Do you have a tip for making Arkansas state government more efficient or cost-effective? Please contact the Policy Foundation: ideas@arkansaspolicyfoundation.org
Featured Articles
Charter Enrollment Stable Near 40,000
(October 30, 2021) Newly-released public records show 39,232 students enrolled in Arkansas conversion and open-enrollment charter schools in the 2021-22 school year. There were 40,512 students enrolled in charters in the 2020-21 school year.
(September 2021) Arkansas policymakers have taken action to boost Arkansas' economic competitiveness by cutting the top income tax rate from 7.0% to 5.9%. Tax cut opponents maintain there is no economic advantage to reducing rates. Yet U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs data show states without an income tax enjoy an economic advantage over those with the highest tax rates. States without income taxes have emerged as regional jobs magnets.
(August 2021) Tax cut critics claim an income tax cut would benefit only a small number of Arkansans but DFA records show 772,459 filers paid the top 5.9% rate.
The DFA communication states: "Regarding the state’s top rate (5.9%), a total of 772,459 taxpayers paid the top income tax rate in the most recent data available."
Border States Reduce Income Taxes (UPDATED)
(July 2021) Four of six states that border Arkansas have acted this year to reduce state income tax rates. They are Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri and Louisiana. A fifth border state-Texas-does not have a state income tax.
(June 2021) Three states that border Arkansas have taken action this year to reduce their top state income tax rates. The states are Tennessee, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
A fourth border state-Texas-does not have a state income tax.
Income Tax Cut Would Place Arkansas Among Third Of States With Lowest Rates
(2Q-2021) Cutting Arkansas' top income tax rate to 4.79% would place it among the third of states with the lowest rates, a reversal of its relative position in 2015 when it ranked among states with the highest rates.
(March 2021) A proposal pending in the state House of Representatives would reduce Arkansas' top income tax rate from 5.9% to 5.8%, public records show.
Arkansas Jobs Growth Declined After Minimum Wage Increases
(March 2021) Arkansas' job creation rate in the Leisure and Hospitality employment supersector declined after two minimum wage increases last decade, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) records show.
(March 31, 2021) Two measures expanding scope of practice for certified nurse practitioners have been approved by the state General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
(February 2021) What is the proper growth rate for state spending? For more than a decade this idea has been debated. One idea advanced by U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman while in the state legislature would limit spending to Arkansas personal income growth. More recently, spending at some agencies has increased less than CPI during the administration of Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
(January 2021) Five years ago, the Efficiency Project identified DFA as a key agency to advance efficiency in Arkansas state government. PwC and the Policy Foundation made recommendations in two reports. A strong, preexisting DFA culture has applied Project recommendations to significantly improve several processes. Total savings from DFA actions to improve these processes is estimated at $61.8 million through September 30, 2020.
(December 2020) A report by the Hutchinson administration to a legislative panel estimates $57.6 million in savings from last year's reorganization of state government. The report, which surveys efficiency efforts since July 2019 also cites a Policy Foundation finding that the state has recovered more than $40 million from "collection recovery efforts."
(December 2020) Arkansas' top marginal income tax rate drops from 6.6% to 5.9% effective January 1, 2021, the latest action to make the state more competitive with states in the Southeast region. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has presided over income tax cuts since assuming office in January 2015. The top marginal rate was 7.0% at the time.
(December 2020) Nearly 100,000 students attend charter, home or private schools, or are eligible to participate in a public school choice program, state Department of Education and non-profit records show. Twenty-five (25) counties have the largest number of charter, home and private school students.
Most Arkansas public companies are based in one of the 10 largest county markets.
(November 2020) Public records show declines in "total operating expenditures" (FY2015-to-2019, at 15 Arkansas colleges and universities. Eight other colleges and universities increased total operating expenditures less than the Consumer Price Index.
(November 2020) The practical effect of a CPI-Expenditures link is that it incentivizes officials to search for efficiencies in a low-inflation environment.
(October 2020) Nearly 100,000 Arkansas students attend charter, home or private schools, or are eligible to participate in a public school choice program, according to state Department of Education and non-profit records. The niche school choice market has grown from 66,627 students (2013) to 97,337 (2019-21). Factors contributing to this market's growth include dissatisfaction with public schools deemed 'failing' in letter-grade surveys, technology that makes distance learning feasible, and religious affiliations.
(October 2020) Four counties led Arkansas income ranks in the last decade, recording levels greater than the state average, according to federal data. The counties are Benton, Pulaski, Union and Arkansas. They were the only counties to report per capita personal income levels greater than the Arkansas average in 2009 and 2018, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis records show.
(September 2020) Arkansas' job creation rate topped 21 states in the national expansion that started in June 2009 and ended earlier this year in February, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) records show. The finding is noteworthy because some observers still relegate Arkansas to 48th or 49th in national economic rankings.
