The Arkansas Project

Paragould Arrest Could Trigger “Test Case” For Act 746

April 22, 2014 Nic Horton 1 Comment

Mason Brannon of Paragould was arrested on March 1st for carrying a firearm without a concealed carry permit. Brannon’s arrest, and his pending prosecution, could serve as the first “test case” of Act 746, which became law last year. However, the trial won’t be a walk in the park for Prosecutor Scott Ellington -- because Act 746 imposes a new, and especially high, burden of proof on the state. Thanks to Act 746, possession of a firearm is no longer a crime in Arkansas. Under the act, which … [Read more...]

Feel That Breeze? It’s Senator Sample Spinning On The ‘Private’ Option

April 21, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

Senator Bill Sample has found himself in a heated primary contest with challenger Jerry Neal. Sample’s support of the Obamacare “private” option has become central to the campaign debate. Neal says he is against it; Sample has voted for it repeatedly and still believes it’s the best path for Arkansas’s health care system. Recently, both candidates spoke before the Garland Good Government Group. During the Q&A period, Sample was asked about his support for the PO. After all, the questioner … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2014 Republican Primaries, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans, Private Option Tagged With: 2014 Republican primaries, Arkansas, Garland County, GOP, health care, Hot Springs, Jerry Neal, Policy, Politics, private option, Senator Bill Sample

Don’t Worry, All Is Well With The ‘Private’ Option! (Podcast)

April 18, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

This week on The Arkansas Project Podcast: "Private" option costs have gone up, again Senator Bryan King speaks out about lack of competition in the PO Milton Friedman: Four different ways to spend money Damon Wallace has a fake degree Our report on AR primary candidates … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Damon Wallace, Government Waste, health care, media, medicaid, Milton Friedman, obamacare, podcast, Policy, private option, Senator Bryan King, spending, taxes

New ‘Private’ Option Revelations Spark Controversy

April 18, 2014 Nic Horton 2 Comments

This morning, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette revealed that the costs for the Obamacare “private” option for April have increased once again. Last week, Forbes reported that the total cost for the premiums for the month of March was $485.77 per person. This represents an 11% cost increase over the original projections. However, this figure included only the monthly premium costs, omitting costs for “wrap-around” services that are not covered by enrollees’ insurance plans. For the month of April, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Medicaid, Private Option Tagged With: Amy Webb, DHS, Government, health care, obamacare, Policy, Politics, private option, Rep. Joe Farrer, state of Arkansas

No Competition, Cost Overruns — Where Do We Go From Here On The ‘Private’ Option?

April 17, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

You’ll probably find this hard to believe, but things aren’t going to so well with the Obamacare “private” option: just last week, my colleague Dan Greenberg wrote about the lack of competition in the program. Forbes had a national piece last week about the cost overruns of the program -- so far, after just a few short months, it’s currently 11% over original projections. In response to these developments, many lawmakers have been proactive in trying to figure out what’s driving the cost … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans, Gallery, Obamacare, Private Option Tagged With: Arkansas, Government, health care, legislature, Medicaid expansion, obamacare, Policy, Politics, private option, Senator Bryan King, spending

New Report Highlights Candidates’ Positions On Policy

April 16, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

Arkansas_Presidential_Election_Results_2008

I know many of you have been relying on The Arkansas Project for news and analysis of the ongoing GOP legislative primaries around the state. While I’ve been conducting interviews with candidates, my colleague Dan Greenberg over at AAI has been helping to compile a comprehensive report that highlights where candidates stand on many more policy issues. (Well, at least it highlights where candidates are willing to say they stand.) This survey was conducted by Commerce In Action. They sent a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2014 Republican Primaries, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans Tagged With: Arkansas, candidates, Conduit In Action, Democrats, Government, health care, legislature, News, obamacare, Policy, Politics, primaries, Republicans, surveys, taxes

Happy (Belated) Tax Freedom Day, Arkansas: You Now Have Permission To Keep Your Money

April 15, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

Today is April 15th, the day that federal tax filings are due. (We hope this doesn’t come as a surprise to any of you.) So this seems like the perfect time to talk about how awful taxes are in America! While today is (unfortunately) Tax Day, I want to be sure you know also know the good news about Tax Freedom Day. This is the day of the year that the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for year. A good way to think about this is that, up until Tax Freedom Day, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Tax Reform Tagged With: AAI, Arkansas, Policy, tax day, tax foundation, tax freedom day, taxes

Damon Wallace’s Degree Problem

April 14, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

I’ve written in some detail about Damon Wallace’s financial troubles. Not only does this candidate for House District 96 have thousands in IRS debts, but he also failed to disclose some of the debts he owed to local governments in northwest Arkansas. (The worst-case scenario under Arkansas law is that this kind of error in disclosure could lead to fines and jail time.) Stunningly, Wallace explained some of his financial problems to Larry Henry of 5News by saying “I wasn’t trying to hide it. … [Read more...]