House Convenes
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Bills discussed (1)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
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HB1001
Act 2
· 5 mentions in transcript, chapter
Matched: “is the passage of house bill 1001. prepare the machine madam clerk everyone voted”
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AN ACT FOR THE ARKANSAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATION FOR … | Evans | Notification that HB1001 is now Act 2 |
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Speaker 9
13:42
I invite the members staff press and guests in the galleries to stand and be led in prayer by
paststor Richard Hamlin senior pastor offaith Baptisthurch of Cabot to remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to be led by
Speaker 12
13:55
Representative Bruce cozart heavenly Father you tell us very clearly very plainly that we are to be careful to be anxious not to worry about anything. God this is one of the most difficult commands for us to follow in spite of this God we carry
our burdens, our anxieties wake us up in the night sometimes just walk around with them all the time and I know in a body like this there are many many anxieties many worries and so we just pray God that you'd help us because we need your help to do this to cast all our cares upon you for you care for us and we pray
members please indicate your presence by pushing your yellow present button prepare the machine madam clerk one indicated their presence assed up the ballot madam clerk or 97 members present the chair sees a quorum are there any
requests for leave Representative Jay Richardson for what purpose you're recognized forpresentative Springer granted forpresentativejoy Springer so ordered Representative John Milligan for what purpose?a you're recognized
forpresentative meeks his leave granted for Representative Stteen meeks so ordered Representative Mike Hole
moves that we dispense of the reading of the previous day's journal no objection so ordered
madam clerk any reports from select committees reports from standing committees any unfinished business madam Clark any executive communication from the governor and members if you would at this time I would ask you to rise we'd like to welcome our guest here to the house chamber today in the back of the room we have with us corporal Matt West Arkansas Statelice regulatoryervices and corporal Landon Mills game warden Arkansas game and fish.
Gentlemen thank you for your service to Arkansas thank you
for being here today thank you gentlemen members serving as our doctor of the day today we have doctor
Balaimmon clinic of family medicine and preventive medicine. He is a local physician from here in littlettleRock guest today of Representative Ashley Hudson please give him a welcome applause
serving alongside Doctor Simon today we have our nurse Miss Lee Fazio Miss Lee thank you for being here thank you members you
may be seated Representative Mark Perry for what purpose point of personal privilege you're recognized to come to
Speaker 29
17:42
the well Thank you Mr Speaker you know members when you when you hear
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
17:46
words such as caring compassionate, dedicated, thoughtful reliable, skilled professional supportive you can think of a lot of professions but however there's one profession that comes to mind and it's nursing as we celebrate national nurses Week I'd like to take an opportunity to recognize several people, two of them in our in our house chambers here we havepresentative garner and Representative Bentley who are
nurses of course we have Miss Miss Fazio who is our reliable nurse who takes care of us but we have three guests with us in the east gallery we from UAMs we have Tammy Jones who's the chief nursing officer we have Sarah Rhodes who's the dean of the college of nursing and we have ava Coleman who's actually a constituent of mine who's the assistant director of student enrollment at UaMs or the collegelege of nursing. if y'all would welcome welcome them to the gallery
on behalf of all the nurses in Arkansas we appreciate what you do for for the citizens of Arkansas thank you Mrpeaker.
youpresentative Perry members will now go to the red calendar madam clerk please read House Bill1001. House101 by Representative Eaves
Speaker 36
19:21
to reduce the income tax rates for individuals trusts estates and corporations. Representative Eaves you're recognized to explain the bill.
