Arkansans pick sales tax over property tax

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansans approved a package of property tax breaks for homeowners on Tuesday that, whether they knew it or not, also will result in a one-half cent sales tax increase. Voters also passed a spending blueprint dedicating millions of dollars annually to health-care initiatives from the state's share of a settlement with big tobacco companies. A proposal to legalize casino gambling and a state lottery was solidly rejected by voters.

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In other ballot issues, voters approved an amendment restructuring the judiciary and putting an end to partisan elections of judges.

Voters also approved proposed Amendment 1, giving city and county governments the authority to use short-term debt financing.

The tax amendment was supported by voters in nearly all of Arkansas' 75 counties. The property tax breaks were clearly stated. But the sales tax increase — effective only upon the amendment's passage — was not stated on the ballot title.

The combination of a property tax cut and a sales tax hike would benefit homeowners but result in higher overall taxes for those who rent homes or run businesses.

There was no active campaign either for or against the measure.

"We're fine with it, we're fine without it — it's not going to change the landscape of Arkansas in any way," said Gov. Mike Huckabee, who supported the amendment during the 1999 legislative session but then voted against it at the polls.

The tobacco spending plan, Initiated Act 1, was considered by the Legislature during a special session this year. When lawmakers failed to reach an agreement, Gov. Mike Huckabee initiated a petition-signature campaign to put the plan on the ballot. The governor then led the advertising campaign for Initiated Act 1.

"This is a legacy that will be given to the children of our state, and to really all the citizens, for better health care," Huckabee said Tuesday night.

Arkansas is expected to receive $1.6 billion within 25 years from the legal settlement with big tobacco companies, although the annual payments could extend indefinitely.

Huckabee Creates Tax Me More Fund
By Arkansas Business staff
11/29/2001 2:09:11 PM

Gov. Mike Huckabee on Wednesday challenged anyone demanding he raise taxes during the economic slowdown and state budget shortfall to lead the way by contributing to his Tax Me More Fund at the state Department of Finance and Administration.

Huckabee announced the fund Wednesday when speaking to the Arkansas Farm Bureau Convention in Little Rock.

The governor made the challenge as the state agencies cut millions of dollars from their budgets. On Nov. 15, the state’s financial officers gave lawmakers a revised budget outlook for fiscal 2002, which included cutting $142 million from general revenue.

Huckabee and the state Department of Finance and Administration blamed the shortfall on an economic slowdown that resulted in fewer corporate tax collections. Officials also said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks exacerbated the downturn.

Some lawmakers questioned Huckabee’s televised statement on Nov. 14 that, despite the shortfall, now was not the time to raise taxes.

“What we have experienced in Arkansas state government is what cities, counties and states all over the United States are experiencing,” the governor said Wednesday.

Huckabee said he created the Tax Me More Fund so those who believe they should be paying more taxes can make a contribution to the state and set an example for others. All money sent to the account will go to the state’s general revenue fund to help offset the current revenue shortfall, he said.

“There’s nothing in the law that prohibits those who believe they aren’t paying enough in taxes from writing a check to the state of Arkansas,” the governor said. “Maybe this will make them feel better.”

Huckabee said he’s tired of hearing some at the state Capitol say Arkansans need to pay more in taxes. He said nobody has approached him during his frequent travels across the state to say they want their taxes raised.

The governor said he won’t donate to the fund because he thinks he and other Arkansans already are paying enough taxes.

“We have the Revenue Stabilization Act that allows us to react to economic downturns and prevent deficit spending without having to call a special legislative session,” Huckabee said. “The system is working just as it was designed to work.”

The address of the account is P.O. Box 8054, Little Rock, AR 72203.

Huckabee Says Being Governor Changed on 9/11/01

September 11, 2003 - Posted at: 8:24 a.m. CDT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Governor Huckabee says the job of being governor changed dramatically on Sepember 11, 2001.

The governor says the attacks created a sudden shift in priorities to ensure the safety of Arkansas residents. He said the state had to review its protocols for response, to make sure there is communication between agencies that would be first to respond to an attack.

Huckabee says the state had to look at a range of possible targets, including the Pine Bluff Arsenal and Arkansas Nuclear One. He also said the state had to make sure it could communicate quickly with the public to bring about an evacuation or avert panic based on only rumors.

Still, Huckabee emphasized that the chances of an attack in Arkansas are remote.

Huckabee spoke this morning on Little Rock television station KTHV.

AP Online
10-26-2001
Ark. Governor Rejects Smoking Ban

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Gov. Mike Huckabee rejected a proposed restaurant smoking ban Friday, saying that while he personally opposed smoking, the state should not infringe upon the rights of people who smoke.

The governor also questioned whether the ban was constitutional and said money spent fighting possible lawsuits could be better spent on smoking prevention efforts.

Arkansas' Health Board voted Thursday to ban smoking in businesses that make more than 70 percent of the money from food ...

Under Huckabee's proposal, each restaurant in Arkansas is invited to apply to the state Health Department for gold, silver or bronze "Healthy Arkansas" recognition, based on its providing approved healthful menu options and smoke-free dining.

According to Foulkes, Arkansas is the first state to propose such a reward system, whose aim is encouraging voluntary adherence by business owners to practices that are believed to be socially beneficial.

Award-winning restaurants can earn door decals based on their levels of adherence to the program. The levels are as follows: offering smoke-free dining, which allows no smoking on premises; offering a designated nonsmoking dining with separate ventilation; or simply offering a designated nonsmoking area. Participating restaurants also may use the "Healthy Arkansas" logo in advertising.

"The governor wants to encourage rather than enforce," said Jim Harris, spokesman for Huckabee. "He doesn't want government to become the smoke police or the fat police." Yet when he argues, as he has previously, that local rather than state government should answer smoking issues, the governor's critics maintain that Huckabee contradicts himself.

Smoking-ban supporters attacked Huckabee's voluntary alternative as a "publicity campaign" that fails to address the health hazard of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers and employees--and that, they argue, will have little positive influence on public health within the state.

"It's a smoke screen, and its purpose is to take away HB 1883's momentum," said Tobacco-Free Kids' Daniels. "On an eight-hour Saturday, a high-school student working at a restaurant where smoking is allowed breathes the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes."

According to spokesman Harris, restaurants have until the end of April to submit applications. He said an announcement of awards would be made in June, but he declined to speculate on how many of the state's 4,000 restaurants are expected to apply.

In 2003 a similar Bradford-sponsored smoking ban bill became stalled in the rules committee. And four years ago Huckabee refused to sign into law the landmark state health-department-drafted nonsmoking regulation on which both Bradford bills were based.