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“Formal or informal oversight for these recommendations and others should rest with an individual or team that shall work in a collaborative manner with the executive branch to advance efficiencies.” Policy Foundation, Arkansas Efficiency Project, Recommendation #20, 3Q-2016 (December 2016) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson launched phase two of the state government Efficiency Project by naming Amy Fecher to […]

(November 2016) The Policy Foundation’s Efficiency Project has identified 184 cost-saving initiatives underway at Arkansas state departments.  The initiatives are listed in a report that has been delivered to Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson. Gov. Hutchinson directed state agencies to cooperate with the Efficiency Project last December.  The Policy Foundation is publishing the 70-page report this fall.  Following […]

Arkansas is a rural state that suffers from a shortage of medical professionals. One oft-discussed idea would assign advanced nurse practitioners a greater role. A lesser-known idea allows medical professionals to volunteer across state lines. It’s early on a recent Saturday morning at Manassas High School on Memphis’ near-north side. Remote Area Medical (RAM), a […]

As Governor of the State of Arkansas, I am committed to preserving and protecting the financial integrity of our state.  Transparency, accountability, and efficiency promote the people’s faith in good government.  The citizens of Arkansas deserve a critical evaluation of their state government to ensure the cost-effective delivery of services and to ensure that state employees have […]

“The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a better school for their sons […]

Cato Recommendations For Arkansas (August 2016) The Cato Institute, a Washington think tank, has issued its annual ‘Freedom in the 50 States’ report. The report’s fiscal and education recommendations include the following ideas: Fiscal: Cut the state sales and use tax, which is high. Let local governments vary property taxes to meet local needs and […]

The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a better school for their sons […]

(May 2016) Total operating expenditures at four Arkansas state departments have increased at average annual rates greater than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since the last recession ended in mid-2009.  These actual agency expenditures1 increased at annual rates ranging from 3.8% (Community Corrections) to 1.9% (Education Department, Public School Fund) versus 1.5% inflation (CPI):                                                                                     Total Operating Expenditures […]

(April 2016) The Policy Foundation noted more than a decade ago that state spending growth linked to an economic metric such as the Consumer Price Index would save tax dollars. CPI has increased at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent in the economic expansion that started in 2009.  Yet spending increases at higher percentage rates […]

(March 2016) Revised federal data1 show Benton County achieved an all-time Arkansas high (153.2%) in per capita personal income2 in 2012. Arkansas officials have long sought to achieve 100 percent income parity with the U.S.  Benton County, home to public companies Wal-Mart and J.B. Hunt Transport Services has exceeded 100 percent since 1997, according to data revisions from […]