Sure it's it you're absolutely correct that it's not a ordinary cost benefit analysis in terms of long-term jobs so we would look at it as we do in the digital act so the multiplier effect on the local economy that's hosting the production the intangible of kind of the advertising of you know arkansas to the film community and also for tourism
Speaker 115
42:07
as well i don't have the exact calculations for that production
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
42:11
but we can get that to you okay i would like to have that if you don't mind yes sir and the other ones
that are there may i continue mr chair yes the the other ones that are there do these have to be new projects or new businesses that are
Speaker 117
42:26
locating here? They don't have to be new businesses
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
42:31
but they are new projects. Okay all right I was trying to read that up there and it looked like to finalize an agreement with the company to locate its project in Arkansas. So all of these other ones that we funded were for a new project not just an ongoing type concern or business is
Chair
Unverified
42:59
new jobs as well. Thank you sir. Representative Sullivan you're recognized for a question in 2007 it says we started this 91 jobs and it's that last sentence of these 91 projects created retained so am I to assume that of those 91 creations that all 91 are still operational
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
43:16
No, sir. That's not what that statistic means. That's the cumulative count of projects that we have funded for this particular fund. Okay, it was 91. It
Speaker 124
43:24
was 91, that's right. Okay, how many of those are still operational? I don't have that number available to me. We can get that to you, though. Okay, thank you. One follow-up? Yes. Could you tell
Chair
Unverified
43:35
me about the, in Jonesboro, you have the Trinity Rail maintenance. I know before we had a windmill group come in there and left, and now Trinity Rail. Can you kind of update me on where we are with the Trinity Rail? I don't have a lot
Speaker 105
43:52
of firsthand information about what's happening specifically with Trinity Rail, although I did tour that facility
Speaker 126
43:56
a few months ago. I think that's a great success story for Jonesboro. They're in an expansion mode up there. They're refurbing tanker cars. As I visited with the plant manager, I asked him what his number one problem was, and he said just finding people. So It is a growing and expanding operation. I'm in
Chair
Unverified
44:14
Jonesboro, so I'm familiar with it. I just want to make sure that it's a lot of money and make sure that we're on track.
So if you could get me a little brief
Speaker 124
44:24
update summary, I'd appreciate that. On track relative to what the performance, the promise performance was? Correct, right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker 126
44:32
Chairman. A brief summary would be that we understand they are on track, but we'll get you the specifics. Yes, thank you.
Representative Charlene Fite
Unverified
44:43
Yes, sir. Any other questions? Representative Fite. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Back to the movie production. I'm not sure how we would even calculate. I guess you could do a rough estimate, but there's so much trickle down in that to people
that build sets, local people that build those, cameramen, dermatologists, caterers, seamstresses that sew costumes. So what would you do just to just do a rough estimate? Yeah, there are a couple of different data points we look at
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
45:06
for movie production. One is the production cost itself, which would tell you what the investment was in that local economy, and then the other would be the temporary wages that were paid for people who worked on the production. I
Speaker 98
45:19
mean, those two things and just using conventional multiplier get you some some ballpark on it. Thank you. Any other
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
45:28
questions? Senator Hickey. My apologies. I want to go back and ask one more. On the very last
one right there this says for mechanical improvements what could you explain that project to me and if that increased jobs or what exactly that's done here here's my and this is where I'm heading I'm not going to try to my thought with this is that I always thought that this was for like new business or to try to retain them or whatever and I'm just wanting to make sure that this particular company that we're not picking winners and losers because of the mechanical improvement so if you could
explain to me exactly what what went into that and what y'all's thought process was I'd appreciate that yeah for that
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
46:08
one particularly it was a retention project this was a company that approached us had some you know desire to stay in Arkansas was contemplating other options and we worked a project to be able to retain those jobs in Arkansas okay and
