Arkansas

Arkansas lawmakers to tackle spending this week

Published

2 days ago

April 13, 2026

Arkansas lawmakers to tackle spending this week

Arkansas lawmakers are entering another week of the state’s fiscal session, where key decisions about how taxpayer money is spent are being made largely in budget committee meetings rather than on the House or Senate floor.During the fiscal session, lawmakers focus primarily on approving the state’s budget — deciding how money is distributed to agencies and programs that fund core services.This week, legislators are expected to work through hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, with a focus on education, health care and other essential services.Much of that work happens in the Joint Budget Committee, where lawmakers review agency requests and build the state’s spending plan before sending bills to the full House and Senate for final approval.On Tuesday, lawmakers are set to review whether the state should pay out claims and lawsuit settlements, including cases involving the Department of Corrections. They will also consider funding for several constitutional offices, including the Supreme Court, secretary of state and auditor. By Wednesday, the focus shifts to major state agencies such as the departments of health, human services and education, which fund programs like Medicaid, public health services and schools. Lawmakers will also review how federal funding is being used, including money from programs created during and after the pandemic and infrastructure investments. That includes more than $1 billion the state expects to receive over several years to support health care, particularly in rural areas.Rep. Lee Johnson, R-Greenwood and vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said the funding presents a significant opportunity for the state.“’One big, beautiful bill’ is bringing over $1 billion into our state over the next five years through rural health transformation funding,” Johnson said. “That’s a tremendous opportunity for us to improve health care in Arkansas.”The discussions come as Arkansas is projecting a budget surplus, shifting the debate from whether to cut spending to how to allocate additional funds.Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said lawmakers are focused on how to use that surplus while continuing efforts to attract businesses to the state.“We have money. We’re expecting a $400 million surplus this year,” Hester said. “We’re going to get the fight over what we’re going to do with the money, not what we’re going to do in an absence of money.”However, some lawmakers have raised concerns about long-term spending commitments tied to new programs.Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, said decisions made during the fiscal session could have lasting financial impacts.“Once you’ve given somebody something from the government, it is very hard to take that thing away,” Clowney said. “This is going to be a long-term commitment that our state is going to be dealing with for a very long time.”Lawmakers are expected to continue working through budget items over the next several days before sending more spending bills to the full House and Senate for consideration.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. —

During the fiscal session, lawmakers focus primarily on approving the state’s budget — deciding how money is distributed to agencies and programs that fund core services.

This week, legislators are expected to work through hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, with a focus on education, health care and other essential services.

Much of that work happens in the Joint Budget Committee, where lawmakers review agency requests and build the state’s spending plan before sending bills to the full House and Senate for final approval.

On Tuesday, lawmakers are set to review whether the state should pay out claims and lawsuit settlements, including cases involving the Department of Corrections. They will also consider funding for several constitutional offices, including the Supreme Court, secretary of state and auditor.

By Wednesday, the focus shifts to major state agencies such as the departments of health, human services and education, which fund programs like Medicaid, public health services and schools.

Lawmakers will also review how federal funding is being used, including money from programs created during and after the pandemic and infrastructure investments. That includes more than $1 billion the state expects to receive over several years to support health care, particularly in rural areas.

Rep. Lee Johnson, R-Greenwood and vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said the funding presents a significant opportunity for the state.

“’One big, beautiful bill’ is bringing over $1 billion into our state over the next five years through rural health transformation funding,” Johnson said. “That’s a tremendous opportunity for us to improve health care in Arkansas.”

The discussions come as Arkansas is projecting a budget surplus, shifting the debate from whether to cut spending to how to allocate additional funds.

Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said lawmakers are focused on how to use that surplus while continuing efforts to attract businesses to the state.

“We have money. We’re expecting a $400 million surplus this year,” Hester said. “We’re going to get the fight over what we’re going to do with the money, not what we’re going to do in an absence of money.”