(August 2020) The market response to COVID-19 is to increase the supply of medical services in response to increased demand as a result of the outbreak. There are numerous actions Arkansas state government can take to accomplish this goal. These include temporary suspension of rules and regulations, and repeal of laws that interfere with expanding access to care.
(July 2020) The Policy Foundation's Efficiency Project (2015-16), funded with support from private foundations, represented an investment in Arkansas' economic future.
Public Records
State of Arkansas, Examples of Transformation Savings (July 2019-March 2020) Read More
(June 8, 2020) The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the official arbiter of the U.S. business cycle announced today that the economy entered a recession in February, according to a release from the Cambridge, MA., nonprofit.
The Policy Foundation announced last month that a recession began in February based on peaks in four coincident indicators including payroll employment.
Newsmaker Interview: Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin On Efficiency, Transformation & Tax Cuts
(April 2020) A 5th generation Arkansan, Tim Griffin was raised in Magnolia and has served as Arkansas lieutenant governor since 2015. Lt. Gov. Griffin spoke at the Policy Foundation's 20th anniversary event in 2015 and served on the Transformation Advisory Board, a 15-member citizens panel (2017-18) that emerged from the Policy Foundation's Efficiency Project (2015-16). The Board's work led to the reorganization of Arkansas state government in 2019.
The Policy Foundation recently interviewed Lt. Gov. Griffin about his work to transform Arkansas state government and make Arkansas' economy more competitive with other states.
(March 2020) Previous Policy Foundation research memos and news media have noted the prevalence of a significant school choice market in Pulaski County, Arkansas' largest by population. Another school choice market exists in a nine-county area of East Arkansas where more than 8,000 K-12 students are enrolled in charter, private and home schools, according to public records.
Arkansas Income Tax Rate Declines
Top Rate Still High For Region
(February 2020) Arkansas' top income tax rate declined from 6.9% to 6.6% but is still second-highest in the southeast region, trailing only South Carolina (7.0%), according to records from the Federation of State Tax Administrators.
Newsmaker Interview: Justin Pearson Case Created Taxicab Market
(January 2020) Three years ago, a government-imposed monopoly existed in Little Rock, interfering with an entrepreneur and limiting consumer choice to one taxicab company. Today, more competition exists thanks to a successful legal challenge handled by Justin Pearson, an attorney with the Institute for Justice. The Policy Foundation recently interviewed Pearson about the case.
(December 2019) Social services operating expenditures totaled $8.1 billion (FY2017), consuming nearly one-third (32%) of total state spending in this area. Only one other department--Education--topped $1 billion, records show.
(November 2019) Arkansas taxpayers would have saved $900 million if CPI had been linked to actual spending from FY 2015 to FY 2017. Policymakers do not possess a time machine but they could generate savings in future state budgets by establishing a CPI spending cap.
Pulaski County School Choice Market Surpasses Little Rock Enrollment
(November 2019) More K-12 students are now enrolled in the Pulaski County school choice market than in the Little Rock School District, public records show.
State Employees Decline Nearly 1,600 Under Gov. Hutchinson
(October 2019) The number of state executive branch employees has declined by 1,589 since Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson took office in January 2015, public records show.
(September 2019) Fort Smith accountant Mike Carroll has played an important role in Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to reorganize Arkansas state government. Mr. Carroll chaired the Transformation Advisory Board, a 15-member citizens panel that made policy recommendations to the Hutchinson administration.
(August 2019) Arkansas' unemployment rate hit consecutive all-time record lows this Summer, declining to 3.5% in June and 3.4% in July, preliminary jobs data from the state Department of Workforce Services (ADWS) shows.
(August 2019) A near-daily barrage of media reports and political speculations claim the U.S. economy has either entered a recession or faces one in the near future. Recent events are reminiscent of 1992 when Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and others claimed economic conditions were contracting, though it was later revealed that the U.S. economy had expanded since March 1991.
(July 2019) The U.S. economy entered record territory this month as the economic expansion that began in June 2009 entered its 11th year, eclipsing the previous 10-year record (1991-2001) in the business cycle chronology compiled by economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
State Policymakers Approve County Budget Transparency
(June 2019) All 75 Arkansas counties will be required to post their annual budgets online starting in 2020, according to a measure approved unanimously by state legislators and signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
(June 2019) Arkansas policymakers have reduced the state capital gains tax. Opponents claim the reduction only benefits a small group but public records show nearly one in eight Arkansas taxpayers pay annual capital gains taxes.
(May 2019) The 92nd General Assembly of Arkansas will be remembered for advancing tax cuts as public policy, a unique development in a state better known for government attempts to generate economic activity.
(May 2019) The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management strategy that uses a focusing process to create efficient outcomes. TOC is one of several strategies that managers and employees can use to make state government more efficient. One scholar has described TOC as "understanding how to exploit constraints rather than surrendering to them ..."