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
46:21
does that up in up in that area it looks like that's from northwest Arkansas do they have competitors in that area or do you know that do that exact yes sir they do
Speaker 135
46:36
have competitors in that area and they were
looking at moving across the border to Oklahoma okay and whenever we
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
46:43
say competitors are we talking about competitors in Arkansas or are you just talking about competitors across the line they do have competitors
Speaker 135
46:50
in Arkansas but I mean they all you know work together but they um have competitors that are in that similar kind of closer to fort smith but still in that region yes
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
47:01
sir okay how do y'all how do y'all weigh that whenever you're going in to look to give someone that's looking to relocate but they may have a competitor that's in direct competition
with with them maybe within just a few miles how how do you how do y'all manage that so that you're not unfairly giving someone some type of funding, some type of government funding whenever somebody else is trying to use private funds? How do you do that? And this may not be the place to do it, but since we're disbursed this money, I'd like to hear
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
47:33
it. Yes, sir. No, it is a fair question, and I think we would be concerned about creating a ripple effect, too, so that we're having to have the same conversation with a business down the street because somehow the equilibrium's been
been disrupted I think in this particular case you look at the threshold of the number of jobs that are at risk and then have conversations about the business plan for what they're going to do with the money and and gain some confidence that this is not an ongoing conversation that you're you're helping somebody stay in the community but it it is a judgment call obviously you have you have to make sure okay
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
48:08
I'm just always a little bit concerned about that part and I know you all run up against that. I mean, if it's just an industry that's doing one thing within one quadrant of the state,
you know, that's one thing. But whenever you start having a whole bunch of them like that, I think it bears watching, which I'm sure you all know that. Thank you.
Speaker 21
48:31
Thank you, Senator Hickey. Any other questions? All right, thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you
William Parrish
Unverified
48:48
for your report. We'll follow that. Item G. Mr. Chair, next items are monthly reports. Various provisions of law, either in Arkansas Code or an agency's appropriation bill require
making reports to ALC for information purposes. In some instances, a member of the committee may request an agency to submit a report regarding a matter to keep the committee better informed and updated. The first report is from the Office of the Treasurer, Professional Feeds Expenditure. This is a report requested by the Committee to monitor their appropriation level and expenses of professional fees by the Treasurer's Office. The Office paid $6,500 in professional fees in August, leaving a balance of $43,500 in appropriation from the original $50,000 provided for Fiscal Year 20.
An invoice for the expenses are included with the report on the back of this page. Next report, G2, is the Rainy Day Fund Report, and this report shows Rainy Day Fund income distributions as of the end of August. Income is listed in the first table. Set aside projects are listed in the second table. The last table at the bottom of the page shows project distributions and a fund balance of $36,221,070. G3 is a budget stabilization trust fund report, and it shows
cash flow loans throughout the fiscal year. As of the end of August, there are $39 million in outstanding loans, and the cash balance is over $162 million. G4 is a tobacco settlement report, and it gives a summary of income, fund balances, investments, actual payments to the state, and on the second page are all expenses by fiscal year. G5 is the State Central Services Fund report, and this report shows the fund balance and
disbursements as well as the expenditures of each agency supported by the fund. The last report, G6, is the Division of Youth Services Pay Plan Appropriation Usage Report. This is a new monthly report based on a discussion of an emergency review of pay plan for DYS last month. The report shows emergency review last month provided $66,000 in appropriation. That is in the first line after the outlined box. After making leave payouts, the balance
of appropriation was $49,000. The September 13th payroll was $13,233, leaving a current appropriation balance of $36,477. The estimated payroll moving forward will leave an estimated balance of $23,164 on October 31st. Mr. Chair, those are the monthly reports.