Thank you Mr Speaker colleagueleagues today we're hearing House Bill1001 it's pretty simple bill lowers the top personal income tax rate down to3.7 and the corporate rate down to4.1 that's what it does we get into it there but I wanna put what we're doing into a little bit of perspective over the past decade Arkansas has returned billions of dollars to the taxpayers of Arkansas we've lowered rates in every single income level simplified simplified the tax tables
and built a system where working families can keep more of what they earn. that's not a tax cut for the rich that's real relief for the people of Arkansas but it's important to remember this is a continuation of a proven policy it's not a new idea it's the next step in a decadeslong effort to lower the taxes for our citizens the focus has always been from day one on working families we started by cutting taxes for low income Arkansans eliminating taxes for tens of thousands in our state and building a system
where the lowest earners pay the least. This keeps Arkansas competitive We all know we have neighboring states that have no income tax but states all over the country are either eliminating or lowering their income tax rates so we either have to stay competitive or we're gonna fall behind. and the success of this strategy is pretty clear Arkansas is now recognized as one of the leading states in economic outlook and maintaining that momentum matters but the most important point is this
the3.7% personal rate reaches ordinary families this is broadbased tax relief for everyday working Arkansans so if you earn $26,400 or more this bill will affect you that is relief for your teachers your nurses, truck drivers, factory workers and small business owners police officers families just trying to keep up with inflation this bill is about something
simple and fundamental. letting working Arkansans keep more of what they earn. it strengthens the state's competitiveness rewards hard work and keeps us on a responsible proven path of broadbased tax relief. Over the past decade we've delivered meaningful across the board tax relief and today those reforms add up to nearly a billion dollars a year staying in the pockets of Arkansas families this isn't concentrated at the top this will reach more than 1
million Arkansans so for the average taxpayer that means real money back in their household budget at least 800 to1,000 dollars every year or more is what we're seeing that's for groceries that's gas school supplies or savings for the future that is real relief that people can feel So let's keep the momentum going with that I appreciate a good vote Representative Eaves has explained the bill
would anyone like to speak against the bill
Representative Ashley Hudson
Unverified
22:43
Representativehudson you're recognized to speak against the bill Thank you Mr Speaker. today I rise in opposition to this bill and I want to be clear at the outset this is not a political vote for me since my first term in 2021 I've supported nearly
every single tax cut that has come before this body even when it wasn't popular with my own party because I believed it was the right thing to do for the people of Arkansas and of West LittleRock. so this is uncomfortable for me to speak against a tax cut but I can't support this one because at some point we have to be honest not just about what this bill does but also what it fails to do this legislation lowers the top individual income tax rate
from3.9 to3.7% and the corporate rate from4.3 to4.1%. 210 of a percentage point but what does that actually mean for the people that we represent For many Arkansans this tax cut will amount to about50 dollars a year that 800 to1,000 dollars number that you just heard referenced is cumulative over all the tax cuts that we've had over the past decade the biggest benefits that my colleagues have referenced in committee yesterday and on the floor today are really reserved
for the very highest wage earners in the state for many of your constituents this tax cut amounts to just a few dollars a month pennies a day for some districts very few families will see any benefit at all and yet we're told this is something we should celebrate. the reality is these benefits don't scale evenly the richer you are the more you get. the more squeezed you are by gas and groceries the less you get. and when we cut corporate tax
rates as this bill does a significant share of those benefits go to large out of state corporations not the families in our districts who are struggling to make ends meet we have to recognize that this corporate tax cut isn't tax relief for ourkansans but a giveaway of critically needed state revenue to corporations a whopping 95% of the corporate tax cut will go out of state shipping $25 million of Arkansan's hard earned tax money to home offices in places
likeor, Texas and New York. let's talk about postpartum medicaid our state is in the midst of an infant and maternal death crisis we started the work to end this tragedy last year with healthy moms and healthy babies and we could finish the job right now Arkansas is the only state in the country that hasn't extended postpartum medicaid coverage to struggling new moms what would doing that cost Roughly2 million dollars a year $2 million
for reference we could take this step towards solving our state's infant and maternal death crisis 13 times over just with the corporate tax revenue in this bill but we chose not to let's talk about food insecurity we know what it costs to make a difference because we passed a bill last year to offer free school breakfast we also know that right now today there are food deserts in every single county in our state and we haven't devoted a single dime to tackling this problem.
