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Senate committee advances constitutional amendment to make half‑cent highway sales tax permanent after sunset amendment fails
Summary
A Senate committee voted to send a proposed constitutional amendment to Arkansas voters to make a half‑cent sales tax for highways permanent after an offered amendment by Sen. Trent Garner to limit the tax to 10 years failed for lack of a second. Supporters from business and trucking groups urged permanence for long‑term planning; Americans for Prosperity opposed the move as regressive.
Senator Eads asked a Senate committee to refer a constitutional amendment to the 2020 ballot that would extend the half‑cent sales tax enacted in 2012 and make it permanent, and the committee approved the referral by voice vote after debate and public testimony.
The proposal to send the amendment to voters was met with an early attempt to add a 10‑year sunset. State Senator Trent Garner of District 27 offered an amendment that would have limited the tax to a decade, saying the sunset would ‘‘preserve accountability’’ and give lawmakers time to develop a long‑term funding solution instead of creating a permanent baseline for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. A…
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