Proposed Budget - Fiscal Year 2024
On November 10, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson released a $6.3 billion general revenue budget proposal for fiscal 2024. Gross general revenues are projected to be $8.07 billion in fiscal 2024, a decrease of $263.8 million or 3.2 percent from fiscal 2023. After required deductions and refunds, net available revenues for fiscal 2024 are projected at $6.59 billion, a decrease of $29 million or 0.4 percent from fiscal 2023. Total reserves for the state total $2.78 billion which includes $1.2 billion in the catastrophic reserve fund and $1.35 billion in the general revenue allotment reserve fund.
Proposed Budget Highlights
Priorities in the former governor’s budget include improving education, public safety, and the services of state government. The following recommendations are included in the budget:
Education
- Increases funding to education by $200 million in fiscal 2024 and $350 million in fiscal 2025 to raise teacher salaries and improve outcomes for education in the state.
- Proposes an increase to higher education to cover productivity funding model and provides an increase to the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff to cover the cost of the match for land grant institutions.
Human Services
- Provides an increase of $13.3 million to the Department of Human Services’ Children and Family Services Division to support and address the need for foster care. Funds will provide a stipend increase for foster parents and will cover stipends for provisional foster parents.
Public Safety
- Increases the State Police Budget by $1.5 million for the next two years.
- Provides a $5.4 million increase in fiscal 2024 and a $7.3 million increase in fiscal 2025 to the Department of Correction to cover an increase in medical costs and support work in increasing bed capacity.
- Proposes a $5.5 million increase for Community Correction in each of the next two years to cover additional drug costs and cover intensive supervision initiative.
- Provides a $4.2 million increase to the Department of Military for increased maintenance of armory facilities and for strengthening the support of at-risk youth the national guard serves.
Other
- Includes a budgeted surplus of $255 million in fiscal 2024 and $309 million in fiscal 2025.
- Budget allows $41 million to be used for a new pay plan to help recruit and retain state employees.
After being sworn-in, newly elected Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders released bill proposals related to her priorities of tax cuts, education reform, and public safety. Tax cut proposals include decreasing the state income tax rate to 4.7 percent from 4.9 percent and decreasing the top corporate income tax rate to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent. Education reform proposals include raising the state’s minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000 a year, granting other teachers a $2,000 salary increase, and creating Educational Freedom Accounts. Public safety priorities include building a new state prison with more than 3,000 beds, a new trooper school, new mental health programs, funds to provide overtime pay for Arkansas State Police, and funds to help with increased staffing and salaries at the Division of Correction.