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Committee advances change to rural development authority population threshold to aid grant eligibility
Summary
House Bill 1443 would raise population thresholds for certain Rural Development Authorities so some growing small towns can qualify for federal grants; sponsors and the Association of Arkansas Counties said the bill only redefines areas of operation and does not create new governance or affect improvement districts.
Representative Vaught presented House Bill 1443, describing the measure as a narrow change to population thresholds that will permit 22 small rural towns to qualify for federal economic-development grant programs. She told the City, County & Local Affairs Committee RDAs are five-member boards appointed by county judges that work with quorum courts.
Senator Flowers and others asked whether the change would permit improvement districts or alter voting rights for property owners; Chris Valines of the Association of Arkansas Counties said the bill is a definitional change to an RDA’s area of operation to allow grant eligibility and "really doesn't have anything to do with improvement districts." Representative Vaught said she is not changing the exception for areas lying within city limits and that the bill is intended to be limited in scope.
Committee members also discussed prior related legislation that changed improvement-district voting rules and asked whether new RDAs could be created; sponsors said the bill will help existing RDAs meet population-based grant criteria and that 14–22 entities are affected depending on the local list.
No one from the public signed up to speak for the bill; the committee moved, seconded, and recorded a voice vote in favor to advance HB 1443.
