to begin the second week of the regular fiscal session of the Arkansas General
Assembly. Funding the appropriation for the
Arkansas Works program, which was passed two weeks ago with a simple majority
in a special legislative session, is the governor’s plan for Medicaid expansion
in Arkansas. It will certainly be at the center of the debate again this week.
Works is contained in the overall budget for the DHS Division of Medical
Services. Attempts to fund SB121 were derailed last week when an amendment to
the bill failed to make it out of the Joint Budget Committee. The amendment, which actually de-funds
Arkansas Works, would allow senators who have been opposing the program to cast
a vote for the appropriation in good conscience. The Arkansas Constitution of 1874 requires a
¾ majority of both houses to pass an appropriation. Under this plan, the
Governor could actually line-item veto the amendment, which would enable the
original funding for Arkansas Works to be reinstated. An override of a
Governor’s veto requires only a simple majority of both houses.
It’s a long way to go
around the barn to pass much-needed legislation, but neither the governor nor
this group of senators has indicated they will compromise on funding the
appropriation. Will the governor get the
votes for the amendment in committee? Assuming that he does, will the governor
get the required votes for passage and for defeating the subsequent veto
override? Will the legislative Democrats, who have been long-time supporters of
Medicaid expansion and have seen their numbers dwindle in the last few years because
of this being used as a campaign issue against them, go along with the governor’s
plan? Will this override plan survive a threatened
legal challenge, which is a possibility that has been talked about, as
well? Will this solution hold? We will definitely
know the answers to most of these complicated questions by the end of this
week.