Priority Update - March 19
Past Updates:
We need your help on two packages of legislation that will improve the lives of every Arkansan.
The Achievement Gap Package will improve our schools, help low-income kids’ performance, provide parents and communities more information about what and how schools are doing, and bring more transparency and accountability to our school system. Sign the petition for better schools and see more details about the bills on our website. Your calls and e-mails now can change the lives of millions of Arkansas kids in future years. We expect these bills to come up in the House Education Committee in the next week – please act now!
The Energy Efficiency Package will save money, create jobs, and help the environment. What more could you ask for? On our website you can listen to our radio advertisement supporting the energy efficiency bill HB1903, sign the Petition for Better Energy Policy in Arkansas and find more details about the Energy Efficiency Package.
We expect these bills to run in the next week as well – the two key
bills around energy efficiency and expanding the use of renewable
energy will be heard in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee.
Our priority Wage Theft bill has passed the House and now only needs to pass the Senate. Thank you to everyone who has talked with their legislator about wage theft – you are making a difference!
The Dream Act to expand access to college for kids who graduate from Arkansas High Schools, another of our priorities, was heard in the full Senate yesterday in a rare process called a Committee of the Whole. Watch the Senate hearing on CFC-TV. The Dream Act should come up in the Senate Education Committee for a vote in the next week. Find talking points here.
Another key bill will create a new Legislative Taskforce on Poverty. We expect it to be heard in the Senate State Agencies Committee on Thursday.
The Federal Stimulus will have a huge impact on Arkansas. We’ve been scouring resources to understand what is in the package for Arkansas, how will it be spent and who will decide. We have some great resources in the economic section of our website – though the stimulus touches everything from schools to roads to water. Check out the resources, and keep checking back with us – we are working with friends at Advocates for Children and Families to try to find more Arkansas-specific data.
Our interns are busy reading all 2200 bills filed this session - keep watching for a more detailed update soon!
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