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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 motion to adopt Garner’s amendment failed for lack of a second, and Garner closed debate on the amendment.
In support of permanence, Senator Eads told the committee the referral would leave the final decision to voters while allowing the state and contractors to plan for ongoing highway funding. Eads also said the referral does not allow the state to bond for projects and would be implemented on a pay‑as‑you‑go basis, which he argued would free up funds that had been restricted under a prior referral.
Public testimony split along ideological and industry lines. Ryan Norris, state director for Americans for Prosperity, opposed making the tax permanent, calling the half‑cent sales tax ‘‘regressive’’ and saying it would disproportionately burden low‑ and middle‑income Arkansans. Norris urged lawmakers to pursue reforms and alternatives before committing to a permanent tax. He also cited Arkansas’s large road network as part of the funding challenge.
Business and transportation industry witnesses urged the committee to endorse the measure. Randy Zook, president of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, said a stable, long‑term funding program for highways is vital to economic development and that the chamber would support and campaign for the amendment. Sheena Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said the trucking industry ‘‘has long supported a sustainable, and substantive solution’’ and intends to back the effort. Brief statements were also recorded on behalf of the Arkansas Department of Revenue and ‘‘500 cities and towns of Arkansas.’’
Senators took a voice vote to advance the measure; the record reflects the chair announcing the motion carried by voice vote, but no roll‑call tally was recorded in the transcript. The committee adjourned after the vote.
What happens next: The measure, as referred by the committee, would go forward to the next legislative step for placement on the 2020 ballot for voter approval. The record does not show a roll‑call tally or floor action in this transcript.