and still tonight 1 in4 Arkansans will go to sleep hungry. These Arkansans will receive zero relief from this tax cut we could do something to alleviate the hunger here at home but we didn't do that Additionally because of changes in snap at the federal level Arkansas immediately needs to pick up an additional $18 million tab just to cover Snap administration costs and keep our program staffed. Next year that administrative cost rises to $24 million. Next
October we may be on the hook for an additional54 million dollars tax or cost shift based on our most recent Snap payment data. if we don't pay these bills rowing numbers of children and seniors will face hunger we could face Arkansas's hunger crisis head on but we chose not to let's talk about education priorities in early childhood. we've allocated roughly380 million dollars for voucher programs but when it comes to early childhood education when it comes to working families who
just need access to childcare. lastst week we couldn't find $22 million to clear half of our early childhood education waitlist. it is not lost on me that over the last month in this room we have complained about handouts to ourkansans trying to work and care for their children while funding corporate welfare for rich corporations and handouts to out of state billionaires who don't feel it when a gallon of gas gets more expensive. we tell ourselves that these out of state billionaires and corporations are deserving
because they'll strengthen our economy and create jobs but all of us know they already benefit from the low cost of living low cost of real estate and willing workforce that we have here at the same time that we celebrate this tax cut the consequences of failing to invest in Arkansas are playing out. Last week the LittleRock school district had to cancel its summer pre-K programs because the Department of Education would not or could not confirm whether school readiness assistance funding would be available
that decision left 1300 working families scrambling to find summer childcare not next year not hypothetically right now that's what underinvestment looks like I believe Arkansas families also deserve incentives and investment Colleagues I would argue that a strategic investment in an early childhood education would create jobs all over the state empower parents in all of our legislative districts to remain in or reenter the workforce and meet the workforce needs of businesses in every county
it would be a relief and a stimulus package for young Arkansas families that far exceeds anything in these tax cuts we could have helped working families we chose not to let's talk about rural healthcare hospitalspitals in Arkansas are struggling and closing just this year we've lost labor and delivery units in Wauatta and Sebastian counties and ER in Jacksonville and oncology and pediatric services in Fortsmith as of today there are only31
hospitals in the entire state that provide labor and delivery services forcing expecting moms to travel outside their home counties to reach care. for $25 million Arkansas could stabilize rural hospitals and maternity care by funding emergency operating support for at-risk hospitals providing incentives to keep obstetric services open supporting rural provider recruitment programs helping prevent closures and ensuring women don't lose access to care close to home. that same revenue we're kicking back to out of state
corporations could directly sustain healthcare access in Arkansas communities that need it most. we could step in we chose not to let's talk about agriculture. our farmers are in crisis in 2025 Arkansas led the nation in farm bankruptcies. These hardworking families need and deserve our help strategic support would cost tens of millions not hundreds of millions using that same $25 million Arkansas could expand
aggsearch and extension on farm water conservation programs and targeted support for beginning farmers.stead of sending most of those dollars out of state through corporate tax cuts we could reinvest them directly into Arkansas producers and rural communities with immediate and tangible returns we could help protect our rural economies we chose not to so let's be clear I'm skeptical that as the cost of living cru crushes Arkansas families that we have $25 million to spare for out of
state billionaires and corporations but we don't have $2 million for postpartum moms $18 million to cover our new snap costs and fight hunger for kids and seniors.22 million dollars for quality childcare or targeted investments to keep hospitals and fart harmers afloat. s te ad of addressing any of this we are celebrating a tax cut that for many Arkansans amounts to pennies a day. while delivering the largest benefits to those at the very top and to corporations who are not based in our state
that's not relief that is not serious policy what it is is a soundbite. a line and a campaign mailer nothing more. and frankly it is an insult to the people of Arkansas because if you go back home if you sit at a kitchen table in your district you won't find people asking for pennies a day. you'll find people asking why their hospitals are closing why childcare is out of reach why groceries and gas cost more every week.
my new moms are falling through the cracks they're asking why when we clearly have the resources we are choosing not to use them. that's the pattern we could have invested in mothers we chose not to. we could have fed hungry families we chose not to we could have supported childcare hospitals and farmers and we chose not to those were our choices and today I'm making mine I choose not to vote for this bill and I respectfully ask for you to join me.
Representative Hudson has spoke against the bill would anyone like to speak for the bill RepresentativeRay you're recognized to speak for the
Representative David Ray
Unverified
32:58
bill Thank you Mr Speaker colleagueleagues when we when we take the income tax rate to3.7% it will be the lowest our income tax rate has been in the last 103 years since we
first enacted the income tax in the state in 1928. and that is something to be proud of because by lowering taxes we are giving workers a pay raise letting them keep more of each paycheck putting their hard earned tax dollars back in their pocket not just a few at the top like you just heard for 1.1 million Arkansas taxpayers you can look at the fiscal note and see that number with gas prices and grocery