(April 2019) A massive 2,047-page bill approved by the state General Assembly and signed into law this month by Gov. Asa Hutchinson is the foundation for the biggest Arkansas state government reorganization in nearly 50 years.
(April 2019) K-12 students enrolled at Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association-affiliated schools outside of Pulaski County compose 51.7% (9,812) of total ANSAA enrollment in 2018-19. Enrollment at ANSAA-affiliated schools is 18,987.These schools serve students in 22 of Arkansas' 75 counties.
Middle Class Value: Private School Tuition & The Arkansas Foundation Grant
(March 2019) Critics argue school choice benefits only the wealthy but records show most Arkansas private schools serve the middle-class, charging annual tuition rates less than the $6,781 state K-12 student foundation grant.
(February 2019) Arkansas has made fiscal progress in the post-Clinton era. But policies that place it at a competitive disadvantage with other states must be answered with tomorrow's fiscal reforms if the goal is a stronger economy.
(January 30, 2019) A fiscal proposal by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state legislators is being described as the "two-four-five point nine" (2-4-5.9) plan because of the lower income tax rates it would levy on Arkansas taxpayers.
(January 2019) Various factors such as a skilled work force, infrastructure and tax rates influence economic development. The current economic expansion started in mid-2009. How does Arkansas' performance fare versus the region?
(January 1, 2019) The state grocery tax--6.0% as recently as mid-2007--is being reduced to 0.125% as Arkansas joins 36 states with similar policies. A small group of Arkansans have advanced repeal for at least a quarter-century.
Little Rock Charter Enrollment, Zip Codes & Median Household Income
(January 2019) Sixty-five percent (65%) of the nearly 4,800 K-12 students enrolled in Little Rock open-enrollment public charters in 2018-19 attend schools in zip codes with median household incomes less than $62,258, Arkansas Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau data show. Three percent (3%) of students attend a charter in one of Little Rock's three most affluent zip codes. By contrast, 31 percent (31%) of students attend charters in Little Rock's three poorest zip codes, ADE and Census data show.
(December 2018) The Arkansas school choice market continues its explosive growth rate, expanding from an estimated 66,627 K-12 students (2013) to more than 83,000 (2018). This niche market includes those eligible for public school choice programs; and homeschooled, private and charter students.
Pulaski County School Choice Market Larger Than 3 Of 4 Public K-12 Districts
(December 2018) More K-12 students are participating in the Pulaski County school choice market in the current school year (2018-19) than total enrollment in three of four local public school districts, Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) records and other data show.
(November 2018) On Nov. 27 the Policy Foundation hosted a Fiscal Policy Forum at Heifer Village in Little Rock to provide Arkansas citizens with information on ideas likely to emerge in 2019. A diverse group of students, senior citizens, researchers and policymakers participated in three panels that examined road funding, the state income tax, the grocery tax and the EITC. There was no charge to attend and attendees asked several dozen questions.
Policy Foundation Dinner With The Center For The Study Of Liberty
(November 2018) The Policy Foundation is joining with the Indiana-based Center for the Study of Liberty (CSL) to host a Nov. 15 dinner on the conversational topic "Poverty and Education."
Policy Foundation To Host Nov. 27 Fiscal Policy Forum
(October 2018) The Policy Foundation will host a fiscal policy forum Nov. 27 (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) at Heifer Village in Little Rock to examine ideas expected to be considered in the 92nd General Assembly (2019) of the state legislature.
Utah Leads U.S. In Jobs Creation Arkansas Trails U.S. Average
(September 2018) Utah leads the United States in jobs creation since the end of the Great Recession in mid-2009, expanding payroll employment at a 28.4% rate versus the 14% national average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics records show. Arkansas trailed the U.S. in the period, creating new jobs at a 7.5% rate.
(August 2018) A state legislative task force has recommended reducing the highest Arkansas income tax rate, a policy advanced by the Policy Foundation since its founding as a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank in 1995.
OpenTheBooks.Com: Legislator Charged With Failing To Pay Income Taxes Or File Returns Received $118,988 In Salary Over Three Years
(July 2018) State Rep. Michael "Mickey" Gates, R-Hot Springs, charged recently with failing to pay state income taxes or file returns was paid $78,800 in legislative salary (2016-17), and is receiving $40,188 this year, according to OpenTheBooks.com, a non-profit that advances government transparency.
OpenTheBooks.Com: Little Rock District Paid 102 Administrators More Than State Leaders
(June 2018) It pays to be a Little Rock School District employee more than a top state official. The Little Rock School District, the subject of a 2015 state takeover paid 102 officials more than $89,301, the new annual salary of the Arkansas' Auditor of State, Secretary of State and Treasurer.