Speaker 5
51:15
Any questions on any of those reports? let me have this discussion with
Speaker 4
51:25
regard to the office of treasurer we started requiring
Speaker 8
51:31
monthly reports of their professional fee expenditures when there was a pending lawsuit against the treasurer that lawsuit has been dismissed and so the only thing that we have now on that report are just professional fees that they might use. It might be for investment analysts and that type thing. The question has been raised of whether we want to continue the monthly report and let me suggest perhaps that we discontinue the report unless the treasurer
becomes a defendant in a lawsuit and then we would begin that reporting again. Is the committee okay with that. Okay
Representative Jim Dotson
Unverified
52:18
with Representative Dotson. Thank you Mr. Chair. So if I understand you correctly it would automatically start again? Yes. I mean that's
Speaker 8
52:26
what I would want and to notify them and for the treasurer's office to know that if they became a defendant in a lawsuit that we would monitor those professional fees again. But at this point our professional fees are going to be
investment analysts and things like they've had this month that they've got an appropriation for and I don't see the need for a monthly report unless we get back into a situation where they're involved in a lawsuit. Does that require
Speaker 4
52:54
a motion? I don't know. In the past, I think it was just a request that we do that. I'd say that's what
Senator Ronald Caldwell
Unverified
53:04
we would. Want a motion? Okay. Representative Dotson moves that we discontinue the monthly reporting
Speaker 8
53:09
reporting from the treasurer's office until such time as the treasurer might become involved in a lawsuit. Have a second to that. Any discussion? All
Speaker 4
53:20
in favor say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carried. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Dodson, for that. All right, we have
William Parrish
Unverified
53:33
item H. Mr. Chair, item H is the emergency review for DFA assessment coordination. Earlier this month, the Chairs of PEER and ALC were alerted the DFA Assessment Coordination Division did not
have enough extra help appropriation to meet payroll. On September 12th, the Chairs granted $1,482 an appropriation to meet the expenses incurred as allowed by ALC rules. Do you want it? That's good.
Speaker 4
54:08
Yeah. Any questions? It's just a report to the committee.
Speaker 8
54:16
Any other items, any other business to come before the committee? Our next meeting will be October 15th. And if there is nothing else, the peer committee will stand adjourned.
Unknown speaker
54:54
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You
Agenda
A. Call to Order
B. Cash Fund Appropriation Increase Requests – FY20
C. Budget Classification Transfer Request(s) – FY20
D. Miscellaneous Federal Grant Appropriation Requests – FY20
E. Report of the Agency Carry Forward Unexpended Balance of Funding Requests
F. Economic Development Incentive Quick Action Closing Fund Annual Report
G. Monthly Reports
H. Item Approved on an Emergency Basis Pay Plan Holding Account Transfer – FY20 – Department of Finance and Administration – Assessment Coordination Division
I. Other Business
J. Adjournment
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — ALC - PEER, Sep 17, 2019 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
| B fy20_september_cash | Exhibit | 2 | Official source ↗ |
| C fy20_september_bct | Exhibit | 7 | Official source ↗ |
| D fy20_september_mfg (1) | Exhibit | 9 | Official source ↗ |
| E fy19_carry_forward_report | Exhibit | 25 | Official source ↗ |
| F AEDC QACF Report | Exhibit | 3 | Official source ↗ |
| G-1 Aug 2019 Treasurer Report | Exhibit | 2 | Official source ↗ |
| G-2 FY2020 - Period 2 - Rainy Day Projects | Exhibit | 13 | Official source ↗ |
| G-3 FY2020 - Period 2 - Budget Stabilization Trust Report (TBS) | Exhibit | 5 | Official source ↗ |
| G-4 Period 2 Adjusted Tobacco Worksheet Updated August 2019 | Exhibit | 2 | Official source ↗ |
| G-5 SCS HSC Report | Exhibit | 2 | Official source ↗ |
| G-6 FY20 DYS Extra Help Appropriation | Exhibit | 1 | Official source ↗ |
| H FY20 Emergency Payplan Assessment Coordination | Exhibit | 4 needs OCR | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Speaker 4
William Parrish
Unverified
Speaker 8
Speaker 5
Speaker 9
Speaker 15
Speaker 10
Speaker 22
Speaker 23
Speaker 26
Speaker 36
Speaker 40
Speaker 43
Speaker 44
Chair
Unverified
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
Representative Jim Dotson
Unverified
Speaker 7
Representative Johnny Rye
Unverified
Speaker 67
Speaker 74
Speaker 75
Speaker 78
Senator Ronald Caldwell
Unverified
Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr
Unverified
Speaker 88
Speaker 92
Senator James Sturch
Unverified
Speaker 57
Speaker 98
Speaker 100
Speaker 103
Speaker 104
Speaker 105
Representative Dan Sullivan
Unverified
Speaker 115
Speaker 117
Speaker 124
Speaker 126
Representative Charlene Fite
Unverified
Speaker 135
Speaker 21