prices on the rise putting money back in the pockets of hardworking our hardworking Arkansas families helps them deal with high costs and affordability it also makes Arkansas more economically competitive with other states as we incentivize work and productivity as we continue seeking to attract high quality goodpaying jobs to our state with the best possible business climate if it sounds like we've had this
debate before it's because we have this is
the same debate that happens every time we take another step in this process of lowering our income taxes to become more economically competitive. Yesterday we heard a whole lot about fully funding this or fully funding that it's a really convenient argument for the opposition to make because they never they never define what fully funded means it's just some nebulous term that keeps getting thrown out there I guarantee you if we doubled
the budget tomorrow they would still find things that they say are not quote fully funded it's just a continuation of moving the goalposts it's a purposefully elusive target the truth is we've invested in tons of key priorities whether it's highways and infrastructure taking teacher pay from bottom five in the country to top5 in the country, paid maternity leave for the first time ever. Education spending at record levels this past session healthy moms healthy babies free
breakfast for public school students there is a long long list. does that mean we have solved every problem? no of course not.one knows that every state in America has problems and you know what a lot of the states that are not cutting taxes like we're doing they have just as many if not more problems than we have here in Arkansas if you don't believe me just look at Minnesota. Good grief the idea that more spending is going to solve all of our problems is ridiculous all of
the things that we want to spend money on many of the things that were just mentioned by the way I don't remember seeing a bunch of budget amendments to solve the problems that were just mentioned all of the things that we want to spend more money on the only way we can do that is if we keep incentivizing work keep attracting new movers and creating an environment where businesses large and small can continue to start grow jobs, expand, hire new workers and grow our tax base
instead of saying we need to fully fund this or fully fund that it would be a whole lot more honest if they just said exactly what they how much more they want working families to pay in taxes because if you add up the cumulative total for a typical family in Arkansas just take for example a husband and wife both on a starting teacher salary the cumulative total of all these savings in income tax cuts since 2013 is around $2000 per year and then you add up what we've
done with the homestead tax credit adding350 dollars a year in savings the grocery tax savings from eliminating that and then you add on the savings from the Trump tax cuts which for a typical families is around $2900 you're looking at over5,000 dollars in annual savings back into the pockets of families so if you want families to pay more just be honest and tell them how much more they need to be paying. Tell them you want them to pay $2000 a year more tell them you
want them to pay4,000 dollars a year more or5,000 dollars a year more. this is not some irresponsible or unsustainable tax cut this is 2.cent it is a it is the latest measured and responsible step in a long list of measured and responsible income tax reductions and it is making our state more economically competitive while we continue to strike the right balance between economic growth and funding key priorities so
I'd encourage you to be a yes vote. RepresentativeRay has spoke for the bill
would anyone like to speak against the bill for the bill Representative Eaves you're recognized clothes for your bill, Representative Eaves is closed for the bill. question before the house
is the passage of house bill 1001. prepare the machine madam clerk everyone voted
as everyone voted cast up the ballot the vote of79 yea se7 nay and zero present. bill is passed Representative Milligan for what purpose?motion
Speaker 58
38:36
I'll hear your motion concerning the House Ru33m I I move that we stand adjourned till 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. That's a
proper motion it's nondebatable. all those in favor say aye pose nay the ayes have it don't have any committee announcements
Representative DeAnn Vaught
Unverified
38:54
Representative Vauugt for what purpose announcement you're recognized girls committee will meet 15 minutes a pound adjarin in Big Mac Bay. p
Speaker 61
39:07
re s ent ative hawk for what purpose announcement Boise state meeting will be 15 minutes upon adjournment in Big Mac A Representative Lee
Speaker 60
39:13
Johnson, what purpose? you're recognized joint budget will
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
39:21
meet tomorrow morning at a.m. Big Mac, thank you.
any other committee announcements madam clerk read the bills Representative Kavanaugh sorry didn't see what purpose
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified
39:35
announcement you're recognizedrenx will meet at 1:30
p.m. in Big MacBver taxx 130 today Big
MacBe madam clerk read the billsenate objection read the bill a second timex members before we officially adjourn I just wanna make you aware tomorrow aspresentative Milligan stated the house will
convene at 9:30 tomorrow morning. P purpose of that would be to take up
the senate bill by by which they passed out today should pass out of our reven taxx committee this afternoon so we'll meet at 9:30 tomorrow morning to
take up that bill. uh5 minutes upon adjournment of session tomorrow we will have a full meeting of the house caucus so please as you're kind of planning your schedule tomorrow once we adjourn session tomorrowunny die House caucus will meet5 minutes
upon adjournment for that to take up one house caucus th ing else seeing none of the desk will remain open as needed for the reading of the bills and upon completion of the items named in the adjourned resolution house will be adjourned until
Agenda
Call to Order
Prayer
Pledge
Electronic Roll Call
HB1001 Eaves TO REDUCE THE INCOME TAX RATES FOR INDIVIDUALS, TRUSTS, ESTATES, AND CORPORATIONS.
Point of Personal Privilege
Motion to Adjourn
Announcements
Adjournment
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Speaker 9
Representative Les D. Eaves Chair
Unverified
Speaker 12
Speaker 29
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
Speaker 36
Representative Ashley Hudson
Unverified
Representative David Ray
Unverified
Speaker 58
Representative DeAnn Vaught
Unverified
Speaker 61
Speaker 60
Representative Frances Cavenaugh
Unverified