(May 2018) Sixteen state agencies reviewed by the Efficiency Project in 2016 have adopted Recommendation No. 3, which called on agencies to develop strategic plans and post them online in a format "accessible to citizens."
OpenTheBooks.Com: Failing District Spent $8.3 Million On Salaries In 2016
(May 2018) The Dollarway School District, taken over by the state in 2015, spent $8,309,639 on employee salaries in 2016, according to public records compiled by OpenTheBooks.com, a non-profit that advances government transparency as a policy goal.
(May 2018) Eleven Arkansas state agencies have amended their mission or core value statements to advance the idea of efficiency in their operations, according to public records. The Efficiency Project, a Policy Foundation project made the recommendation in a 2016 report.
(May 2018) The state Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) continues to reduce tax debts owed Arkansas, recovering $132.3 million in outstanding receivables in calendar year 2017. This is $21 million greater than the amount ($111.3 million) collected by DFA in calendar year 2016.
(April 2018) Only eight Arkansas counties post annual budgets online for citizens while others publish an annual appropriation notice in the paper of record, a legal requirement. Every county should post its budget in an easily-accessible format. This lack of transparency can be illustrated by comparing Arkansas counties with those with similar names in other states.
(April 2018) A new Arkansas Department of Education School Index report assigns twice as many 'A' grades to traditional high schools as failing ('F') marks. ADE also reported more than three times as many 'A' grades to traditional elementary schools as failing marks. A standard distribution would report a similar number of 'A' and 'F' schools.
Federal Tax Cut Provision Advances Arkansas School Choice
(March 2018) A provision of the recently-enacted Republican federal tax cut, meant to increase competition in the delivery of education services was approved by the state legislature in mid-March and became law on March 20.
(March 2018) Critics argue only the rich benefit from school choice but records show more than 30 Arkansas private schools charge tuition less than the top individual benefit ($5,000) of 529 savings plans. Another six schools enroll younger students at similar rates. About 7,500 students attend these schools.
(March 2018) The Policy Foundation was established in 1995 as a nonpartisan, 501(c)(c) non-profit think tank. For nearly a quarter-century the Foundation has advanced market-based ideas to the people of Arkansas. The Foundation advances these ideas in various ways, including public forums, news media reports, special projects, and research posted on its website. One idea is school choice, which the Policy Foundation has advanced as a process to increase competition within Arkansas' current model of education.
OpenTheBooks: Salaries Total $38.9 Million In Six 'Low-Performing' East Arkansas Districts
(February 2018) Arkansas taxpayers spent $38.9 million on employee salaries in six low-performing east Arkansas K-12 public school districts, while policymakers fought expanded school choice for nearly 80,000 students not attending traditional public schools, according to OpenTheBooks.com and public records.
(February 12, 2018) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed using efficiencies and savings from the transformation of state government to reduce the top state individual income tax rate from 6.9 to 6.0 percent in 2019.
Arkansas Has Second Highest Corporate Income Tax Rate In Region
(February 2018) Arkansas is among states with the second highest top corporate income tax rate in the 12-state southeast region, according to 2017 data from the Federation of State Tax Administrators.
(January 2018) Records show the Arkansas school choice market continues to grow at a high rate, expanding from an estimated 66,627 K-12 students (2013) to 79,325 (2017). This niche educational market includes students eligible to participate in public school choice programs, capped at three percent (3%) of enrollment; and homeschooled, private and charter students.
The Arkansas Policy Foundation is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that analyzes the impact of public policy on Arkansas and makes recommendations.
The Foundation emphasizes the importance of tax policy and education reform.
Principles of tax policy: Arkansas would benefit from comprehensive, pro-growth reform; Arkansans are not under-taxed; taxes and rates do matter to entrepreneurs; dynamic scoring of tax changes and effects provides benefits.
Education reform: The Foundation seeks intellectual honesty and complete openness in reporting the lack of academic progress in Arkansas' school system.
The Arkansas Council on Economic Education (ACEE) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization founded in 1962 to promote economic literacy in Arkansas. www.economicsarkansas.org/
Journal Publications
“Michigan’s MEGA Tax Credits: Hayek’s Insight”
Economic Development Quarterly
Cleveland: Sage Publications
2012
"Wolverines, Razorbacks and Skyscrapers"
Transaction Periodicals Consortium,
Rutgers University
Winter 2010
"The Austrian School in the NBER's Business Cycle Studies"
QJAE
Summer 2010
'Regulation of financial derivatives in the U.S. code' Derivatives Use, Trading and Regulation (London, U.K.) Palgrave Macmillian Ltd. February 2006 Read Online
Policy Foundation research on this topic cited by Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe (Opinion No. 2005-291)
'A review of state statutes regulating financial derivatives in the USA' Pensions, an International Journal (London, U.K.) Palgrave Macmillian Ltd. 2004 Read Online