However, some lawmakers have raised concerns about long-term spending commitments tied to new programs.

Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, said decisions made during the fiscal session could have lasting financial impacts.

“Once you’ve given somebody something from the government, it is very hard to take that thing away,” Clowney said. “This is going to be a long-term commitment that our state is going to be dealing with for a very long time.”

Lawmakers are expected to continue working through budget items over the next several days before sending more spending bills to the full House and Senate for consideration.

Source link

Click to comment

Arkansas

No. 36 Men’s Tennis Opens SEC Tournament Against No. 26 Kentucky

Published

11 hours ago

April 15, 2026

Press Room

No. 36 Men’s Tennis Opens SEC Tournament Against No. 26 Kentucky

Avri Kamplain
April 14, 2026

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 36 Arkansas men’s tennis team (16-13) travels to College Station, Texas to begin postseason play at the 2026 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament. The Razorbacks will face No. 26 Kentucky (16-12) in the first round on Wednesday, April 15 at 2 p.m. CT.

Arkansas and Kentucky met earlier this season on March 8 in Fayetteville, where the Razorbacks earned a 4-3 victory. Arkansas enters the tournament ranked No. 36 in the latest ITA team rankings, led by No. 20 Jakub Vrba in singles. In doubles, the duo of Eric Padgham and Ben Weintraub come in at No. 30 nationally.

Kentucky comes into the matchup ranked No. 26 with a 16-12 overall record. The Wildcats feature multiple ranked players, including Eli Stephenson at No. 21 and Nicolas Arseneault at No. 54 in singles, along with Jack Loutit at No. 82. In doubles, Kentucky is highlighted by the No. 17 pair of Loutit and Stephenson, as well as No. 83 Nicolas Arseneault and Matt Rankin.

The winner of the Arkansas/Kentucky match will advance to face No. 6 Georgia on Thursday.

Live stats and video links are available on the men’s tennis schedule page.

For the latest information on all things Arkansas Men’s Tennis, follow the Hogs on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Men’s Tennis) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackMTennis).

Source link

Arkansas

Shepherd confirmed as federal judge in Arkansas’ Western District – Talk Business & Politics

Published

24 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

Shepherd confirmed as federal judge in Arkansas’ Western District – Talk Business & Politics

John Thomas Shepherd of El Dorado has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be a U.S. District judge in the Western District of Arkansas, according to the offices of U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Shepherd is a native of El Dorado and graduate of Rice University and the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, where he was managing editor of the Arkansas Law Review.

He was a partner at Shepherd & Shepherd in El Dorado and also served as a prosecuting attorney, and later judge, for the Arkansas Circuit Court’s 13th Judicial District. He is a member of the Federalist Society, according to a press release from Cotton’s office.

His brother, Matthew Shepherd, is a partner in the El Dorado law firm and is a former speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives. Their father is Federal Judge Bobby Shepherd who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

“I am pleased to congratulate John Thomas Shepherd on his confirmation and am confident he will serve with the same integrity, professionalism and sound judgment he has demonstrated throughout his career,” noted a statement from Boozman’s. “We are grateful for his deep commitment to public service and the rule of law.”

Shepherd succeeds U.S. District Court Judge Susan Hickey who has been on the bench since October 2011. She was chief judge of the district between 2019 and 2025. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas includes 34 counties stretching from Texarkana and El Dorado to Fayetteville and Fort Smith.

Shepherd is the second Western District judge to be confirmed so far in 2026. David Clay Fowlkes, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, was confirmed in early February to be a federal judge in the Western District of Arkansas. He succeeded U.S. District Court Judge P.K. Holmes III, and will be in the Fort Smith office.

Other judges now in the Western District are Chief Judge Timothy Brooks (Fayetteville bench), Magistrate Judge Christy Comstock (Fayetteville), Magistrate Judge Mark Ford (Fort Smith), and Magistrate Judge Spencer Singleton (El Dorado).

Source link