Arkansas lawmakers returned to the Capitol Wednesday for the start of the state’s eighth fiscal session. Held in even-numbered years, fiscal session work is focused on finalizing the state budget.
Legislative sessions occur in odd-numbered years, but lawmakers can take up non-appropriation matters during the fiscal session with a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber.
The fiscal session lasts a maximum of 30 days unless three-fourths of the Arkansas Legislature votes to extend it. Legislative leadership has said they expect the session to be straightforward and wrap up in less than three weeks.
Throughout April lawmakers will consider the governor’s proposed $6.3 billion general revenue budget. The proposed 1.76% increase of $109 million, if approved by the Legislature, would be a significantly smaller increase to the state budget than what has been proposed in recent years.
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1) State of the State
In her first State of the State address, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders touted the success of legislation targeting education and public safety, her two biggest priorities during her first year in office.
About $100 million of the governor’s proposed budget increase will support initiatives in the LEARNS Act, Sanders’ signature law that made wide-ranging changes to the Arkansas’ education system, including raising the state’s minimum teacher salary to $50,000 and creating a school voucher program. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders shakes hands with Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro, as she enters the Arkansas House to give her first State of the State address on April 10, 2024. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
The Educational Freedom Account program allows state funds to be used for allowable education expenses, such as private school tuition. Roughly 60% of the state budget’s proposed increase is directed toward the EFA program.
Sanders’ budget proposal also includes $3.8 million to “replenish” the ranks of the Arkansas State Police. Sanders said she wants to add 100 new officers to the force.
Sanders also lauded several other policies enacted during her first year, including two laws cuttingincome taxes, plans to open a new 3,000-bed prison, an executive order banning certain gender-neutral terms in government documents and a social media age verification law, which has been temporarily blocked in court.
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2) Correctional costs
The Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee on Thursday debated whether to give the state Department of Corrections extra money during the current fiscal year to be distributed to county jails as reimbursement for housing state prisoners.
Sanders sent a letter to lawmakers requesting the approval of $4.2 million in general revenue funds for jail reimbursements for the 2024 fiscal year, which ends June 30.
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The legislative panel ultimately approved the requested funds, but Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, took issue with approving the total amount after the state budget director said the Department of Corrections likely needed closer to $3 million because fewer inmates have been kept in county jails than originally predicted.
Hickey also voted against the request because he said he disapproved of the committee giving state agencies money that would carry over from one fiscal year to another.
Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said she supported the $4.2 million appropriation in case $3 million would not be enough.
3) Cryptocurrency mining
The Arkansas Senate laid the groundwork for considering legislation that falls outside the scope of the fiscal session by approving resolutions to amend the state employee pay plan as well as a 2023 law that limited the state’s ability to regulate cryptocurrency mining operations.
Crypto mines are large groups of computers that harvest digital currency and are often located in rural areas because they take up a lot of space. A significant amount of electricity is also needed to keep the computers running and water to cool them.
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The crypto-focused resolutions propose implementing noise limits, prohibiting ownership by foreign entities and requiring licensure by the Department of Energy and Environment.
Seven of eight proposed crypto mining resolutions passed the Senate. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, sponsored six of the resolutions, including the one that did not pass. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, sponsored six of eight resolutions on cryptocurrency mining taken up by the Arkansas Senate on April 11, 2024. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
To introduce legislation unrelated to the state budget during the fiscal session, lawmakers must file resolutions proposing the legislation by the end of the first day of the session. Both chambers of the Arkansas Legislature must then approve the resolutions with a two-thirds majority vote.
The Senate-approved resolutions will be heard by the House on Monday and must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote there in order for bills to be filed and assigned to committees for further discussion.
The Arkansas House and Senate are both scheduled to convene at 1 p.m. on Monday.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl, and both squads could have an entirely different look compared to the regular season. For Tech, the Red Raiders lost their offensive coordinator but should be a tad more stable in terms of roster outlook compared to the Razorbacks. Arkansas is down to six scholarship offensive linemen and will be missing two key starters in this bowl game. Furthermore, both squads have had players leave for the transfer portal, but the Razorbacks losses were significantly more impactful such as WR Andrew Armstrong heading to the NFL. Furthermore, Arkansas will be without two of its better defensive players: safety TJ Metcalf and EDGE rusher Landon Jackson.
Texas Tech’s biggest loss could be star RB Tahj Brooks, but he has participated in every bowl game practice leading up to the game despite not making an official decision with less than 24 hours to go before kickoff. Stability is key in modern-day bowl game matchups, and while neither side has much, the Red Raiders have a clear edge in that department. With all things considered, I’ll take Texas Tech on the moneyline.
Texas Tech ML (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number up to -140.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jaylen Raynor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go with a rushing score, and Zak Wallace had 99 yards rushing and a TD to help Arkansas State beat Bowling Green 38-31 on Thursday night in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter for a 38-24 lead. He carried the ball on the last six plays of the drive, gaining 59 yards on the eight-play, 68-yard march. It was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season, nine coming in the last six games.
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Rahkeem Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to give Bowling Green a short field. Five plays later, Smith made a 23-yard catch in the end zone to get within 38-31.
Hunter Summers easily recovered the onside kick and Wallace powered through the middle of the defense for a 19-yard gain to seal it.
Corey Rucker added 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns for Arkansas State (8-5), which won a bowl game for the first time since 2019 — the same year it last won eight games in a season.
Rucker caught a long pass from Raynor and raced for a 79-yard touchdown for a 24-14 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. Following a fumble recovery by Noah Collins, Raynor found Rucker for a 6-yard TD to make it 31-21 early in the third.
