Benjamin Hardy

More tax cuts incoming: Governor calls special session next week

by Benjamin Hardy June 11, 2024 6:29 pmJuly 1, 2024 5:26 am

Blessed with prosperous economic times, one might think Sanders would split the difference: Put some revenue towards much-needed state services and some towards tax cuts. But that’s not her approach.

Arkansas Blog

Lawsuit challenges LEARNS voucher program as unconstitutional

by Benjamin Hardy June 10, 2024 2:46 pmJune 21, 2024 5:51 pm

The lawsuit says the genesis of the LEARNS voucher program lies in efforts to resist federal desegregation orders in the wake of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Arkansas Blog

Arkansas: abortion-free in ’23? The Week in Review, June 9, 2024

by Benjamin Hardy and Omaya Jones June 9, 2024 10:52 amJune 21, 2024 5:51 pm

This week: A settlement with Exxon, 11 years later. SCOTUS revives a gerrymandering case, but it faces long odds. And, fact and fiction on the state’s abortion numbers.

Arkansas Blog

Prosecutor declines to press charges in Gov. Sanders’ lecterngate scandal

by Benjamin Hardy June 7, 2024 4:56 pmJune 21, 2024 5:51 pm

Jones’ three-page letter to legislative auditors appears to mostly embrace Sanders’ narrative. He demurs on the question of whether the governor must follow state procurement and accounting law.

Arkansas Blog

Voter registration groups sue over Arkansas’s abrupt rejection of e-signatures on forms

by Benjamin Hardy June 6, 2024 1:45 pmJune 21, 2024 5:50 pm

Get Loud’s lawsuit, which seeks relief under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, draws a direct link to the disenfranchisement of Black voters in the segregated South.

Arkansas Blog

Education vendor Solution Tree abandons ship on hefty state contract

by Benjamin Hardy June 3, 2024 2:12 pmJune 21, 2024 5:49 pm

After facing tough questions last week from legislators about a new, seven-year, $100 million contract, Solution Tree appears to be throwing in the towel.

Arkansas Blog