Connor Bazelak threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green (7-6). Harold Fannin Jr. had 17 catches for a career-high 213 yards and a touchdown.
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Fannin reached 125-plus yards with a touchdown for the sixth time this season, which leads the FBS.
Bowling Green’s special teams struggled. Zach Long missed his third field goal attempt of the game (one was blocked) with 10:19 left. The Falcons allowed Courtney Jackson to return a punt for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and BGSU also had a fake punt come up short of a first down in the second half.
Record Holder
Fannin made a catch midway through the first quarter to become the single-season record holder for receiving yards by a tight end in the FBS. He entered needing just 11 yards to surpass Jace Amaro’s record of 1,352 in 2013 at Texas Tech. Fannin finished the season with 1,555 yards.
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Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee
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0 Starts for Texas Tech QB Will Hammond, who will open under center for the Red Raiders against Arkansas after No. 1 QB Behren Morton had shoulder surgery. Morton threw for 3,335 yards and 27 TDs in 2024. Hammond has completed 15-of-23 passes for 191 yards with one TD and no interceptions this season. Hammond won’t have 1,000-yard receiver Josh Kelly to throw to on Friday. The wide receiver has opted out of the game.
1 Previous appearance in the Liberty Bowl for Texas Tech, which defeated Mississippi State 34-7 on Dec. 28, 2021. That kicked off the Red Raiders’ current three-game bowl winning streak that has boosted Texas Tech’s bowl record for 17-23-1.
2 Players in the nation had at least 2,800 passing yards and 500 rushing yards entering the bowl season – Arkansas QB Taylen Green and Washington State QB John Mateer. Green has completed 219-of-360 passes for 2,813 yards with 13 TDs and nine interceptions and run 141 times for 521 yards and seven TDs.
5 2-point conversions have been given up by Arkansas in 2024, tied for the most in the nation entering the bowl season. Texas Tech has scored four 2-point conversions this season.
7 Appearances in the Liberty Bowl for Arkansas when the Razorbacks take the field on Friday, the most in the game’s history (two ahead of Mississippi State). The Razorbacks have a 3-3 record in the Liberty Bowl after winning their past three appearances. Arkansas defeated East Carolina 20-17 in overtime on Jan. 2, 2010, Kansas State 45-23 on Jan. 2, 2016, and Kansas 55-53 in three overtimes on Dec. 28, 2022, and lost to Tennessee 14-13 on Dec. 20, 1971, Auburn 21-15 on Dec. 27, 1984, and Georgia 20-17 on Dec. 29, 1987. Overall, Arkansas has a 17-24-3 bowl record.
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8 Victories and three losses for Arkansas against opponents from the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences in bowls. In bowls against other conferences, the Razorbacks have a 9-21-3 record. Overall, Arkansas has a 34-14 record against Big 12 opponents since 1928, when the Big Six formed, including a 39-31 loss in two overtimes to Oklahoma State on Sept. 7.
10 Victories, 19 losses and two ties for Texas Tech against SEC opponents. The Red Raiders played their first game against an SEC opponent on Jan. 1, 1954, when Texas Tech scored a 35-13 victory over Auburn in the Gator Bowl. The Red Raiders have a 4-6-1 record in bowl against SEC opponents.
21 Victories and 11 losses for SEC teams in the Liberty Bowl. The 1965 Liberty Bowl was all-SEC, with Ole Miss beating Auburn 13-7. Big 12 teams have a 4-7 record in the Liberty Bowl. The SEC has a 4-4 record against the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences in the Liberty Bowl.
29 Victories for Arkansas and eight victories for Texas Tech in the Razorbacks-Red Raiders series, although Texas Tech won the most recent meeting 35-29 on Sept. 19, 2015, and has victories in three of the past four meetings. Thirty-two of the 37 meetings came when the teams were members of the Southwest Conference together from 1960 through 1991.
34.5 Points per game have been scored against the Texas Tech this season, the highest average yielded by any bowl participant this season. The Red Raiders led the Big 12 in scoring during the regular season with an average of 38.6 points per game.
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97 Third-down snaps were converted into first downs by Texas Texas in 2024, the most in the nation entering the bowl season. The Red Raiders have had 196 third-down snaps, tied for the second-most in the nation and have converted 49.5 percent into first downs, the sixth-best rate in the nation.
103 Yards and two TDs on 20 rushing attempts in 2024 for Rodney Hill, who is listed as the No. 1 running back on Arkansas’ depth chart for Friday’s game. Ja’Quinden Jackson led the Razorbacks with 790 yards and 15 TDs on 149 rushing attempts this season, but he has opted out of the game.
231 Plays from scrimmage gained at least 10 yards for Arkansas in 2024, the second-most in the nation entering the bowl season.
1,140 Receiving yards for Arkansas WR Andrew Armstrong, the most in the SEC this season. But Armstrong has opted out of the bowl, as has No. 2 receiver Isaiah Sategna, leaving WR Isaac TeSlaa as the Razorbacks’ leading receiver entering Friday’s game. TeSlaa has 438 yards and three TDs on 25 receptions in 2024.
1,505 Rushing yards for Texas Tech RB Tahj Brooks this season as he replaced Byron Hanspard as the Red Raiders’ career rushing leader in 2024. By running for at least 109 yards in each of his 11 games this season, Brooks lifted his career total to 4,557 rushing yards, the fourth-most in Big 12 history. Brooks is in Memphis with Texas Tech, but his participation in Friday’s game has not been confirmed by the team.
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FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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